Griffith University
Health Group
Peer Mentoring Program
Mentor Training Workshop
2010
Professor Keithia Wilson
Introductions and Roles
Facilitator
Keithia Wilson
Health Group Coordinator
Janine Chipperfield
Senior Peer Mentors
Stacey Vervoort,
Tatjana Djakovic
Senior Peer Mentor Coordinator
Sally Chester-Law
First Year Advisors
School Mentoring Coordinators
Peer Mentors
Workshop Overview
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Why are people motivated to be mentors?
What factors contribute to the success or failure of
commencing students?
How might peer mentoring contribute to the
success of commencing students?
What roles & functions can mentors provide?
What skills do mentors need?
What type of peer mentoring system will be used
in my School?
What is an effective mentoring session?
What can we do to prevent or minimise problems?
1
Why are people motivated to be
mentors?
Reflection Task
What motivated you to volunteer for your
School’s Peer Mentoring Program?
Chat to the person next to you about
your reasons for ‘signing-up’.
Some Common Motivations for
Mentoring……
• Wanting to help others be successful
• Hoping others can learn from your first year experience
• Developing your professional skills
• Gaining work-related or ‘CV-able’ experience
• Wanting to “get involved” or “contribute” to your School community
• Not sure but thought it might be interesting
2
What factors contribute to the success or
failure of commencing students?
Reflection Task
In your experience why do you think some
students succeed at university while others fail or
don’t persist?
Chat to the person next to you for 1 minute.
What do we know from research
about success in first year?
Students are more likely to succeed if they:
• Develop a social network at uni
 “I am connected with staff, students and the system”
•
Have a sense of vocational direction & purpose
 “My degree is the right choice for me”
•
Regularly attend lectures & tutorials  increased
learning opportunities
•
Engage with Technology (library & email)
•
Work (on average) not more than 15 hours a week
in paid employment  make appropriate time for study
•
Have a sense of self-efficacy and an expectation of success
 “I can do this!”
What do we know from research
about risk factors in first year?
Students are more likely to drop-out or fail if they:
• Don’t have a social network at university
•
Don’t have a sense of vocational purpose in their degree
•
Don’t regularly attend at lectures & tutorials
(with the exception of young, very intellectually bright males)
•
Don’t have access to or engage with the online environment
•
Do work more than 25 hours per week while studying full time
•
Are the ‘first in their family’ to attend university (social capital)
•
Are a member of a minority or disadvantaged group (e.g., Indigenous, rural,
disability, refugee, international)
What do we know about the profile
of Griffith Students?
Compared to other universities our students:
• Work longer hours in paid employment
• Are more likely to be the ‘”first in their family’’
FIF) to attend University
* Brisbane & Gold Coast = 60% approx.
* Logan
= 80% approx.
What is the Griffith University
framework for student engagement?
Source: Lizzio (2006) The Five Senses of Success
Sense of
Connection
Sense of
Resourcefulness
Sense of
Capability
Sense of
Academic
Culture
Sense of
Purpose
What are new students’ needs
and concerns?
Sense of Connection
• Meeting people and making
friends
• Establishing positive working
relationships with staff
• Having a sense of valued
identity and belonging
Sense of Capability
• Clarifying new expectations of
the uni student role
• Building confidence for
academic challenges
• Establishing an organised and
strategic approach to study
• Sense of Purpose
• Affirming their vocational
direction and motivation
• Appreciating the links between
their degree and future career
• Understanding the structure &
rationale of degree program
Sense of Resourcefulness
• Learning how to navigate the
system
• Knowing where to get help
• Managing study-work-life
balance
3
So how might peer mentoring
contribute to the success of
commencing students?
Peer mentors contribute to success
‘right across the board’
Mentoring helps to develop all Five Senses of Success
Sense of
Connection
PMP
Sense of
Capability
Sense of
Academic
Culture
Sense of
Resourcefulness
Sense of
Purpose
What is the evidence for the
benefits of Peer Mentoring?
