Being a Peer Leader this semester was almost completely different from what I was expecting it to be.
From the outside, being a Peer Leader is simple. Meeting with first year students, who were all in a Learning Community of the same classes, twice a week can't be that hard, right? I applied because I loved my Peer Leader in my learning community and she gave me a special recognition out of all of the students in the LC, and I figured that I would be able to give back to first year students as well.
Well, there were a lot more factors than that in this part time job that was also so much more than a job. It taught me more about myself, helped me become a better leader, a better teacher, a mentor, and helped me be able to connect to people more easily.
To prepare the PLs, they had us go through a week of training, which after the month long training of being a Student Orientation Leader, didn't feel like enough. I did make lots of connections though, and I looked forward to the rest of the semester with this newly formed support network. Additionally, we had a Peer Leader Coordinator assigned to a group of about 15 PLs, and we were going to meet every Monday, as well as larger meetings every 3 or 4 weeks, so that was additional support on that end.
The first day, I walked into the classroom not sure of how the semester was going to go with my students. I had 19 students on the roster, but only 18 showed up, which was a nervewracking start. (One of them had even been in one of my small groups in his orientation.) I had lots of eyes watching me, but I felt unsure of everything. I was only a year older than these students, but they seemed to trust me as if I was a college graduate. I started lecturing and doing icebreakers off the materials I had prepared, but I didn't feel like they were really listening. As the first few weeks went on, my experiences with being president of Astronomy Club paralleled the experiences that I was having in my Learning Community. Both required much preparation beforehand and talking to a group of students for just under an hour. The only difference was that the students in Astronomy Club actually wanted to be there.
The first couple weeks dragged by, with me talking to them, as well as bringing in various speakers around the university. I enjoyed meeting some of the other PLs in our weekly meetings, and they did provide me with a sense of support as well. However, as much as the students were bonding, I could tell that they weren't completely satisfied with LC (and possibly not with me either). There were a few attendance issues for various reasons, which made my nerves a bit more frayed. I also had an office hour in the Peer Leader office, which students didn't come to at all throughout the semester (with the exception of a couple one on one meetings). The early semester survey confirmed that they weren't happy with LC, but to my surprise, they did like me as a Peer Leader. My Peer Leader Coordinator talked to me about the results, and told me that someone had to sit in and observe later in the semester, and I also had to sit in on someone else's LC.
I had also recently had my one-on-one conversations with my students, and they were surprisingly receptive. Some of them thanked me for my time, even though they knew it was mandatory for me to do so. During the one-on-ones, I asked them about their first semester, gave them some resources on campus, and practiced my active listening. I also asked them where I could improve my own teaching, and I was pleasantly surprised by some of their suggestions. They also said that the lack of a projector with an HDMI cable detracted from their experience, since I had to email the powerpoints out to them whenever I had one pre made for a lesson.
As the semester went on, I incorporated lots of what the students asked for into the lesson plans, and they seemed to open up more and more. I got to know them as people, with their idiosyncrasies and quirks, not just students, and I really enjoyed being the mentor for 19 amazing individuals. As the semester went on, they grew more attentive and open to most, if not all the activities, even the awkward ones like "Cross the Line", which dealt with diversity and students' pasts; this was because more often than not, I participated as well, showing them my more personal sides (and even my resume for a professional development lesson), not remaining as a untouchable teacher figure above them. I also continued to meet more people in the PL community, going to an Etiquette Dinner midway through the semester as well, and growing my network.
We were also required to take the Strengths Quest test, and I found out that my top five strengths were input, ideation, futuristic, strategic, and responsibility. As I went through the semester, we discussed this in some PLC meetings, helping us both find common ground, and helping us learn how to use our strengths and weaknesses in a group setting. I also reflected on these separately several times when I was feeling introspective throughout the semester, learning more about how my own mind worked, and helping me learn more about how to become an even better leader.
