Peer Mentor Drop-In Sessions
Ask us questions, receive feedback, or practice elements of mentoring. These sessions are optional and are hosted online and in-person in the Study Zone.
Information about our 2023/24 drop-ins will appear on this page.
Peer Mentor Workflow
Peer Mentor Workflow
This 'workflow' is a stage-by-stage training and development process for all Peer Mentors. If you complete all stages by our deadline, you will have your role as a Peer Mentor listed on your Higher Education Achievement Record (HEAR).
The deadline for 2022/23 has now closed. Unsure how and when you will receive your HEAR record? Contact the HEAR team.
If you have any questions about completing the Workflow, please email us at peersupport@exeter.ac.uk.
Please note, the following steps are mandatory to be a Peer Mentor:
- attendance at a training workshop
- completing the Peer Mentor Quiz
- submission of registers
Peer Mentor Workflow 2023-24
The 2023-24 Workflow is still in development, but for Mentors who have already signed up, you can complete the following steps:
Complete your application to become a Peer Mentor on a Peer Support programme. Please contact the Programme Organiser for the scheme you wish to apply for to get the application link.
To complete this stage you will need to book onto and attend a Peer Mentor Training Workshop. This is a mandatory 2-2.5 hour session covering the basics of peer mentoring and is necessary to become a Peer Mentor.
If you have attended a training workshop that was delivered within your programme and not one of our centrally bookable sessions, please contact peersupport@exeter.ac.uk.
Complete the Peer Mentor quiz to check your understanding of the Peer Mentoring Text and Training session.
Please note: The quiz is a mandatory part of your role as a Peer Mentor regardless of whether you intend to complete the Workflow.
Optional: AFHEA Workflow
Interested in remaining in the higher education sector, including future study or employment? Becoming an Associate Fellow is an excellent way of making your application stand out.
You can use your work as a Peer Mentor towards becoming an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (now known as Advance HE). This opportunity is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate taught Mentors, who will need to complete the steps below in addition to the Peer Mentor Workflow.
If you are a postgraduate research Peer Mentor, you may still be able to apply to become an Associate Fellow through the LTHE.
If you are interested in AFHEA, the Peer Support team will guide you in making your application following the steps below. Please note: while we will support you in applying, we cannot guarantee your application will be successful.
Application steps:
Deliver a Peer Mentor session:
The AFHEA application requires you to reflect on your teaching. Once you have decided to apply for AFHEA, the Peer Support team will therefore contact you to arrange for one of us to observe your session. When you come to complete the AFHEA application, you can use the work done here to form that stage of the application.
Please ensure you send the staff member observing your session the Intended Learning Outcomes of your session in advance. It is also worth looking at the 'Pedagogy and Learning Theories' and 'Inclusivity' sections of the AFHEA reading in advance of your session.
Receive feedback on your session:
Once you have completed your observation, the Peer Support staff member who observed you will meet with you to offer feedback. This can be done immediately after the session or on an arranged basis. You may wish to gather feedback using the AFHEA Observation Form, as this will help you store your feedback in one place to use later in your application. If you would like to receive feedback on this form, please send a copy to your observer in advance of the observation.
Reflect on your practice:
We will host an 'AFHEA in a Day' event with further information and guidance on completing your application. Make sure you have been observed and received your feedback prior to attending AFHEA in a Day, as you will be asked to reflect on your feedback as part of the application. You may find it helpful to have completed some of this reflection and / or done some reading prior to AFHEA in a Day, although this is not compulsory.
Attend 'AFHEA in a Day' and complete your application:
'AFHEA in a Day' is designed to help you prepare the tools you will need for your application. Once you have signed up to apply for AFHEA, the Peer Support team will be in touch with further details about this.
Please note: The deadline has passed to apply for AFHEA in 2022/23, but if you are currently a Mentor interested in applying for AFHEA in 2023/24, please email peersupport@exeter.ac.uk.
As part of your AFHEA application, you will need to engage with some literature on pedagogy and learning. Below is a list of useful reading and resources you may wish to use.
HEA guidance on utilising the UKPSF
Pedagogy and Learning Theories
Experience and Education by John Dewey
Mind in Society: the development of higher psychological processes by L.S. Vygotskiĭ
Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher by Stephen Brookfield
How Learning Works
The Learning Brain: lessons for education by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
What can Neuroscience Research Teach Us about Teaching? by Daniela Kaufer (video resource)
Universal Design
Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education by Thomas J. Tobin and Kirsten T. Behling
Starting Teaching in Higher Education
Historical Insights: Teaching as a PhD Student by Kate Bradley
Neuroscience and How Students Learn by Daniela Kaufer
Inclusivity
An Introduction to Inclusivity
Teaching Beyond the Gender Binary in the University Classroom by Brielle Harbin, Leah Marion Roberts, Roberta Nelson, and Chris Purcell