Commencing students who participate in a well-run peer
mentoring program are more likely to report:
* Greater social and relationship adjustment
* Greater academic adjustment and efficacy
* More collaboration and less competitiveness
* And achieve significantly higher GPAs for
both semesters 1 & 2
Source: Randomised control trial, School of Psychology (1996)
What is the Health Group trying to
achieve with peer mentoring?
We are hoping that you will act as an ‘agent of change’ by helping
commencing students:
Student Retention
• Make a successful transition to university and to your School community
Academic Success
• Become capable and effective learners
Social Change
• Transform their lives by successfully completing their first year of study
Continuing Leadership
• Consider being peer mentors to future cohorts
Reflection Task
What do you want to achieve by
being a Peer Mentor?
1.
Firstly, chat to 1 or 2 other people for 5 minutes about:
•
What are you feeling so far about the job of being a peer-mentor?
•
What contributions do you think you will particularly want to make?
2.
Then form into a small group to compare notes
3.
Finally, report a summary back to the whole group
4
What roles and functions can mentors
provide?
What can peer mentors do?
Help
Solve
Problems
Develop
supportive
relationships
Facilitate
Aspirations
Actively
manage
the process
What can mentors do?
Develop Supportive Relationships
Be a listener
• Listen to peoples’ ideas and feelings
• Reflect these back tentatively and without judgement
• Check if you ‘got it’
Be encouraging and supportive
• Show acceptance and welcome to new community members
• Affirm peoples’ strengths and sense of adequacy
• Offer optimism and hope
Be a person
• Appropriately share of yourself and ‘your story’
• Seek to know them as people
• Relate horizontally and genuinely
What can mentors do?
Help Solve Problems
Be a source of information
• Answer factual questions about the School
• Describe your experience as a student in the School
• Identify potential issues/challenges that may arise
• Translate ‘academic jargon’ or new language
• Identify misperceptions and misconceptions
Be a coach or adviser
• Help with specific tasks and challenges (e.g. first assessment)
• Help to plan and organise approaches to study
• De-brief experiences or anticipated events
Be a link
• Know where students can get help (see handout)
• Encourage their use of support services
• Know your limits and refer (see handout)
What can mentors do?
Facilitate Aspirations
Be a role model
• Live what you are espousing
• Be professional
• Monitor your boundaries
Be a stimulator and expectation-setter
•
•
•
•
Model a self-critical stance (e.g. monitoring assumptions)
Be willing to gently name misconceptions about university life
Discuss School norms for appropriate academic behaviour
Invite people to make the most of the opportunity
Be a facilitator of self-management
• Invite people to reflect on their experiences of uni to date
• Invite people to set goals and develop strategies
• Offer opportunities to discuss progress towards goals
What can mentors do?
Actively Manage the Process
Be a learner
• Ask for feedback from your mantes
• Reflect on meetings and interactions
• Make adjustments and ‘try new things’
Be a source of feedback
• Let the School (e.g., FYA) know if there are issues that might be
usefully addressed (e.g., resources, timetabling, assessment, etc)
• Let the FYA know if you are concerned about a ‘student at risk’
Be Responsive
• When in doubt always ask your mentees what they would find useful
to do or discuss
Be Self-caring
• Recognise your own needs and boundaries
• Seek support or de-briefing from your coordinator
• Learn to set-limits and to ‘say no’ politely.
Reflection Task
1. Take a few minutes to individually review the
roles and functions of a peer mentor:
Which of the nominated roles and functions do you
consider to be :
• Your clear strengths?
• Functions that you could adequately perform?
• Functions that you might need to work on?
2. Then discuss this with one or two others.
5
What skills do mentors need?
There are lots of skills you can use…….but
above all else ….build relationships…..and you
will make a difference!
•
•
•
•
Empathy and active listening are fundamental
When appropriate reflect back what your mantes share
with you
Let them know you are really interesting
Remember the listening pattern:
“You feel…… because……”
Facilitating self-determination is key
Don’t tell Mentees what to do – help them explore
options & decide for themselves
Practice Task
Strengthening Your Listening
1.
2.
3.
4.
Working in groups of 2 or 3:
One person shares a common concern
that a first year might raise
The second person listens and attempts
to reflect back in their own words.
