Developing Effective Student Peer Mentoring Programs

Developing Effective Student Peer Mentoring Programs
Author: Peter J. Collier
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 397
Release: 2023-07-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 100097717X

At a time when college completion is a major issue, and there is particular concern about the retention of underserved student populations, peer mentoring programs offer one solution to promoting student success. This is a comprehensive resource for creating, refining and sustaining effective student peer mentoring programs. While providing a blueprint for successfully designing programs for a wide range of audiences – from freshmen to doctoral students – it also offers specific guidance on developing programs targeting three large groups of under-served students: first-generation students, international students and student veterans.This guidebook is divided into two main sections. The opening section begins by reviewing the issue of degree non-completion, as well as college adjustment challenges that all students and those in each of the targeted groups face. Subsequent chapters in section one explore models of traditional and non-traditional student transition, persistence and belonging, address what peer mentoring can realistically achieve, and present a rubric for categorizing college student peer-mentoring programs. The final chapter in section one provides a detailed framework for assessing students’ adjustment issues to determine which ones peer mentoring programs can appropriately address. Section two of the guidebook shifts from the theoretical to the practical by covering the nuts and bolts of developing a college student peer-mentoring program. The initial chapter in section two covers a range of design issues including establishing a program timeline, developing a budget, securing funding, getting commitments from stakeholders, hiring staff, recruiting mentors and mentees, and developing policies and procedures. Subsequent chapters analyze the strengths and limitations of different program delivery options, from paired and group face-to-face mentoring to their e-mentoring equivalents; offer guidance on the creation of program content and resources for mentors and mentees, and provide mentor training exercises and curricular guidelines. Section two concludes by outlining processes for evaluating programs, including setting goals, collecting appropriate data, and methods of analysis; and by offering advice on sustaining and institutionalizing programs. Each chapter opens with a case study illustrating its principal points. This book is primarily intended as a resource for student affairs professionals and program coordinators who are developing new peer-mentoring programs or considering refining existing ones. It may also serve as a text in courses designed to train future peer mentors and leaders.

Perceptions of First-year College Students

Perceptions of First-year College Students
Author: Dyan Robinson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2018
Genre: College freshmen
ISBN:

Almost half of the students who begin college are not retained at the institution in which they began. The purpose of this research was to explore the perceptions of first-year college students and the impact peer mentoring has on student success. This quantitative study utilized the College Student Mentoring Scale to measure perceptions of first-year students. The survey questions students on interrelated constructs which are, Psychological and Emotional Support, Degree and Career Support, Academic Subject Knowledge Support and The Existence of a Role Model. The research found that gender and academic background are factors that impact first-year students’ perceptions of a peer mentoring. Additional findings indicated that response levels were highest for the areas of Academic Subject Knowledge Support and The Existence of a Role Model. It is the intention that this study will add to the limited existent research on peer mentoring in higher education. Also, it will assist in future policies and practices by providing a foundation of the components that influence first-year student success through improving effectiveness of peer mentoring programs.

Effectiveness of Peer Mentoring in First-year Program Classrooms

Effectiveness of Peer Mentoring in First-year Program Classrooms
Author: Katherine Casey
Publisher:
Total Pages: 91
Release: 2013
Genre: College student orientation
ISBN:

First-year programs (FYPs) for college students offer extended orientation to campus resources and provide first-time freshmen with essential skills for academic success, and many believe that the effectiveness of FYPs increases with the presence of peer mentors. The present study measured the added effectiveness of peer mentoring in FYP classrooms with knowledge of campus resources as a dependent measure. Ninety one first-year students in nine sections of FYP classes participated in this quasi-experimental study. Seven of the classes had peer mentors (n = 70), and the two control classes (n = 21) did not have peer mentors in the classroom. A 30-item questionnaire regarding the use and location of several campus resources was administered in the first two weeks of the Fall 2009 semester and again in the last two weeks of the semester. A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a main effect of time (change between Testing Time 1 and Testing Time 2) and an interaction effect of time and group (students with peer mentors, controls without peer mentors), on knowledge of campus resources. Students with a peer mentor started out with less knowledge of campus resources, and finished the semester with a similar level of knowledge, when compared to controls. The results only partially supported the research hypothesis that students with peer mentors in their FYP classes learned more about campus resources when compared to students without peer mentors. GPA scores for the first semester at the university did not differ between groups.

