Scope of Competence

As an engineering peer educator, I received training on many topics but was not an expert at many; for the best experience of my students, I needed to reflect on my scope of competence when giving advice or answering questions on the spot. For example, mental health and academic advising were two topics that I consistently referred students to professionals about. While it was within my scope of competence to notice when a student was struggling or to give basic advice on creating a class schedule, it was not my job to act as a mental health professional or academic adviser to my students as this would be detrimental and likely result in errors on my part that would serve my students poorly.

Providing Feedback

One major aspect of my role was to grade and give feedback to students on their assignments. My motivation for giving feedback was for the best outcome for my students, especially because assignments included creating a resume, drafting personal essays for major placement, and other personal development items. As such, it was important for me to give quality feedback to my students not only for their completion of course requirements but also to excel in the future. This required extra time put into annotating specific pieces of assignments, giving overall feedback to each student, and general feedback to the class in order for students to achieve high grades and leave the class with quality work that they could use in the future.

Receiving Feedback

In addition to giving my students feedback, I received feedback throughout the quarter from students, advisers, and my co-teacher. I gave my students mid-quarter and post-quarter evaluations for the betterment of myself as their instructor and used their feedback throughout the quarter in modifying lesson plans. I was also evaluated pre-quarter and mid-quarter by an adviser, who gave feedback on my lesson plans, my teaching style, and the engagement of my students. Lastly, I received feedback from my co-teacher throughout the quarter as we worked together to create the best possible class for my students. Listening to and incorporating feedback from a variety of sources was important for ensuring that my class was helpful, effective, and beneficial for my students.

Inclusion

As a peer educator, it was my role to foster community among students. My class included many students of various backgrounds and the content of the class required class or small group discussions as well as personal reflections on the part of my students. In order for my students to feel comfortable engaging in class topics and creating a community among their peers, it was important for me to foster a sense of belonging among students. For example, at the beginning of the quarter I facilitated a class discussion about students’ expectations for themselves, their peers, and the instructors in order to ensure that each student would feel heard and comfortable in class.

Positive Attitude

Another aspect of my role was fostering a positive classroom environment. This was particularly important as students expressed feeling intimidated or overwhelmed during their first quarter of college from factors including difficult classes, applying to their major, or transitioning away from home. It was my role to inspire confidence in my students that they could overcome the hurdles of starting college. I had to do so in a variety of capacities, including considering this when drafting lesson plans as well as thinking on the spot when students brought up concerns unexpectedly. Having a positive attitude as the students’ instructor was essential to my role of facilitating students’ transition into college and the challenges that came with it.

Mentoring

The goal of this position was to provide incoming engineering students with the resources and community that they needed to be successful throughout college. I challenged their perspectives on the different engineering majors in order to allow students to explore many areas of impact which they could study. Through lectures, assignments, and student presentations, students learned about and shared resources available to them and their classmates, including on-campus counseling, tutoring, and clubs. I also served as a resource to students individually, answering student questions and directing them to the appropriate resources, from academic advisers to other EPEs.

Verbal Communication

I practiced verbal communication skills through my implementation of lectures, facilitation of class discussions, and one-on-one meetings with students. This required me to communicate effectively using detailed lesson plans as well as think on the spot in order to communicate to the large group or individuals verbally. I conveyed important information about class assignments, student resources, and answers to individual student questions through verbal communication.

Service