Then discuss how that went.
Take turns in each role.
Cultural diversity
Effective mentors appreciate and welcome the
fact that people are different
What types of diversity might you encounter
amongst your student colleagues?
• Indigenous/First Nation Australians
• International (e.g., South-East Asia,
Middle-East)
• Immigrants or Refugees with English as a
second language (ESL) (e.g., Bosnia,
Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa)
Answering some key questions
•
•
•
•
Input from Health Group Peer Mentors & Griffith
International Advisors
What are the issues faced by commencing students
from these differing cultural backgrounds?
What are the opportunities and benefits that these
students bring?
What support structures does Griffith have in place to
assist these students? (see Handouts for Referral)
What attitudes and strategies can Peer Mentors use to
best relate to and support these students?
6
What type of Peer Mentoring system will
be used in my School?
Peer mentoring……. many different ways to do it!
Relationship setting
• One-on-one (mentor and mentee)
• Small group (with one or two mentors)
Mode of Contact
• Face to face (same time and same place)
• Online (e.g., email, discussion board)
• Multiple or mixed modes
Style and frequency of contact
• Regular schedule (e.g., weekly contact)
• Key tasks or transitions (e.g., O week, first assessment)
• Time-limited or open-ended (e.g., first 7 weeks)
Responsibility for contact
• Mentor outreach (How’s it going?)
• Mentee initiated (Don’t call me I’ll call you)
If you are a face-to-face mentor….
Be organised: Scheduling meetings can be
time consuming if not well managed
Be Flexible: Use other modes (e.g. email,
phone) if that is useful
Be facilitative: Leave space for mentees to
help and connect with each other
Be Resilient: Work with whoever turns up.
Be Open: Allow space for mentees to ‘bring
a friend’
If you are an online mentor…..
• Be Early: Make welcoming ‘first contact’ by week 1.
• Be Responsive: Monitor your email regularly and
respond promptly
• Be Active: ‘Make contact’ if you haven’t heard from your
mentee within a week
• Be Flexible: Invite a ‘face to face’ meeting or phone call
if you think it might strengthen the relationship.
• Be Sensitive: Re-read your emails from the mentee’s
perspective before sending (e.g., is anything likely to be
misunderstood?)
• Be Systemic: Negotiate emailing your responses to
other mentees in your group (as long as the issue is not
personal or sensitive), as it is likely to be relevant to all.
How will I be matched with my
mentees?
• Effective matching using shared interest
criteria (e.g., gender, age, degree type)
can helps learning.
• The matching process will be organised by
your FYA or PM Coordinator
• FYA or PMC will provide you with your
Mentees’ names & contact info
Practice Task
What is my School’s Peer Mentoring
system?
Convene in your School groups with your FYA
& PM Coordinator:
1. What is the type of peer mentoring system
that will be set up in your School?
2. What are the roles and expectations of:
*Mentors?
*Mentees?
*Co-ordinator?
3. What practical questions need to be addressed?
7
What is an effective mentoring session?
What makes a ‘good session’?
•
•
•
•
•
Balanced participation from all involved
Balance of planned and emergent activities
Focus on people ‘solving their own problems’
Based on a clear and agreed agenda
Context established/managed (e.g. links to last
session, possibilities for next time)
• Boundaries well managed (e.g. times, roles)
• Enjoyable for all involved!
Your first mentoring session:
Forming an effective Working Alliance
The Big 5 Questions for
students are –
The underlying human issues are
1.
2.
FORMING RELATIONSHIPS
Who is the leader here?
Who are the other people
here?
-------------------------------------3. What will we be doing in
these meetings?
-------------------------------------4. What is expected of me
in my role as a mentee?
5. What can I expect of my
mentor?
-------------------------------------------TASK OR CONTENT AGENDA
-------------------------------------------PROCESS – ROLES &
RULES for behaviour
Step 1: How do we build a Mentor-Mentee
working alliance?
