Chickering College

Peer Advisors
Valerie Como
Joseph Luszcz
Jennifer Migliozzi
Dani Tran

Training Context
Peer Advisors

10 peer advisors total

Already hired and have completed student employment forms

Todays training is the first of two sessions

Chickering College
4-year liberal arts institution
Private
Residential
2,000 traditional-age undergraduates
500 graduate students

9:00 - 9:30 am

Breakfast and Advising Questions

9:30 - 10:00am

Trainwreck Icebreaker

10:00 - 10:30am

Knowing Your Audience

10:30 - 10:45am

Break

10:45 - 11:00am

5 Fundamentals of Peer Advising Refresher

11:00 - 12:15pm

Peer Advising Jeopardy

12:15 - 1:00pm

Lunch

1:00 - 2:30pm

Active Listening

2:30 - 2:45pm

Break

2:45 - 3:45pm

Case Study

3:45 - 4:00p

Snack Break

4:00 - 5:00p

Q&A

Day Long
Training
Schedule
9:00am 5:00pm

Goals & Intended Learning Outcomes:

Whats in it for you?
At the conclusion of todays training, peer advisors will:
Begin to develop proficiency in applying the five fundamentals of peer
advising
Build an awareness of the breadth and depth of advising issues that they may
encounter
Demonstrate active listening skills to gain an understanding of a students
particular advising question and corresponding concerns
Articulate when an advising issue should be referred to a professional advisor

Theoretical Frameworks and Best Practices

Theoretical Frameworks and Best Practices

Peer Advisors can contribute to the holistic growth of students by providing
support and guidance for choosing programs, scheduling courses, and exploring
vocational and life goals.
These actions, in turn, can help students to:
Develop competence, emotional maturity, self-sufficiency, identity, purpose
(Chickering)
Transition from dualistic to multiplistic thinking (Perry)
Advance ones moral development (Kohlberg)

Breakfast
Write down any advising questions
you may have.

Trainwreck
Icebreaker

Knowing Your Audience

Knowing Your Audience

Graduation Rate:
89% graduation in four years
95% graduation rate in six years

Most popular majors:

English
History
Political Science

Most popular minors:

Creative Writing
Philosophy
English

Office Traffic:

25% freshmen
20% sophomores
36% juniors
19% seniors

15 Minute
Break

5 Fundamental Principles of Peer Advising

A Refresher
Provide accurate information
Be a good listener
Advise, not solve
Make effective referrals
Be supportive and empathetic

Peer Advising
Jeopardy
Work in teams of 2.

45 Minute
Lunch

Active Listening

Lets Role Play!

Work in teams of 2.

Role Play Activity

Peter is in his junior year, and has recently changed his major from
Psychology to English. However, he has just learned that this change in
program will delay his degree completion/graduation date by at least one
semester.
In teams of two, one student will act as the peer advisor and the other as Peter. How would
the peer advise Peter? How does Peter respond?

Come together as a larger group and discuss the role plays:

What worked/didnt?
What challenges did you face? What would you do differently/the same?
How do you use the 5 fundamentals of peer advising? How could you better use the skills?

Flip the roles and complete this role play again.

15 Minute
Break

Case Study
Break out in teams of two to discuss.
Jose, a sophomore history major, wants to withdraw from a 19th Century
History course needed to complete their major. This class is also a
prerequisite to three other classes needed to complete the major, including
Senior Seminar. Not completing this class in the sophomore year may delay
Joses degree completion and prevent him from graduating in four years.

Thinking about what you have learned today, how would you begin the conversation?
What information would you provide to Jose? What would you advise him? Could you
see a point in the conversation where you may have to refer Jose to an Academic
Advisor?

15 Minute
Snack Break

If desired, revisit advising questions

written down in the morning.

Q&A

Survey