peer leadership 101 - bethune college - york university
TRANSCRIPT
Peer Leadership 101: Standing on the Shoulders of Ordinary People
Basic Peer Leadership Training Bethune College Student Ombuds Services
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Created by: Brian Poser, Director, ACMAPS Edited & Presented by: Ana Cuciureanu and Krishna Modi
with permission
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Learning Outcomes
Source: OUAC
By participating in this session, you will be able to: • Summarize the benefits of peer leadership
• Locate mentoring in leadership
• Identify your mentoring/leadership strengths & needs
• Understand the roles of leader and student
• Appreciate the importance of boundaries in the student-peer
leader relationship
• Apply your learning to upcoming leadership experiences
What do you see as the benefits?
Benefits
Peer Leader
Student Student/PL Experience
York U
What do you see as the benefits?
Impact on student experience
• Creates sense of belonging and
support
• Contributes to academic success
• Contributes to relationships/networking
• Contributes to sense of community
What do you see as the benefits?
Impact on YorkU • Contributes to culture of success
• Builds awareness of resources
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What does the research say about peer leadership outcomes?
Ferrari (2004) Improved academic performance Improved academic self-efficacy Improved satisfaction with academic programs
Brown, David and McClendon (1999) Ability to make a career choice and increased persistence to
achieve goals
Sosik and Godshalk (2005) Improved interpersonal communications Improved psychosocial support
What does the research say about peer leadership outcomes?
Jacobi (1991) Increased maturation and academic responsibility Improved time management
Fox and Stevenson (2006) Improved academic performance Increased acquisition of transferable skills Improved social relationships
Leadership
PM PA PT PASS CR
Connections to Leadership
SA GPM
Connections to Leadership
You are motivating and helping students to learn and grow and achieve their goals.
You are collaborating together to empower others and are working towards socially responsible change in your community.
By doing this, you are working to the betterment of your community.
How does mentoring connect to leadership?
You are in a position whereby your actions have the power to inspire others to: Dream more, Learn more, Do more, And become more…
John Quincy Adams
Part 2: Small group discovery: Selecting a Peer Leader
Why have/be a peer leader?
If you’re seeking a peer leader, why do you want to have one?
If you’re considering being a peer leader to someone else,
why do you want to be a position of leadership?
What are you looking for in a peer leader?
What specific qualities are you looking for in a peer
leader?
What qualities do you hope to share as a peer leader?
In your groups, take a few minutes to discuss and write down what are the
responsibilities of a:
LEADER STUDENT
Leader/Student roles
Setting expectations for Leaders and Students
LEADER STUDENT
Listen
Share experiences
Foster skill building
Refer and network
Be one of many influences
Active participant
Retain critical faculties
Remain open to multiple
influences
Own responsibility for success
Student-Peer Leader Relationship
How would you describe the ideal relationship between a student
and his/her peer leader?
Peer Leadership as a reciprocal experience
The best student-peer leader relationships are characterized by:
• Honest, two-way exchange
• Respectful debate on differing views
• Critical assessment of ideas
• A leveling of the power gradient
• Mutual and unconditional acceptance
• Respect for limits and boundaries
A word on boundaries
Boundaries are important rules and guidelines that should be set out in order to maintain a positive and healthy environment.
If you do not set strong boundaries, many of the benefits of the student-peer leader relationship are LOST!
A word on boundaries
What are some possible
BOUNDARIES that should be established
with students?
A word on boundaries
• Contact information (emails, phone numbers)
• Meeting locations (e.g. office hours)
• Dating?
• Homework
• Money
A word on boundaries
One short story…
The Parable of the Butterfly
The Parable of the Butterfly
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day, a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as though it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further. So, the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, but it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
The Parable of the Butterfly
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
What is the moral of this story? How does this apply to the context of Peer
Leadership?
Take it or leave it…
• Peer Leaders and students share responsibility for setting the agenda
• Students remain the decision makers
• When it comes to information, opinions, suggestions, activities etc., leaders and students remain free to “take it or leave it” without the fear of reprisal or the diminishment of the relationship
What? So what? Now what?
• As peer leaders seek to support the development of their mentees, the following sequence of question can serve as a useful guide: What? So what? Now what?
• By applying these questions, the emphasis is placed on prompting students to actively guide their own processes of discovery
Reflecting on your relationship
• When they work well, student-peer leader relationships foster a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in both parties.
• Where they don’t work well, it is important not to take it personally; sometimes a prospective leader and student just aren’t a good “fit”. Be ready to move on if need be.
Thinking challenge
• Consider the points we have covered in this presentation.
How do you see applying these ideas to your experience as peer leaders in the upcoming academic year? Are there any ideas about which you are unsure or want to think critically?
Final Thoughts
Final thoughts or comments?
Thank you for listening!
References and Resources
Brown, M., David, G. and McClendon, S. (1999). Mentoring graduate students of color: Myths, models, and modes. Peabody Journal of Education, 74 (2), 105-119.
Chickering, A. and Reisser, L. (1993). Education and Identity, 2nd Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Ferrari, J. (2004). Mentors in life and at school: Impact on undergraduate mentee perceptions of university mission and values. Mentoring and Tutoring, 12(3), 295-307.
Fox, A. and Stevenson, L. (2006). Exploring the effectiveness of peer mentoring of accounting and finance students in higher education. Accounting Education: An international Journal, 15 (2), June, 189-202.
Jacobi, M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature review. Review of Educational Research, 61, 505-532.
References and Resources
Ottawa County Michigan State University Extension. (1997). Mentor Manual.
East Lansing: Michigan State University Extension. Copyright 1997 by Michigan State University Board of Trustees. Retrieved from http://saludacounseling.com/Resources/Boundaries/Setting Boundaries.pdf . April 4, 2011.
Rogers, M. (2007). Peer Mentoring and Student Success. Presentation made at Peer Mentoring Sharing Event, York University, December, 2007.
Sosik, J. and Godshalk, V. (2005). Examining gender similarity and mentor’s supervisory status in mentoring relationships. Mentoring and Tutoring, 13(1), 39-54.
Tam, L. (2007). Mentor Handbook: Fine Arts Student Ambassadors and Mentors. Faculty of Fine Arts, York University.
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