Introduce yourself through sharing:
•
Your Name
•
Your background in your discipline of study & practice
 establishes your credibility (Expert Power)
•
Your experience when you were in their shoes as
students
 creates empathy & engagement (Referent Power)
•
A brief values statement about what is important to you
in your role as a Mentor (e.g., creating a forum for
lively discussion where different views are valued ….or
whatever)
 creates an inclusive group climate
Step 2 How do we build a Mentee-Mentee
working alliance?
Facilitate members connecting with each other by sharing information:
•
Ask students to form pairs ( reduced threat levels & anxiety & makes it easier to
speak up in groups) and to have 2 minute discussions sharing relevant info on 2 or
more of the following e.g.,
* Name +
* What attracted you to studying this degree?
* What do you think your challenges might be with studying?
* What are 2 key values or priorities in your life?
Ask them to choose a different person to talk to each time assist to build
relationships across the group. Feel free to choose your own topics for pair
discussions.
•
Plenary as a whole group at least names, & a brief sentence on one of the
questions above or a single word that best describes their feeling about starting first
academic year  starts to build a Group/Team identity & Trust  disclosure &
greater likelihood of speaking up in meetings
Step 3 How do we establish the agenda
and process for our meeting?
Purpose and value
• Outline the OVERALL PURPOSE of the Peer Mentoring program so that students
understand how participating will contribute to their adjustment to university. Explain
that the program is focused on helping new students to:
• Establish a SENSE OF CONNECTION (e.g., relationships and networks offer great
protection against dropping out).
• Develop a SENSE OF CAPABILITY (e.g., become more effective students,
understand types of assessment)
• Gain a SENSE OF RESOURCEFULNESS (e.g., work-life-study balance, helpseeking).
• Affirm a SENSE OF PURPOSE (e.g., vocational direction, rationale for degree
program)
Focus and Structure
•
Inform your mantes that you will be setting an agenda with them (their issues,
questions, concerns etc.) at the outset of each group meeting, & providing a
structured process for each meeting to guide learning & discussion.
Empowerment and ownership
• Establish with your mentees that they are welcome to offer opinions & to ask
questions of each other or yourself at any time in the meetings
Steps 4 & 5 How do we clarify our roles
as mentor and mentee?
•
Clarifying roles means establishing the rights and responsibilities of both
parties & therefore the groundrules or ‘psychological contract’ for your
working relationship.
•
Rights are the things you are entitled in your roles to receive from each
other Mentor Mentee & Mentee Mentor.
•
Responsibilities are the things you are obligated in your roles to provide
for each other Mentor Mentee & Mentee Mentor.
•
Note that while some basic rights & responsibilities are the same between
the roles of Mentee & Mentor (e.g., respect), others will be different (e.g.,
leadership, guidance on assessment).
•
Any role negotiation involves the exchange of rights and responsibilities.
•
Role negotiation at the outset, helps to prevent conflict
Steps 4 & 5 (contd.) Mentee-Mentor
Working Alliance : Clarifying Roles
What Mentees can expect of Mentors
(Mentee rights &
Mentor responsibilities)
What Mentors can expect of Mentees
(Mentor rights &
Mentee responsibilities)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Be friendly & respectful
Be committed to student’s support &
learning
Be on time for meetings
Put in best effort – quality input &
facilitation in meetings
Provide a structure for each meeting in
consultation with mantes
Be available & accessible for
consultation – be clear about your
availability & your boundaries or limits
Provide assistance with verbal
guidance & feedback on assessment
items
•
•
•
•
Be friendly & respectful
Be committed to & responsible for your
own learning
Be on time for meetings
Participate by asking questions &
expressing opinions on issues
Have input into the agenda for each
meeting & talk one at a time
Proactively seek assistance from your
mentor to raise issues about * your progress,
* the quality of the learning
experience,
* assessment items
Finally, be as clear as you can in
your communication….
• Make your role explicit – what you will & won’t
do
• Make your contact details & times explicit
• However, don’t overwhelm your mentee with
your professionalism…
• Be ‘clear enough’ without overdoing it.
• Focus on encouraging mutual respect
Practice Task
Designing your first mentoring session
Activity
Comments
8
What can we do to prevent or minimise
problems in the mentoring
relationship?
