Reflection 1 Alicia Srinivasagam

CMCL 507

In my first lab session as a peer mentor, I was definitely feeling nervous. I can be insecure about
what others think of me, and I have never had the opportunity to work in a lab in this kind of
role. The first lab is often incredibly hectic; students need to figure out basic technique with their
microscopes, and complete field of view measurements and scale bar calculations in addition to
examining, drawing, and labelling specimens. The TA wrote out a general schedule for the lab,
students were to be moved through the exercises in a timely manner so that everyone would be
able to be marked before the end of the lab. Because of this time constraint and stress on students
and TA, I was feeling some pressure having my very first mentoring experience in such a
stressful situation. I can only remember my first lab as a student in this course as a panicked
blur- notebooks are marked at the end of the lab so there is an immense amount of pressure to go
over quite a few concepts in a short time. This is why peer mentors had such a positive effect on
me as a student, they provided an approachable additional source of support which allowed me to
connect the specimens I was observing to the content in the lecture. Without this resource
students may rush through the lab in order to finish in time. This strategy will get you a good
mark on the lab itself, but you won’t learn anything that will help you on assignments or
midterms.
Dr. Summers had me go around to each table to introduce myself and start learning
student names. This was a little intimidating for me, I was feeling nervous but went around to
each person. I was immediately surprised at how receptive the students were, they were all
interested to know what my role in the lab would be and began asking me questions about the lab
and course structure. As our conversations continued, students turned to me for some reassurance
about the course itself since some zoology classes can be quite difficult. I was able to give them
an idea of my own experience in the course, I was able to perform very well as long as I studied
(despite struggling in other zoology courses). As the lab went on, students were very open with
me, asking me questions about the lab or for assistance with their exercises or microscopes, and
even asking me questions about myself. It turns out I share a lot of things in common with some
students; taking the same courses, having the same career aspiration, or even attending the same
high school. These things were already helping me to build a connection with the students, even
in my very first lab as a peer mentor. This really helped me to encourage them in their own
abilities; I simply answered some general questions and went over some expectations, and all
students were able to complete great quality observations and finish all the exercises in time.
This was something that I had not expected in my first session as a peer mentor. The labs
in this course are so fast paced, the main idea is for most students is to get in and out as quickly
as possible. While it is possible to get good grades with this strategy, students really need to use
their lab notes as a way to develop a deeper understanding of the type of organism they are
observing. This higher-level learning is needed for success on the exams in the course. Having
taken this course, I knew how stressful the labs would be for students and expected to experience
some resistance as I tried to develop a connection with them. After all, they are focussed on
completing the tasks they are given in lab and it can often be difficult to connect with them on a
level personal enough to offer advice or strategies for learning, beyond answering simple
questions. I was so surprised at the level at which students related to me once I put myself out
there. This allowed me to facilitate better discussion with them, pushing them to investigate
further and direct their own learning.
 Reading the practitioner guide for “The Nature of Learning” made me realize why
students were immediately so eager to reach out to me for help and guidance; emotion and
motivation, the “gatekeepers of learning” (Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development [OECD], 2012). This article details the relationship between emotion and
motivation; positive emotion associated with the learning activities in the course will increase
student motivation and promote more meaningful learning, which is essential for the acquisition
of adaptive expertise (OECD, 2012). The learning experience in the lab is largely experiential, it
is vital that students remain positive and secure in their own abilities to succeed. If students are
feeling alone as they struggle with completing the exercises in time, they often feel like the lab
portion of the course is simply designed for them to fail. This results in decreased motivation and
causes them to adopt the strategy I mentioned before; simply completing the exercises to an
acceptable standard without really observing the specimens, so that they can leave as quickly as
possible.
When students had the opportunity to talk with me, they were able to see that I had the
same experiences and was simply a friend willing to help them. This immediately established me
as an approachable source of information and support. Knowing that I succeeded made students
feel as if they could succeed too, I remember feeling this way as a student having a peer mentor
to help me. This greatly improved my feelings toward this portion of the course and allowed me
to learn the material in my own way, while still knowing that help was available should I need it.
I truly expected it to take a few weeks to get students to really see me as a peer rather than a TA,
and trust me enough to implement strategies I shared and communicate their difficulties to me.
When I spoke to students with the intention of getting to know them it began a connection which
made my facilitation and discussion with students much more beneficial to their learning.
Looking back, I should’ve expected the opposite, having experienced this interaction before as a
student rather than a peer mentor. This first week as a peer mentor really solidified the
connection with emotion, motivation and learning from a whole new perspective. Through my
interaction with the students talking about course content and even about more personal things I
realized how important this connection is to their learning and their success in this course. I hope
to continue growing this connection with all of them; I believe it will not only help them to
experience more meaningful learning but also make me a better mentor. In the next labs I will
continue to relate to the students and give them advice and support wherever I can, by sharing
my own experience in the course and as a student in general.
 References

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2012). The Nature of Learning:
Using Research to Inspire Practice, Practitioner Guide. PDF.