BIOL 315 Reflection

I am writing about my first week as a peer mentor in BIOL 315, or, Quantitative Statistics. The class had their first team quiz (RAT), which I thought was a great way for me to start interacting with students and begin mentoring. Although, I did not get to interact with many students at all, and this lack of interaction made me feel most distanced from the action. I was mostly walking up and down the aisles, or standing around looking for a hand to shoot up. I was thinking to approach groups and peer at their work to see their progress, but I stopped myself. I remember when I was in their position as a BIOL 315 student working furiously at a team quiz or assignment, I absolutely hated it when a peer mentor would peer over my group and ask, “How’s it going?” I find …show more content…
I should expect more questions during team activities, as I know from experience that those can be overwhelming. Also, I realized that I am not at all useless, because it only takes one student for me to feel that I’m actually helping someone learn. With this said, I did get to interact with one student. She had asked me a question regarding a term covered on the team quiz that she didn’t understand well. This was my first time helping a student with a concept-based question as a peer mentor. Surprisingly, I was very nervous even though I have helped my friends with concept-based questions in their courses all the time. My nerves probably stemmed from the expectations I think many students have, that is, the expectation that peer mentors are just as knowledgeable on course material as the professor. This expectation made me more self-conscious in how I helped the student, as I felt there was more at stake with my answer. I didn’t want to disappoint the student with my answer, or make her more confused instead of providing