Global Utilities

Science, Technology and Engineering

In2science Peer Mentoring Program


Maximising the benefits of having a Peer Mentor in the classroom
- Information for teachers

Introduction

In2science Peer Mentoring offers a wide range of benefits to both teachers and their students. Through involvement in the program, teachers can identify specific benefits they would like to achieve and through discussions with the Peer Mentor, work together to achieve them.

Working with a Peer Mentor can:

  • Help your students to think for themselves and improve their problem solving skills
  • Help your students develop good oral skills
  • Communicate with your students in a language they understand
  • Help improve your students academic performance and help raise their aspirations
  • Help build on what your students already know and understand
  • Help your students develop their powers of reasoning
  • Help your students develop their practical skills
  • Most importantly, impart the enthusiasm they have for studying Science and Maths

Many benefits will occur naturally through just having the Peer Mentor present in the classroom, interacting with the students.

back to list

Potential benefits for school students

Potential benefit – School students

How to Maximise Benefits

Opportunity to meet positive role models in Science and Mathematics.

  • By ensuring the Peer Mentor has the opportunity to interact with the students and engage in discussions with them.

A new dimension and interest to study Science.

  • Peer Mentors can allow teachers to try new engaging activities otherwise unable to be undertaken without their support.
  • All Peer Mentors have a passion for their studies and have expertise in their own field of study.
  • Students do perceive the Mentors as ‘Scientists’.
  • Where possible teachers should encourage the Peer Mentors to make a presentation to the class about their studies or an aspect which they are particularly interested in.

More individual attention and additional support with work.

  • Having a Peer Mentor present can give students twice as much individual attention.
  • Peer Mentors can be encouraged to talk to individuals and support them in their work.
  • Teachers must ensure the Peer Mentor’s time is not monopolised by any one individual.
  • Teachers can direct the Peer Mentor to particular students who need support/extension as appropriate.

Improved oral communication skills by talking tasks through.

  • Teachers can allow more time for discissions both on an individual and a group basis, seeking input from both the Peer Mentor and the students.
  • Teachers can ecourage their students to explain tasks to the Peer Mentor as a way of reinforcing their own understanding.

Improved academic performance though additional support and understanding.

  • By allowing students to work through a problem with the Peer Mentor they can gain greater confidence in their understanding.
  • Peer Mentors can be used to teach specific aspects of a topic to small groups of students.
  • Peer Mentors can be used as part of a revision lesson.

Greater enjoyment of lessons.
  • Peer Mentors give a new dimension to the lesson and allow teachers to have greater flexibility in the classroom. This often results in more enjoyable lessons.
  • Teachers can encourage the Peer Mentor to bring items in to show the students or help arrange visits to the university.

Improved understanding of topics.
  • Where possible teachers can try to cover topics that work to the strengths of the Peer Mentors.
  • Peer Mentors will often offer the students an alternative explanation to a problem and this will help build a students understanding.

Stimulation to go on to further study/education.

  • Mentoring can make a positive contribution to a student’s aspiration for further study. They can dispel myths and discuss first hand experiences of the benefits.

Gain an insight into university.
  • Teachers can encourage Peer Mentors to talk about university and encourage your students to ask questions.
  • Teachers can encourage the Peer Mentor to talk about their time at university and what study entails.

back to list

Potential benefits for teachers      

Potential benefit – Class Teachers

How to Maximise Benefits

Free classroom assistance and support.

  • Teachers should aim to avoid didactic lessons, tests or videos.

More freedom to manage the learning environment.

  • Complete the ‘Outcomes Planning’ form to target aspects teachers wish to improve through the support of a Peer Mentor.
  • Teachers must establish lines of communication at the start of the placement with the Peer Mentor to keep them up to date on what they are trying to achieve each lesson.
  • Teachers can use the Peer Mentor for support to manage the class in different ways; use work stations or group tasks and discussions.

Opportunity to try/learn new experiments.
  • Teachers should complete the ‘Outcomes planning form’ to identify experiments they wish to improve through the support of a Peer Mentor.
  • Teachers should read the In2science newsletters to see how other Peer Mentors are being used.
  • Teachers can invite Peer Mentors to lead a session or conduct an experiment.
  • Teachers can get the Peer Mentor to act as a demonstrator for small groups of students.

