Effective Peer Education

     As a Hixson peer mentor, I hope to be an effective peer educator.  Of course we have all taken that class where the professor stands in front of the room lecturing, having no real interaction with the student body. Day after day, he or she seemingly reads from the slides projected on the screen above.   Just how effective was that coarse, how much did you really learn or take away?  I realize that being a peer educator will not be as simple as making a few power point slides and presenting them to a room of helpless freshman.  Having taken more credit hours, being approximately three years older, and having the knowledge about successfully making it through that first semester will not make me the effective leader I hope to be.  Yes, knowledge and experience do play an important role in any form of education; however, chapter one claims the most important characteristic will be my motivation to help.

     The semester and mentor experience that lies ahead is sure to have quite an impact on all of the mentors in training.  The book suggests that we can be successful if we consider the training assumptions:  active learning, being self-aware, creating a supportive community, taking time for practice and feedback, and looking to our trainers as role models.  By taking part in these assumptions, I do believe that I will have a greater benefit from the peer mentor position as a whole.  I think I will take Newton’s advice to, “Think seriously about role modeling and the mentoring relationship.  Take risks to learn and be supportive of fellow trainees.  Be positive rather than negative, supportive rather than judgmental, and active rather than passive.”  The peer mentor position is not just about helping next year’s freshmen adapt to life at Iowa State, but rather a mutual learning experience.  I think that the peer education will be equally beneficial, and I hope to learn a lot about both my mentees and myself as an educator.