MKO- beyond Vygotsky -adult peer mentoring in HE at an FE college Lynsey Lapwood and Dr. Paul Demetriou-Crane, Havering College of Further and Higher Education

Rationale Increasing numbers of learners on Levels 4, 5 and 6 of FD in Supporting Teaching and Learning struggling with academic work Group sizes increased so more difficult for teacher to support them individually Tutorial hours also cut so support difficult outside class

Some conclusions from the literature Peer mentoring helps mentees learn how to learn’ at a higher level without teacher intervention (Cox and Bidgood,2001) Peer mentoring is also an effective way of developing self confidence and independence in mentees (Topping, 1996) Student peer mentors are able to develop valuable transferable employability skills (Andrews and Clark 2011)

Research objectives To develop a peer mentoring scheme to support identified struggling learners on the FD programme To evaluate the effectiveness of peer mentoring on adult learners both as Mentors and Mentees

Outline of the project In the first 4 weeks of term Tutors identified several learners across levels 4 level, 5 and 6 who had low English/Math diagnostics/ consistently achieved low grades (-59)/ those lacking confidence. 5 of these learners volunteered to take part in the research. 5 learners from Levels 5 and 6 volunteered to be peer mentors

Mentor training The 5 mentors received 2 hours of training in mentoring and coaching and a certificate of attendance. Mentors will be able to use their training as evidence for future interviews/progression. Mentors have been provided with guidelines of participation, confidentiality and involvement

The intervention Mentors will be supported by six monthly group meetings of one hour, facilitated by us. This will be an opportunity to feedback any success/problems. Mentors will be asked to provide regular blogs detailing their experiences to be posted on the college’s Moodle site Mentors and Mentees will also have the opportunity to meet privately with us for a half hour session if required.

The intervention Mentees will be provided with a feedback questionnaire in December 2017 and May 2018 to evaluate their experiences regarding the mentoring process and its effectiveness.

Moodle site for mentors

Support for mentors

Prezi training

Prezi training Theory Clutterbuck (2012) GROW – Coaching model

Evaluation of peer mentoring training session A good, informative introductory session. The videos were helpful and gave useful advise. More practical suggestions on the individual's needs would have been helpful, but I guess at this stage a lot of it is unknown and a bit of a learning curve. Also, as the programme is still in it's infancy, information on how wide and varied the role will become was unclear. Overall, I am intrigued to see how I can help my mentee and what value the programme can bring. Hi Lynsey and Paul Thank you for an informative training session. This session was helpful to clarify my role as a mentor. I am looking forward to supporting xxxx. The peer mentoring site is great for reflection and guidance. The Peer Mentoring session was beneficial to understand the expectations and role that I have undertaken. As it is a new pilot scheme, it was good to meet the other mentors to ascertain their views and opinions and to voice concerns as a group. In the future, maybe it would be a good idea to have a follow up informal meeting with all the mentor's and mentee's as this would help to introduce each other and put 'names to faces'. As one of the ladies mentioned a copy of the module guide for the particular level would help to understand the outcomes of the assignments ahead, as some of the content may have changed slightly. Overall, I feel that listening to previous student encounters, can enhance and develop new student experiences and it is a positive move in the right direction

Announcements

Private peer mentoring blog So far…. 8 posts

The journey continues…

References Andrews, J. & Clark, R.(2011) Peer Mentoring Works! How Peer Mentoring Enhances Student Success in Higher Education. University of Aston. Cox W & Bidgood P (2001) Where are we now? – Learning from Subject Review in MSOR, MSOR Topping, K.J., (1996). ‘The Effectiveness of Peer Tutoring in Further and Higher Education: A Typology and Review of the Literature’. Higher Education. 32. pp. 321-345.