Develop new teaching resources or projects.
  • Teachers can share ideas through the In2science newsletter.
  • Teachers can encourage Peer Mentors to suggest activities they would like to do.

Lessons which are more enjoyable and easier to manage.

  • Through having the extra pair of hands in the class, students will be kept on task more therefore less likely to be disruptive.
  • The extra person in the room allows teachers to have more individual time with students.

Improved opportunity for oral work and efficient learning.

  • Teachers should aim to facilitate the Peer Mentor interacting with the students and engaging in conversation.
  • Teachers must ensure individual students don’t monopolise the Peer Mentors time.
  • Peer Mentors all receive training in communication and questioning techniques.

Benefits for excursions.

  • Peer Mentors have proven themselves to be extremely useful on fieldtrips, reducing the number of staff required to attend from the school.
  • Mentors have helped planned activities and trips.

Increased student engagement.
  • Teachers can encourage Peer Mentors to bring in items to show or demonstrate.
  • Where possible teachers can try to facilitate a visit to the university for the class with the support of the Peer Mentor.
  • Teachers can encourage their students and Peer Mentor to contribute to the In2science newsletters about the work they are doing.

An opportunity to learn about university students and courses.

  • Teachers can encourage the Peer Mentors to talk about what they study.
  • Teachers can facilitate opportunities for the Peer Mentors to talk to students.
  • Teachers can take students on campus.

The opportunity to discuss the latest issues in Science.

  • Teachers can allow some time to talk about current issues with the Peer Mentor.
  • Highlight and share issues in the In2science newsletter.

The chance to gain some subject specific professional development.
  • Teachers can seek help from the universities to find out about new topics.
  • Teachers can look out for invites to university based activities and seminars.
  • Teachers can feel free to contact the Peer Mentoring Coordinator for help seeking academics able to offer advice and support.

The opportunity to make links with the University Science faculties.

  • Teachers can feel free to contact the Peer Mentoring Coordinator for help in establishing links or visits.

back to list

How to introduce the Peer Mentor to your class

How the class is introduced to the concept of having a Peer Mentor is very important to the process of Peer Mentoring.

It is important that both the teacher and the students know what the Peer Mentor’s role is and why they are there.

Here are some suggestions that may help in the initial stages:

  • Talk to the class prior to the first visit of the Peer Mentor.
  • You can tell them a little about the Peer Mentor; what they study and where.
  • If you are doing a topic which is the Peer Mentor’s specialism tell your students about this.
  • Tell your students when the Peer Mentor will be coming in.
  • Tell your students the Peer Mentor’s role is to help them get more out of the science lessons and talk to them about the science they are doing.
  • It is important to tell them that Peer Mentors are not student teachers (though many may be interested in a career in teaching).
  • Peer Mentors are not there to test or judge the students but to engage in the lesson with them.
  • Introduce Mentors using their first name. This helps show the students that their role is different.
  • If possible talk about what you are going to be doing with the class when the Peer Mentor is there.
  • Tell the students it is an opportunity for them and you.
  • On the first day take time to formally introduce the Peer Mentor to your students.
  • Get the students to have name badges on their desk to help the Peer Mentor learn their names.


back to list

How to use the Peer Mentor to support General class activities

Peer Mentors can be extremely useful to support students while working individually on tasks. Students working on textbook or worksheet questions will often put a lot of demand on the teacher as they ask for help.

  • The Peer Mentor becomes an extra person offering advice and support and sometimes alternative explanations. Peer Mentors are encouraged to focus on helping students who are ‘on task’. This acts as a good motivator to the students that to get the Peer Mentors attention they need to be talking about the work.
  • Try where possible to ensure the Peer Mentor has the information in advance of a lesson so they can be familiar with what you are trying to achieve.
  • Allocate the Peer Mentor to a group of students who may need more help or who may need stretching (they could sit together on a separate table).
  • To avoid the Peer Mentor’s time being monopolised by certain individuals help by checking they have genuine questions for the Peer Mentor.
  • Be aware that sometimes students will ask for help from the Peer Mentor instead of you. Students have said they are sometimes reluctant to ask the teacher, who they see as assessing/judging them, especially if it they are unsure about something that has been explained in a previous lesson.
  • Some teachers have found they are able to focus on working with the quieter, middle ability students while the Mentor looks after the others who are asking for help.
  • Try to have a discussion phase in the lesson, going through the answers that the students have done. This way the Peer Mentor can be actively involved in the feedback process and contribute their views to the class as a whole. Mentors often comment that they would like to contribute to whole class discussions more often.

back to list

Group work
Peer Mentors offer the ideal opportunity to integrate more group work into your lessons.

