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TOPICS
1. Funds Available for School-Based Peer Assistance Programs
2. Review of Peer Assistance Student WorkBook
3. Create and Develop High Quality Peer Assistance Programs
4. Using a Quiz to Stimulate Learning in Peer Assistance Classes
5. What's New from Peer Research (Peer Learning and Peer Mediation)
FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR PEER HELPING PROGRAMS
The Smaller Learning Communities Program, which was initially authorized as part of President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, has been refunded. This could be an excellent source for peer assistance programs, particularly those that bring together peers of different ages. The purpose of this program is to support academic achievement through awarding competitive grants to local education agencies (LEA's) applying on behalf of large public high schools for the planning and implementation or expansion of small, safe, and successful learning environments in large public high schools. For purposes of this program, a large high school is defined as a school that includes grades 11 and 12 and enrolls at least 1,000 students in grades 9 and above.
Applications are due on May 19, 2003, and the estimated funds available are $135,000,000. It's expected that approximately 100 new planning grant awards and approximately 100 new implementation awards will be provided in this competition. Additional information, applicable regulations, and priorities are available in the Federal Register Notice.
REVIEW OF NEW PEER HELPING STUDENT WORKBOOK
The practice of students helping each other to achieve their goals and dreams has a long historical tradition. Tutoring, for example, has ancient origins and remains today one of the most powerful ways that students learn from each other. Student leadership has a more recent beginning but is equally as widespread in schools across North America. But the most profound example of students helping each other and one that has the most power for creating a safe and peaceful world is when students actively demonstrate their care for one another.
Typically called peer helping or peer assistance, this method of students helping other students is based on their natural willingness and desire to talk to someone who will listen and understand, be non-judgmental and accepting and in many cases has similar life experiences. What I discovered thirty years ago when I first started in this field is still true today: young people when experiencing a worry, frustration or problem are more likely to seek the council of another young person rather than discuss the issue with an adult.
Why not help young people to have better skills to help their friends? Why not provide them with the training and supervision to turn peer pressure into peer support? Through our research we learned many years ago that not only was this possible, but that young people could easily take responsibility for exceptional leadership in this field.
But youth cannot do this completely on their own. They need the support and assistance of highly skilled and caring professionals who can be role models. At the same time these adult professionals must know how to nurture the abilities of youth without taking over or "professionalizing" what young people can do for and with each other.
Long-time Peer Resources Network member and one of North America's top peer trainers, Diane Taub exemplifies the caring professional. With the assistance of some highly talented and skilled peer helpers, Ms. Taub, Coordinator of Student Leadership Training at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, has authored a new workbook that provides exercises, activities, and information that will accomplish two major school-based peer program goals: (1) provide proven, high quality experiential training for students; and (2) serve as a credible and tested curriculum guide for peer programs that give student volunteers credit towards graduation requirements.
This student workbook, published by Scarecrow Press, was originally inspired by The Peer Helping Starter Kit, available from Peer Resources. However, the thoroughness of the workbook enables it to match up with many other training guides. Most importantly this workbook will benefit any student leadership program where students want to put their caring for each other into practice.
The book is called Student Leadership Training: A Workbook to Reinforce Effective Communication Skills by Diane Taub available from Scarecrow Press, Education Division. The cost is $US14.95 (ISBN 0-8108-4555-5).
LEARN TO CREATE OR STRENGTHEN HIGH QUALITY PEER PROGRAMS
Peer programs exist in virtually all areas of society and more and more organizations have become interested in how they can build on the power of peers to help bring about organizational service goals.
A few simple principles related to recruiting, screening, matching, training and supervising peers combined with designing a peer assistance strategy that increasingly involves peers in the maintenance and delivery of the peer program provide the basis for the content of Peer Leader and Program Development seminars conducted by Peer Resources. In 2003, Peer Resources will be offering three seminars: July 7-11 in Waterloo, Ontario (Canada), which will focus on programs for schools and communities; July 14-18 in Victoria, British Columbia (Canada), which will focus on schools, communities and universities; and a special seminar that will focus on peer programs for First Nations communities, July 14-18 in Victoria, British Columbia (Canada).
Persons who have more experience with peer programs or who have already taken the Peer Program Seminar can apply to take an Advanced Seminar for Experienced Peer Leaders. These seminars will be held in 2003: May 15-16, in Santa Fe, New Mexico; July 7-8, in Victoria, British Columbia (Canada); July 10-11 in Victoria, British Columbia (Canada) exclusively for persons who have completed the First Nations Peer Leader course; and December 4-5 in Tiburon, California. For more information about these seminars, go to www.peer.ca/trng.html.
For information about peer seminars and workshops led by other organizations, go to www.peer.ca/peerevents.html.
USING A QUIZ TO STIMULATE LEARNING IN PEER ASSISTANCE CLASSES
An increasing amount of peer training has become integrated with credit-based courses in schools. Leaders are often seeking ways to deliver the peer curriculum and meet the academic requirements and standards of their school while at the same time maintaining fidelity to peer training principles.
One method for achieving this balance is through a peer-led quiz activity. This can also be a good exercise for warming up the group and finding out about the degree to which the course content has been learned. It also provides feedback to the trainer about what might need to be revised or revisited.
Here's how it works. Divide the group into two teams. Give the teams a pile of blank cards and challenge them to write as many questions (and answers) as they can, in 15 minutes which cover the course content to date.
The leader alternately selects a "valid" question from one team and directs the question to the other team. The process continues until all "valid" questions written by both teams have been asked. A team scores one point for every question they answer correctly and another point for every one of their questions which is selected as "valid" by the leader.
WHAT'S NEW FROM THE PEER ASSISTANCE LITERATURE
Peer Resources continually scans the professional and popular published literature to find articles of interest to people involved in peer assistance. Two of several hundred recent additions to the searchable, annotated bibliography are:
Imel, S. (2002). Adult learning in cohort groups. ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education. (Practice application brief No. 24).
The author describes a number of factors that influence the success of peers learning in groups and provides recommendations that build on group development and adult learning theory. Among the specific ideas presented to make groups work more effectively are: (1) spend time at the beginning of the cohort developing group relationships; (2) balance group and individual development; (3) provide an environment that both supports and challenges; and (4) acknowledge and address tensions that may arise between learners and between learners and instructors. (RAC)
Bickmore, K. (2002). Peer mediation training and program implementation in elementary schools: Research results. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 20, 2, 137-160.