BULLETT PROOFING FOR
PEER MENTORS
Reflection Task
What do you think are the most likely
challenges that you will face as a
peer mentors?
Some Possible Challenges………
Mentees
• Don’t turn up, or are late
• Ask for extra ‘out of session’ help with assessment
• Display instrumental or ‘slack’ motivation
• Show self-protective or defensive behaviour
Mentor
• Doesn’t feel sufficiently appreciated or valued
• Feels ‘threatened’ (e.g. by questions)
• Concerned about a mentee’s coping
• Feels out of his/her depth
• Loses interest or gets overwhelmed by his/her own work.
What might mentors
be tempted to do?
• Over-talk and not leave room for mantes
• Be a ‘performer’ – show how ‘clever’ or
‘senior’ we are
• Be passive and permissive
• Be over-responsible and rescuing
• Be cynical about uni or staff
• Gossip about people
Practice Task
Select one or two of the possible
challenges you might face as a peer
mentor.
Discuss in 2s or 3s a positive way you
might:
• Prevent or minimise the chances of it
occurring
• Positively respond to it if it did occur
If you do encounter problems or
challenges, you can:
• Talk to other peer mentors while preserving
mentee’s confidentiality
• Contact your First Year Advisor to discuss
• Contact your Peer Mentoring Program coordinator to discuss
• Remember this is a School program…IT IS
IMPORTANT THAT YOU DON’T FEEL ALONE
& UNSUPPORTED
How will you organise things?
• Identify a place and time to meet
• Identify ways to recognise each other
• Contact people redundantly (viz., by both
phone and email)
• Record mantes’ contact details
• Give mantes your written contact
information
• Organise and distribute a meeting
schedule
Ethical Issues
• Providing contact information at the outset
• Being clear about your role from the beginning
• Maintaining Mentee confidentiality &/or preserve
their anonymity in discussion with other Mentors
• Avoiding any form of exploitation, including
sexual
• Being fair & just – treating Mentees equally &
sharing information equally
Referral Resources
• There will be times when your Mentees
will raise issues with you that require
referral to other resources within the
University
• These are described for each campus in
your handouts headed ‘Referral’
• What kinds of issues would you consider
referring to other services?
Do’s
• Turn up at all mentoring sessions
• Facilitate all sessions regardless of the number
of students present
• Contact your Mentees regularly
* provides a safety net
* Mentees wary/anxious of contacting mentors
 Refer your Mentees to other GU services for
additional help (see H’out provided)
Don’ts
• Don’t make Mentees’ problems your own
• Don’t do for Mentees what they can do for
themselves
• Don’t lend Mentees what you can’t afford
to lose (e.g., books, articles etc.)
8
What are some practical strategies?
What are useful activities for
first years to consider?
• Forming study groups
• Mapping out their assessment schedule
(including preparation/enabling activities)
• Undertaking independent learning activities
(e.g., visiting the New Students website and
undertake the self-assessment tasks; attending
learning workshops).
• Experimenting with peer assessment/feedback
before submitting their work
• Reading more widely and critically than they
have previously
How to help with assessment?
• Get people to give their ideas first
• Ask questions to clarify what they actually
understand (e.g. “What’s your thinking on…?”)
• Affirm what they are able to do/know
• Help them identify their ‘assessment strategy’
(i.e. their approach to the task)
• Encourage self and peer assessment
• Do not do it for them… whatever the reason
• Only read drafts if they self-assess first?
Reminder for your Peer
Mentees…..
Academic Success depends on understanding what is
required for an assessment item – e.g., in disciplines
there are specific formats for presenting work (e.g.,
essays & lab reports)
 attend & pay attention in tutes & lectures
 discuss with your Peer Mentors
 don’t interpret a lack of success in your own eyes
as “not being smart enough”, ‘cos it’s NOT TRUE’
 it simply means you need to be persistent
to find out what is required
Finally….
We value the contribution you are about to
make in the lives of your student
colleagues.
We regard you as our partners in this
process.
We hope you will both learn from and enjoy
the experience!