1. Integrating peer-mentoring into the psychology curriculum: from an extended induction to an academic skills course. Dr Patrick Rosenkranz Psychology

2. Peer-mentoring in HE • Peer-mentoring is becoming more prevalent in UK HE institutions. (Phillips, Swanson & Morgan-Klein, 2005) • Peer-mentoring is generally seen as a propitious method of supporting the transition of new students to university (Husband & Jacobs, 2009; Jacobi, 1991; Lahman, 1999)

3. Peer –mentors in Psychology? • Discussing expectations and perceptions of psychology. • Extra support for development of diverse academic skills. • Mentoring as a preparation for professional practice.

4. Aims of the peer-mentoring • Supporting transition from school to university. • Creating peer groups that support learning • Guidance in academic skills.

5. Development

6. Stage 3: Recruitment of mentors 10 Mentors Stage 3 cohort • Recruitment on a voluntary basis • Emphasis on development of graduate skills • Rewards: Certificate, book tokens, salary ( in 2009).

7. Stage 1: Each student is assigned a mentor group 100 Stage 1 students = 10 groups of 10 students

8. Nested Mentoring Stage 1 Director Stage 3 Mentors Stage 1 Mentees

10. Attendance

11. Challenges • How can attendance/relevance to students be improved? • Further development of academic skills training.

12. Psychological Enquiry 1 • Peer-mentoring is housed in new academic skills module. • Peer-mentoring is paired with formal training in IT skills, essay –writing and presentations skills. • Psychological Enquiry links in with other modules in Semester 1.

13. Psychological Enquiry 1 Session 0: Induction Session 1: Psychology myths • Basics Skills • Bibl. Databases • IT skills Session 2: Essay plan • Academic writing • Plagiarism • Essay writing • Referencing Session 3: Essay draft/ peer-assessment • Presentation Skills • PowerPoint • Presentations Session 4: Presentations

14. Evaluation • TEQ –style questionnaires to both mentors and mentees at the end of the semester. • Includes open-ended questions for comments. • Attendance data taken by mentors at their session.

15. Attendance

16. Overall ratings

17. Aims

18. How useful were the sessions?

19. Conclusions • Peer-mentoring is generally positively received by mentees and mentors. • Students value the social integration into degree course and creation of a peer support network. • Mentors appreciate the opportunity to develop their communication skills and to pass on their experience.

20. Conclusions • Attendance at mentor sessions is significantly improved for PSY1001. • Embedding of mentoring within module allows for greater interplay between staff –led teaching and mentor-led support. • Mentor sessions provide a supportive environment to practice new academic skills.

21. Challenges Getting the balance right: • Mentors can’t replace members of staff. • Managing expectations of mentees about the role of the mentor.

22. Directions • 2012: Piloting smaller sized groups. • 2013: Professional skills module: final year students can use their experience as mentors to reflect on their skills development.

23. Thanks for listening ! Acknowledgements: Thanks to Rebecca McCready ,Linda Errington ,Sue Vecsey and Alex Inskip for their contributions to Psychological Enquiry.

24. Husband, P. A., & Jacobs, P. A. (2009). Peer mentoring in higher education: A review of the current literature and recommendations for implementation of mentoring schemes. The Plymouth Student Scientist, 2(1), 228-241. Jacobi, M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature review. Review of Educational Research, 61(4), 505-532. Lahman, M. P. (1999, November). To what extent does a peer mentoring program aid in student retention? Paper presented at the 85th Annual Meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago. Phillips, R., Swanson, V., & Morgan-Klein, B. (2005). Student helping students: The effectiveness of peer mentoring in UK higher education. Proceedings of the British Psychological Society, 13(2), 122.