Senior students bring knowing perspective to first-year peers

Great teaching and creative learning strategies are the cornerstone of a quality university experience. Today, OnCampus launches a new series—Learning Curves—to celebrate the people and innovations that are ahead of the curve in building a culture of exceptional teaching and learning at the University of Calgary. We welcome suggestions of stories to share at uofcnews@ucalgary.ca.

By Jennifer Myers

CRAMMING FOR MIDTERMS USUALLY ISN’T FUN AND GAMES. But last December, communication and culture students used a student-created board game—complete with trivia cards and Play-Doh—to bone up for exams.

Generarium—a play on the course name General Studies and the popular party game Cranium—isn’t just a creative way to study. It’s also a tangible result of a unique mentoring program in the Faculty of Communication and Culture that sees third- and fourth-year students help their first- and second-year peers. In the process, they earn credit for General Studies 501.

The Generarium board game was developed by Caleigh Rabbitte, a fourth-year communications studies student and peer mentor for General Studies 300. She is one of eight peer mentors in the faculty who spend three hours a week helping students learn the content in courses they themselves have recently completed.

The mentor’s role involves leading study groups, having one-on-one meetings with students and providing feedback on assignments. They are also required to write reflections on their own learning as well as write a final report.

“When I talk about struggles I’ve had with a class, the students feel more connected and understand that I do know what they’re experiencing,” says Rabbitte. “I explain what approach I used on a paper and what worked for me and what didn’t. I acknowledge the problems they are facing and they become more open to my feedback.”

Peer mentors are not teaching assistants and they do no grading, explains Dr. Tania Smith, the professor in the Faculty of Communication and Culture who designed the mentoring program. “They have an in-class and extra-curricular role with the students in the class they are mentoring.”

Peer mentors provide a perspective that neither the professor nor tutorial assistant can—that of an undergraduate student who has recently completed the course.

Rabbitte’s board game, for example, recognizes that reviewing course content can be more effective when it’s fun. In the game, “question” cards ask about names, quotes, places and events, “creative” cards ask students to sculpt historical or literary figures with Play-Doh, and “fate” cards are fun cards that say things like: “You caused the downfall of Rome, go back three spaces” or “You survived the plague, move forward three spaces.”

“It takes about an hour to play and is something all students can use in study groups,” says Rabbitte. “It helps them review the course content and instills confidence in them when they get questions right.”

Mentors also enhance the learning experience through their collaboration with the host instructor of the class they are mentoring. Peer mentors offer instructors a form of professional development with their comments and input on teaching.

“The peer mentors open a new line of communication with the students,” says Dr. Ron Glasberg, professor and instructor of General Studies 300. “The mentors themselves are still living the student experience, but at the same time, they talk about that experience with understanding and reflection.”

Glasberg says the mentors give him an understanding of the effect he is having on students.

“They offer valuable insight into my own teaching—and what works and doesn’t work—in an articulate way. I embrace opportunity to talk with them.”

In a survey of students who participated in the program, 84 percent reported a positive academic benefit to participating in activities designed by their peer mentor. They also reported that having a mentor increased the morale of the class, mentors made the course content seem less intimidating and that knowing the mentor was there for help increased their self confidence. Students in GNST 300 specifically asked for more peer mentors for their class.

The third- and fourth-year students who become peer mentors say it gives them an opportunity to practice academic and workplace skills. They develop group facilitation and coaching skills, learn to plan workshops and adjust to new situations.

For Stephen Robinson, a fourth-year communications studies major, peer mentoring has allowed him to develop skills valuable in the workplace.

“The mentoring is an application of my communications degree,” he says. “It is taking a course, getting credit and actually using the skills I learned.”

Robinson says he uses his mentoring skills in his job with the City of Calgary where he mentors other employees for succession planning. “The skill of being able to ask questions that prompt other people to think differently is very important.”

Since the peer mentoring course was first offered in 2005, the Faculty of Communication and Culture has had 16 peer mentors in 11 courses at the 200 and 300 levels. Smith says the model is unique among universities because the faculty offers mentoring in eight courses at once. The diverse placements offer more comparison of the students’ experiences and opportunity to generate more ideas for effective teaching.