A time for relearning (wk 1)

Going through chapter one of the Peer Mentor Companion was interesting. It’s all about what a peer mentor is which is slightly humoring since we went through it last year too. It’s amazing the things I learned without realizing it and looking back on it all, how much I still don’t know or forgot.

Activity 1.2, the Mentoring Confidence Inventory, was really good to go through I think as well. I looked back at the answers I had put last year, beginning and end of the semester and it’s amazing what’s changed. My confidence levels in nearly every category went up. Between what I learned in class and actually going through the peer mentor experience I feel like I’m fairly confident with my role of being a peer mentor and I hope that I can have that show not only to my students in the fall, but also to all of my classmates, especially if this is their first time in the role.

Going back through the chapter a few things stuck out to me. There are some tips for being a more effective formal peer mentor. I really found all of them to be useful throughout the last year. By asking for help and sharing ideas we were able to create lesson plans that our students really enjoyed and it never failed that if someone was drawing a blank for an activity, someone else would have an idea that we could modify and build on. Having that network is really useful and I really encourage everyone to make the most of it; it’s what we’re all here for. The two on building a relationship with the students but also giving them space I think are very important too. The entire semester class it based on the relationships you form not only with your students, but also with your co-leader and other peer mentors. The students will pick up on it and the more comfortable you are with each other, the more comfortable they will be with you. But at the same time we need to remember to give them their space, even though it can be really hard sometimes. During the video project it was hard not to set up work times and what-not for the class, but by encouraging them to do it on their own, their creativity was able to be maximized without our specific influence. It was really fun to watch them all grow through doing that together.

I’m so excited to get to know everyone and I’m really looking forward to the next couple of semesters with you all! Hope you’re ready for some fun times! :)