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First Year Experience

Peer Educators work through a honed curriculum to establish a holistic approach to the first-year experience.

Peer Educators may choose to complete the Certified Peer Educator (CPE) digital badge and micro-credential that includes the courses below.

Spring

COLS 394: Peer Educator Training

1-credit late-start course for the last 5 weeks of Spring semester; Registration after acceptance into the program.

This course focuses on establishing a base understanding of the peer educator role, equipping students with the knowledge and skill sets to triage common situations, and preparing students selected as Peer Educators for the COLS 194 first-year experiences for work as instructional team members.

Learning Objectives

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of teaching and learning strategies.
  2. Explore personal teaching and leadership styles.
  3. Apply teaching and learning theory to peer educator roles.
  4. Develop tools and ideas for specific active learning strategies to maximize engagement.
  5. Articulate a beginner’s understanding of Design Thinking.
  6. Identifying applications of Design Thinking in a college setting.
  7. Articulate key university policies including FERPA and Mandatory Reporting.

Fall

During Fall semester, the PE is assigned and embedded into a section of the COLS 194 First-Year Experience course. In addition, they complete just-in-time training focused on design thinking principles, leadership, mentorship, co-teaching, group management, cohort building, and active learning through either COLS 295/COLS 395: You at UM Peer Educator (3-credits) or COLS 498: You at UM Advanced Peer Educator Internship (1-credit).

COLS 395: You at UM Peer Educator/COLS 295: You at UM Peer Educator-MC

3-credits; Registration after acceptance into the program.

This course provides undergraduates with a comprehensive understanding of peer education principles and equips them with the necessary skills to serve as effective peer educators in diverse educational settings. Through a combination of theoretical exploration and hands-on experiential learning, students will develop expertise in applying innovative pedagogical approaches and fostering inclusive learning communities. 

Learning Objectives

  1. Apply the principles of the Design Thinking framework in educational contexts.
  2. Mentor and refer peers effectively, demonstrating competence in guiding others and connecting them with appropriate academic resources.
  3. Apply various active learning strategies to engage peers and promote effective learning experiences.
  4. Engage in co-teaching fundamentals, including collaborative planning, delivery of instruction, and reflection on teaching practices in educational settings.
  5. Engage in regular self-assessment and reflection to evaluate their performance, identify areas for growth, and set goals for improvement.
  6. Design and propose out-of-class cohort-building experiences that contribute to community development, fostering a sense of belonging and connection among peers.
  7. Demonstrate proficiency in professional communication and proposal writing by preparing and submitting clear, well-organized cohort-building experience proposals.
  8. Articulate their peer educator experiences, competencies developed, and unique skill sets in a concise and professional manner, suitable for communication to graduate schools, scholarship committees, or future employers.
  9. Reflect on their peer educator experiences and identify key learnings to carry forward as they progress in their academic and professional journeys.

COLS 498: You at UM Advanced Peer Educator Internship

1-credit; Registration after acceptance into the program.

This internship facilitates advanced practices for Peer Educators by providing additional support and leadership opportunities to those undergraduates returning to serve as Peer Educators in the COLS 194: first-year experience for a second semester.

Learning Objectives

  1. Facilitate active and targeted learning in the classroom by demonstrating a deeper mastery of design thinking principles.
  2. Mentor and connect students in their section to each other, appropriate resources, and the campus and surrounding community through testimonials and cohort-building activities.
  3. Collaborate with their assigned instructional teams, leveling their previous PE experiences to brainstorm and adapt content and approach to the students in their sections.
  4. Mentor and guide new peer educators in carrying out their PE roles by highlighting examples from their initial peer educator experiences.
  5. Articulate their peer educator experiences, competencies developed, and unique skill sets in a concise and professional manner, suitable for communication to graduate schools, scholarship committees, or future employers.
  6. Reflect on their peer educator experiences and identify key learnings to carry forward via creation of a master class resource for core program components.