This week in University Studies 311A was another eventful one! In class we learned about the importance of interpersonal communication as it relates to being a peer mentor, and we also had another retreat today (Sunday) that was an opportunity to get to know my fellow peer mentors a little more.
Coreen and Katie lead the discussion in class, which this week centered on the different aspects of interpersonal communication and how to implement that into a curriculum designed for mentees (chapter four in "Students Helping Students"). I thought they did a very good job! Every question that they asked was very thought-provoking, and in my opinion there was a lot of good discussion on the book chapter's content. We also discussed the characteristics of a helping relationship, which included aspects such as: the relationship involves feelings, communication and interaction, respect for individual self-worth, clear structure, collaboration, and involvement. A peer educator must also be approachable and secure as a person for a successful helping relationship to exist, which to me just means that we need to be a resource for our mentees while still being able to relate to what they're going through and show empathy.
We also went around the room and threw out different characteristics that a mentor should possess (we used our actual mentors as examples and inspiration). I thought this was a great activity to get us thinking about what kind of traits we want to exhibit with our freshman students in the fall and what kind of mentor we want to be remembered as by those first-year students.
We also had a retreat on Sunday, which was a very fun time. It involved four icebreakers, each of which allowed us to get to know one another in a completely different way: the first tested our communication and revealed fun facts, the second definitely tested our physical abilities and strategy, the third tested our critical thinking and teamwork, and the fourth allowed us to think about our own values and preferences while still keeping a light-hearted tone overall.
I really enjoyed this week, and can't wait for the next one!
I loved the activity when we wrote down characteristics of a mentor,too. I will definitely be keeping that list in mind next fall! I love how you described the four different ice breakers, that's a really great perspective! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe point that stood out to me was what people will remember you by. Will they think of you as a judgmental and useless mentor? Or as one that can always be there for support and collaborative efforts?
ReplyDeleteI really like how you broke down the icebreakers on Sunday and explained what they tested or forced us to use. I didn't think too much about what we were doing at the time, but you're right -- the retreat icebreakers definitely forced us to use the skills you mentioned!
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