I sat in on another PL's LC, and found out that I was doing the same things as he was, so I chalked up the survey results to students just not wanting to be in LC. When the observer (who I fortunately knew from PL training) came in to watch my LC, my students behaved as if it was a normal LC, and played the game of Fact Baseball I had prepared, while chatting amongst themselves. I chatted with him, talking with him about the technology issues, how I taught, and my LC in general. He emailed me his assessment later that day, that said that I taught very well and had good command of the classroom, although my students were chatty, and suggested that Jeopardy might hold their attention better next time. He bought a HDMI to VGI convertor for future use of PLs for similar projectors, and I was touched by the thoughtfulness of the action.
The rest of the semester went pretty smoothly. There were a couple hard parts, with a few students having more than 2 absences, which is the maximum amount they are allowed to have before they have a failing mark put on their transcript. However, whether to pass or fail the students is up to the discretion of the Peer Leader, and since I judged the students had legitimate excuses, I didn't have to fail any of them. I also tried to organize a trip to the rec center pool the day before Thanksgiving, which was a disaster, because several students either went home for the holiday, or didn't have their swimsuit, so, as LC wasn't mandatory the day before Thanksgiving, I let them go play basketball even though I was already in the pool. But overall, issues with my LC were few and far between.
In one of the PL meetings, I got to choose my students who I wanted to recognize for being outstanding students in LC. These students would then be notified (as I had been the year before) in January. I chose two students who consistently participated, had positive attitudes, and engaged with the other students outside of class, which was actually a really hard decision. At this point, I was really attached to my students, and saw how great they all were.
As the semester wrapped up, we did a few final activities, including one where we passed around a sheet and gave compliments to each other. I participated so I could write compliments on everyone's sheet (and they would know which compliments were mine, because I have very distinctive cursive handwriting), and I was pleasantly surprised at how glowing their reviews of me were. I felt very accomplished, thanking the students for their kind words, and saved this paper as a reminder of how far I had come with my students in just 14 weeks. The final LC, we had a party, with a couple students bringing in snacks, playing music, and playing a version of team charades. I felt a sense of sadness as the students dissipated, encouraging them to stay in touch, but I knew that I had helped make their first semester of college an unforgettable one. I knew that I would never forget this experience either.
I've also attached a reflection for this honors experience tied in with several leadership theories here: Leadership Reflection
From the outside, being a Peer Leader is simple. Meeting with first year students, who were all in a Learning Community of the same classes, twice a week can't be that hard, right? I applied because I loved my Peer Leader in my learning community and she gave me a special recognition out of all of the students in the LC, and I figured that I would be able to give back to first year students as well.
Well, there were a lot more factors than that in this part time job that was also so much more than a job. It taught me more about myself, helped me become a better leader, a better teacher, a mentor, and helped me be able to connect to people more easily.
To prepare the PLs, they had us go through a week of training, which after the month long training of being a Student Orientation Leader, didn't feel like enough. I did make lots of connections though, and I looked forward to the rest of the semester with this newly formed support network. Additionally, we had a Peer Leader Coordinator assigned to a group of about 15 PLs, and we were going to meet every Monday, as well as larger meetings every 3 or 4 weeks, so that was additional support on that end.
The first day, I walked into the classroom not sure of how the semester was going to go with my students. I had 19 students on the roster, but only 18 showed up, which was a nervewracking start. (One of them had even been in one of my small groups in his orientation.) I had lots of eyes watching me, but I felt unsure of everything. I was only a year older than these students, but they seemed to trust me as if I was a college graduate. I started lecturing and doing icebreakers off the materials I had prepared, but I didn't feel like they were really listening. As the first few weeks went on, my experiences with being president of Astronomy Club paralleled the experiences that I was having in my Learning Community. Both required much preparation beforehand and talking to a group of students for just under an hour. The only difference was that the students in Astronomy Club actually wanted to be there.
The first couple weeks dragged by, with me talking to them, as well as bringing in various speakers around the university. I enjoyed meeting some of the other PLs in our weekly meetings, and they did provide me with a sense of support as well. However, as much as the students were bonding, I could tell that they weren't completely satisfied with LC (and possibly not with me either). There were a few attendance issues for various reasons, which made my nerves a bit more frayed. I also had an office hour in the Peer Leader office, which students didn't come to at all throughout the semester (with the exception of a couple one on one meetings). The early semester survey confirmed that they weren't happy with LC, but to my surprise, they did like me as a Peer Leader. My Peer Leader Coordinator talked to me about the results, and told me that someone had to sit in and observe later in the semester, and I also had to sit in on someone else's LC.