Perceptions and Expectations of College Students Choosing to Become Peer Mentors

Perceptions and Expectations of College Students Choosing to Become Peer Mentors
Author: Matthew Hicks
Publisher:
Total Pages: 71
Release: 2017
Genre: Peer teaching
ISBN:

Peer mentoring programs are a popular means of supporting students in transition in higher education. The success of these programs is based on the students who decide to become peer mentors. Further, institutions often have a variety of peer mentoring programs on their campuses that create varying experiences. The intent on this study was to identify best practices for recruiting peer mentors. The study utilized a quantitative instrument designed to reflect what previous literature suggested had been the positive outcomes of peer mentoring. A total of 110 student leaders at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville participated in the study, representing 11 peer mentoring roles. Levels of influence were measured for 13 different factors hypothesized to affect a student's decision to become a peer mentor. The results of the study suggested that the factors: helping fellow students, enhance leadership skills, and improve communication skills were most influential to college students choosing to become peer mentors. Additionally, it was found that different peer mentoring roles are influenced by factors at varying levels. Recommendations are provided to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of peer mentor recruitment campaigns. Recommendations include: creating a common marketing strategy for recruiting peer mentors at individual institutions, adjusting marketing strategies to recruit diverse peer mentors, intentionally recruiting to students who are mentees within a peer mentoring program, and developing a common recruitment timeline amongst peer mentoring roles at individual institutions.

Undergraduate Curricular Peer Mentoring Programs

Undergraduate Curricular Peer Mentoring Programs
Author: Tania Smith
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2013
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0739179322

Whether or not a college currently offers a Supplemental Instruction program, uses peer leaders in First-year Learning Community, or assigns Peer Tutors to courses, Undergraduate Peer Mentoring Programs will provide educators with concepts, examples, and findings useful for pr...

Mentorability

Mentorability
Author: Victoria Gandaría Black
Publisher:
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2020
Genre:
ISBN:

Higher education institutions have emphasized retention as one of the measurable outcomes linked with institutional performance, state and federal funding appropriations, and publicized rankings (Hagedorn, 2012). Therefore, higher education institutions intentionally have become more focused on providing a robust first-year college experience, including high-impact practices intended to help with adjustment, transition, and retention of students during their first year. One high-impact practice is a formal mentoring program focused on relationship building, positive peer support, and social guidance (Kuh, Cruce, Shoup, Kinzie, & Gonyea, 2008; Kuh, Kinzie, Buckley, Bridges & Hayek, 2006). More specifically, peer mentoring is an important component of a student’s first year and undergraduate experience (Crisp & Cruz, 2009; Crisp et al., 2017; Gershenfeld, 2014; Jacobi, 1991; Miller, 2004). Mentorability is a term that conceptualizes mentees’ ability to engage in a mutually beneficial and developmental relationship (Reddick, 2014). It focuses on mentees understanding of their role and responsibilities engaging in the relationship. This study employed a phenomenological approach in examining how 17 mentees described their lived experiences of and how they perceived their ability to commit, contribute, and engage in a peer mentoring partnership in a formal mentoring program at an Hispanic Serving Institution. The key findings of the study demonstrated: (1) mentorability as a process: from unclear expectations to viewing a mentor as a lifeline for success; (2) mentees as information seekers and mentors as influential contributors; and (3) communication and open-mindedness as key mentee contributions, trust as a gatekeeper for relationship formation, and mentorability as multi-level of exchange including understanding a mentee’s role extends beyond the reciprocity with the mentor to other peers. Drawing from three social science theories, this study introduces a mentorability conceptual model for practice derived from findings from the study (Astin, 1993; Lin, 2001; Cropanzano et al., 2017). Additional findings, and implications for future research, practice, and theory are discussed

Community College Students’ Perceptions of the Effects of Peer Mentoring on Their Sense of Belonging

Community College Students’ Perceptions of the Effects of Peer Mentoring on Their Sense of Belonging
Author: Bryan Keith Sullins
Publisher:
Total Pages: 118
Release: 2020
Genre: Community college students
ISBN:

Community college students are less likely to complete their educational objectives than are students who attend 4-year institutions. Students who opt out of the recommended remedial coursework in the foundational subjects of reading, writing, and math may be further disadvantaged when attempting college level coursework. As one way to reduce this disadvantage, peer mentoring’s positive influence on retention, student development, and success in college is well-documented in higher education literature. Additionally, an increasing number of research articles espouse students’ sense of belonging as a critical factor in these same areas. What the extant literature fails to closely examine are the ways in which peer mentoring influences the two dimensions of sense of belonging in college--peer belonging and institutional attachment. This is a descriptive study designed to explore students' perceptions and experiences surrounding the ways in which the peer mentor relationships affected their sense of belonging in college. Using exemplar methodology, I selected mentees who exhibited at least one of the criteria of well-mentored students--students who were mentored in accordance with the college's QEP requirements. The findings in this study suggest sense of belonging was affected by peer mentor interventions. Semi-structured interviews with the well-mentored students in this study suggest when peer mentors behaved in accordance with the exemplar criteria, sense of belonging was improved. With few exceptions, all three participants credited their peer mentors with having influenced their sense of belonging. This study sheds light on the underexplored association between peer mentoring and sense of belonging. The findings in this study suggest peer mentoring is an effective strategy to influence sense of belonging in the areas of connectedness, engagement, and transition. Peer mentors serve as facilitators of sense of belonging when they bridge academic and social aspects of college life for students whom they mentor. The experience gained in this study may be informative to the design, evaluation, or redesign of peer mentor programs at other higher education institutions.

The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM

The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2020-01-24
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309497299

Mentorship is a catalyst capable of unleashing one's potential for discovery, curiosity, and participation in STEMM and subsequently improving the training environment in which that STEMM potential is fostered. Mentoring relationships provide developmental spaces in which students' STEMM skills are honed and pathways into STEMM fields can be discovered. Because mentorship can be so influential in shaping the future STEMM workforce, its occurrence should not be left to chance or idiosyncratic implementation. There is a gap between what we know about effective mentoring and how it is practiced in higher education. The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM studies mentoring programs and practices at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It explores the importance of mentorship, the science of mentoring relationships, mentorship of underrepresented students in STEMM, mentorship structures and behaviors, and institutional cultures that support mentorship. This report and its complementary interactive guide present insights on effective programs and practices that can be adopted and adapted by institutions, departments, and individual faculty members.

Undergraduate Peer Mentors Serving Underrepresented Students at a Predominantly White Institution

Undergraduate Peer Mentors Serving Underrepresented Students at a Predominantly White Institution
Author: Jennifer Lee Smith
Publisher:
Total Pages: 536
Release: 2014
Genre:
ISBN:

Higher education is facing national calls for increased graduation and retention rates (Good, Halpin, & Halpin, 2000; Obama, 2009). In an effort to answer these calls, administrators are using peer mentoring programs to provide social, personal, and academic support to first-year students (Crisp & Cruz, 2009; Jacobi, 1991). This study drew on the disciplines of business, medicine, and higher education to demonstrate the prevalence of mentoring (Crisp & Cruz, 2009; Buddeberg-Fischer & Herta, 2006; Scandura, 1992). Focusing on the area of higher education, the existing literature supports the positive effects of peer mentoring for mentees, but there is a dearth of information regarding the lived experiences of undergraduate peer mentors. As institutions continue to seek ways to support students from underrepresented populations through the use of peer mentor programs, it is critical for administrators to clearly understand both sides of the mentoring relationship in order to use it as an effective educational tool. Moreover, peer mentor programs also utilize the unique influence peers possess in order to create supportive environments for underrepresented students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the lived experiences of undergraduate peer mentors who served underrepresented students at a predominantly white institution. Utilizing a phenomenological approach, this study adapted the psychosocial and vocational functions of mentoring in relation to the development of the mentor in order to understand how peer mentors experienced their role, interactions with mentees, and feelings of connectedness to the institution (Kram & Isabella, 1985). Additionally, Schlossberg's transition theory, specifically the coping resources of the 4S's (situation, self, support, and strategies) were utilized to understand how peer mentors experienced their transition from mentee to mentor (Goodman, Schlossberg, & Anderson, 2006, Seidman, 2006).