Peer Mentor Retreat

Last week we had a peer mentor retreat.  We started the retreat by playing Silas’ version of “the Hunger Games.”  This was an interactive game that focused on the importance of clear communication.  After grass-staining our jeans and taking some competitive dives for that can of pop, we returned indoors for a workshop about lesson plans.  During this activity we had a chance to talk to every other peer mentor about suggestions for better lesson planning.  Next year we will have to make several lesson plans for our recitation sections.  Some of the lesson topics we will be planning will be about finances, diversity and leadership, time and stress management, student wellness and goal setting, and Iowa State resources and history.  It was nice to be able to get everyone’s perspective on what a good lesson plan entails.  Some things that we talked about were interactive games and icebreakers that will help the students get to know each other better.  Also, we talked about including the objectives for our lesson plans and keeping track of time.  The organization and layout of the lesson plans were a hot topic as well.  It is important that they are easy to read/ understand so that another peer mentor could give your lesson if need be.  We also came up with lots of good points to include in our lesson plans for each topic.  Brainstorming with the entire class was very helpful, and our lesson plans are sure to be much better after the discussion.