I had also recently had my one-on-one conversations with my students, and they were surprisingly receptive. Some of them thanked me for my time, even though they knew it was mandatory for me to do so. During the one-on-ones, I asked them about their first semester, gave them some resources on campus, and practiced my active listening. I also asked them where I could improve my own teaching, and I was pleasantly surprised by some of their suggestions. They also said that the lack of a projector with an HDMI cable detracted from their experience, since I had to email the powerpoints out to them whenever I had one pre made for a lesson.
As the semester went on, I incorporated lots of what the students asked for into the lesson plans, and they seemed to open up more and more. I got to know them as people, with their idiosyncrasies and quirks, not just students, and I really enjoyed being the mentor for 19 amazing individuals. As the semester went on, they grew more attentive and open to most, if not all the activities, even the awkward ones like "Cross the Line", which dealt with diversity and students' pasts; this was because more often than not, I participated as well, showing them my more personal sides (and even my resume for a professional development lesson), not remaining as a untouchable teacher figure above them. I also continued to meet more people in the PL community, going to an Etiquette Dinner midway through the semester as well, and growing my network.
We were also required to take the Strengths Quest test, and I found out that my top five strengths were input, ideation, futuristic, strategic, and responsibility. As I went through the semester, we discussed this in some PLC meetings, helping us both find common ground, and helping us learn how to use our strengths and weaknesses in a group setting. I also reflected on these separately several times when I was feeling introspective throughout the semester, learning more about how my own mind worked, and helping me learn more about how to become an even better leader.
I sat in on another PL's LC, and found out that I was doing the same things as he was, so I chalked up the survey results to students just not wanting to be in LC. When the observer (who I fortunately knew from PL training) came in to watch my LC, my students behaved as if it was a normal LC, and played the game of Fact Baseball I had prepared, while chatting amongst themselves. I chatted with him, talking with him about the technology issues, how I taught, and my LC in general. He emailed me his assessment later that day, that said that I taught very well and had good command of the classroom, although my students were chatty, and suggested that Jeopardy might hold their attention better next time. He bought a HDMI to VGI convertor for future use of PLs for similar projectors, and I was touched by the thoughtfulness of the action.
The rest of the semester went pretty smoothly. There were a couple hard parts, with a few students having more than 2 absences, which is the maximum amount they are allowed to have before they have a failing mark put on their transcript. However, whether to pass or fail the students is up to the discretion of the Peer Leader, and since I judged the students had legitimate excuses, I didn't have to fail any of them. I also tried to organize a trip to the rec center pool the day before Thanksgiving, which was a disaster, because several students either went home for the holiday, or didn't have their swimsuit, so, as LC wasn't mandatory the day before Thanksgiving, I let them go play basketball even though I was already in the pool. But overall, issues with my LC were few and far between.
In one of the PL meetings, I got to choose my students who I wanted to recognize for being outstanding students in LC. These students would then be notified (as I had been the year before) in January. I chose two students who consistently participated, had positive attitudes, and engaged with the other students outside of class, which was actually a really hard decision. At this point, I was really attached to my students, and saw how great they all were.
As the semester wrapped up, we did a few final activities, including one where we passed around a sheet and gave compliments to each other. I participated so I could write compliments on everyone's sheet (and they would know which compliments were mine, because I have very distinctive cursive handwriting), and I was pleasantly surprised at how glowing their reviews of me were. I felt very accomplished, thanking the students for their kind words, and saved this paper as a reminder of how far I had come with my students in just 14 weeks. The final LC, we had a party, with a couple students bringing in snacks, playing music, and playing a version of team charades. I felt a sense of sadness as the students dissipated, encouraging them to stay in touch, but I knew that I had helped make their first semester of college an unforgettable one. I knew that I would never forget this experience either.
I've also attached a reflection for this honors experience tied in with several leadership theories here: Leadership Reflection