Try allocating the Peer Mentor to a specific group to work with (less/more able) for a whole session.

  • The Peer Mentor could be told to spend 10 minutes with each group to talk them through a particular aspect of the work.
  • Students could use work stations to look at different aspects of a topic. The Peer Mentor could be used to manage one of these work stations.
  • Peer Mentors undertake some training in managing discussions with small groups. As they are not the person ultimately assessing them students often feel more relaxed and willing to participate in such circumstances. Being able to communicate their understanding of a topic is very important and the Peer Mentor can be an ideal person to facilitate such discussions. You may like to give an issue relating to Science to the Peer Mentor that they could discuss with a different small group each week for 15 minutes.

back to list

Practicals and experiments
Many schools have found they are able to do more and varied practicals when the Peer Mentor is working with a class.

  • To maximise the benefits, try to plan for practicals and experiments to be on the day the Peer Mentor visits as the extra pair of hands will be valuable.
  • Try asking the Peer Mentor if they know of experiments that they would like to try with the class.
  • Where possible allow the Peer Mentor to act as a demonstrator, especially if the experiment is one that would normally be done by the teacher.
  • Allow the Peer Mentor to talk about the need for accuracy before an experiment as this is an important skill to pass on to the students.
  • Peer Mentors can be used to either work with a particular group on an experiment of they can wonder round offering help and advice.
  • Encourage your students to talk to the Peer Mentor about the experiment as verbalising the activity helps them learn and shows they understand.
  • Peer Mentors can be used to demonstrate extension practicals or experiments for those able students who finish early. This could be a real world example of the activity they have just done.
  • You could use a Peer Mentor to support a more able group of students to do a more advanced version of the experiment. This may require the Peer Mentor to give a more detailed explanation of something or to help them set up different equipment.
  • Try to ensure that at the end of the lesson (or the next lesson the Peer Mentor is in) there is time to discuss the experiment and the results the students have found. All too often students see a negative result as failure whereas they could use it as a learning exercise.

back to list

Projects and investigations
Having a Peer Mentor working with a class could allow you to take a different approach to delivering a topic.

  • Some teachers have set up special projects to teach a topic that they only run when the Mentor is present. This helps the Peer Mentor with continuity and gives the students a sense of doing something different.
  • Peer Mentors will be able to offer subject specialism as an ‘expert’.
  • Peer Mentors can be used to support students in planning and preparation for a project or investigation, having developed these skills themselves.
  • Peer Mentors can be used to support research for topics in an ICT room or library away from the main classroom.
  • Peer Mentors are valuable for explaining the need for testing in projects and trial and error.
  • Ask the Peer Mentor if they can introduce a project, giving a background to the issue or problem. Often a different person introducing it can make the activity different.
  • Peer Mentors can be extremely useful for problem based learning activities. Devising problem tasks help engage the students and offer the Peer Mentor the opportunity to interact fully with the students. All problem based learning needs:
    • To be engaging
    • Multi staged
    • Complex
    • Open ended
    • Covers the content you wish

    Peer Mentors can take on many different roles in such activities. They can act as an ‘expert’ especially if it is their field of study. They can take on a role or character that the students have to liaise with in order to complete the task. They can act as a judge or assessor.

  • Peer Mentors can be used as a contact point to the universities to source materials or arrange visits.

back to list

At the end of a placement

It is important that your students know when the Peer Mentors last day with them will be. You will be amazed at how attached some students do get and the opportunity to say goodbye will be important to them. Peer Mentors also get attached to the students and value the chance to say goodbye.

Remember that, at all times, the Peer Mentor must remain under your direct supervision. They should not be left alone with a class or directed to take a student out of the room for one-to-one tutoring

 

back to list

Conclusion

Whatever methods you employ to use the Mentor in your lesson there are a multitude of benefits for all involved.

If you have any concerns or need advice feel free to contact the Peer Mentoring Coordinator.

Also it would be great to get feedback from teachers about activities and successes that we can share with others through our newsletter. Articles can be written by teachers, students or Peer Mentors and photos can be included (please ensure permission is sought prior to sending).

back to list