#peer mentoring

At the start of this week, I attended the annual Heads’ Conference. HMC is an association of Heads from the top independent schools in the UK and also some international schools. One of the presentations that I enjoyed was on the work being done through the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University.

As part of the program, researchers looked into interventions and initiatives that were effective in promoting pupil wellbeing in schools and eight different areas were identified as having the greatest positive impact:

Initiatives that foster close social relationships

Character skill interventions

Physical activity

Learning activities that cultivate meaning and purpose

Music and the arts

Service and volunteering

Connecting with nature

Playfulness and humour

I am sure that most of these will not come as a surprise to any of us and it was reassuring to know that many of the opportunities and activities at Bablake are aligned to these areas. Here in school, these range from our extensive sporting, arts and volunteering programmes to how we work to strengthen links between year groups, with great initiatives such as peer mentoring.

I thought it was interesting that humour was included and the researchers said that this was something that UK schools did particularly well. I do tend to start my Sixth Form lessons with a ‘dad joke’, but I never thought that it would help with their mathematics; however, I heard that neuroscience research suggests that humour can improve students’ memory or academic content. I am not sure we can force humour into the school day, but frequently I hear laughter resonating in the building and long may it continue!

Peer mentoring: Entrepreneurship in the new normal

An entrepreneur’s journey is all the time attention-grabbing. However, it may also be a lonely, lengthy highway, particularly in the course of the present difficult time. The Covid-19 second wave has taken a heavy toll on human lives and companies alike. Mindful of the truth that many companies are in survival mode, ASCENT Foundation, a not-for-profit initiative of Harsh Mariwala (chairman of…

Mentoring Month

The month of January is National Mentoring Month and as a university, we know mentoring. Whether it’s the care and guidance of a special professor, time spent with a tutor to get you through that one tough class, or the various programs that allow CSU students to connect with children in the school district, mentor relationships are all around us.

Today, January 29th, is #ThankYourMentor Day. We thought we’d take the opportunity to thank our CSU mentors – in all their glorious forms. “Thank you!”

And amidst this strange pandemic era, a special shout-out goes to the First Year Experience (FYE) peer mentoring program, working hard to get our first-year students through remote learning. For a little more about FYE, read on.

First Year Experience

The First Year Experience (FYE) Peer Mentor Program works to support first-year undergraduate students with their transition into college. As resources and role models, the peer mentor team – all current students themselves – has grown tremendously since its start in 2017, with 53 out of 67 sections of Introduction to University Life (ASC 101) paired with members of the FYE team.

Funded by a grant from the PNC Foundation, the peer mentor program provides student employees with a unique job opportunity that allows for the development of communication, teamwork, event planning, and conflict resolution skills. While the main goal of the mentorship is to help students acclimate to CSU, it is definitely a win-win for all involved.

“One aspect of the program that keeps me coming back every semester is the relationships I have been able to form with students, coworkers, and everyone else involved in the program,” shared junior Julia Rausch, a peer mentor with a major in Mathematics Education. “The feeling of helping a student find what they needed or overcome a challenge they were facing is so rewarding and makes the job that much more worth it.”

Peer mentors work with ASC 101 instructors in preparing for the course, refer students to campus resources, and coordinate out of class activities that are a part of the ASC curriculum. Peer mentors also attend the class they are working with and often share advice with students since they have experience being a first-year student.

To adjust with the transition to remote learning, peer mentors -have been challenged with finding innovative ways to keep students connected. The mentors planned over 200 events including trivia nights, Kahoot games, and PowerPoint parties where students shared pictures of their pets.

PERSIST (PEeRS In STem) Info Session this Thursday   

Professional Development opportunity for visual artists:

Open call for artists who are out of education for a minimum of 5 years to participate in a year-long programme of monthly peer mentoring forums. The forums will be composed of a mixed group of visual artists who are with and without disability with the mix envisaged as 50/50. The monthly forums will be held at The Showroom, London, and disabled artists will have the option to participate from their base/home via remote access.

Applications are welcome from visual artists who are interested in collaboration and in pushing the boundaries of their artistic practice, with applications from disabled artists especially welcome. Participants will be expected to attend an introductory evening as well as all 12 forums, and to actively engage in the programme through peer crits, discussions, workshops, and talks by art specialists. The project is scheduled to begin late-May with an introductory evening to be followed by the start of the forums on the second Monday of June 2018. Thereafter, the forum will meet on the second Monday of each month.

Deadline extended: Applications close at midnight on Sunday, 6th May, 2018.

The Praxis-Forum project is initiated by Jackie Castellano with support from The Showroom, LUX, Acme Studios, ArtQuest and DisabilityArtsOnline. It is made possible by Arts Council England through their Lottery Funded Grants for the Arts programme.

For further information on the project, and to obtain an application form please contact: [email protected]

website - https://praxis-forum.tumblr.com

The Praxis-Forum project offers a new form of professional development that seeks to enable artists with disabilities to engage with the art community outside of the disabled art context through participation in a programme of monthly peer mentoring forums. The forums will be composed of a mixed group of visual artists, in a 50/50 ratio, who are with and without disabilities. Disabled artists will have the option to attend from their home/base via remote access, this will remove one of the main obstacles that many who have mobility problems face in progressing their career.

The programme aims to foster mutual understanding and the professional development of both groups by exploring shared experience, the promotion of collegiality and the better integration of disabled artists into mainstream visual arts culture. The project begins with an introductory evening in late May, with the forums taking place over twelve months at The Showroom, starting June 2018. The programme consists of peer crits, discussions on contemporary art practice, workshops and talks by invited art specialists. The project culminates with a weekend of events that will be programmed by the participating artists.

Deadline extended: Applications close at midnight on Sunday, 6th May, 2018.

The Praxis-Forum project is initiated by Jackie Castellano with support from The Showroom, LUX, Acme Studios, ArtQuest and DisabilityArtsOnline. It is made possible by Arts Council England through their Lottery Funded Grants for the Arts programme.

For more information please contact:

Jackie - [email protected]