Communication Processes

In class this week we talked and read about group processes. We did an activity where one person was blind-folded and their partner had to direct them around the room that was made into an obstacle course. It was a great was to show how important communication is. It was a really good way to bring trust between your partner and you because the blind-folded person had to completely reply on their partner on getting them to their destination. For the partner who could see, it probably took a great deal of concentration because they don't know if their directions were good enough or detailed enough. 


It gave a good example of how us as a peer mentors are going to have to communication next year. I am going to have to analyze situations of freshman and know when I will need to give detailed answers, like where to go for these certain resources. Or if my answers need to be more broad like in advice giving so I don't accidentally give them advice but I just lead them to the answer they want. We also played a game where we had to all stand on a little blanket and somehow get it flipped over. I think this would have been a great exercise if the blanket would have been bigger or there were less people on the blanket. It was a good way to work on our problem solving skills within a larger group and to see how the activity was going to get accomplished or if it even was going too. It was also a great way to bond with the other peer mentors!

Making Things Work...Or Not

This week we learned about solving problems. I thought that Mike and Carly did a great job this week! I like how they gave us that test to see what kind of conflict management styles we use most often. I was in the category compromising, where I try to help make everyone sacrifice a little in order to get the best outcome and have everyone be happy. I think that I actually belong more in the accommodating group because when Amy was talking about her answers I felt like I related to her more than to compromising. I usually try to stay away from conflict until it gets worse or I am sick of thinking about it. In high school, I had a really opinionated friend and she would just argue with anyone that disagreed with her. I think that is why we were such close friends because she would try and argue with me and I would just give up and say okay maybe you are right and move on! Even though I still thought I was right, I thought there were more important things to talk about. I thought the questions that we had to answer were really great and helped explain how and when to use each style.

We also broke off into groups of two and had to work on working as a team. The trick was that we were in some way made handicapped, for example Dylan and I had to make a clay animal by only using our non-dominant hands. Everyone did something different and I thought it was a great representation of learning how to think out of the box and trying to accomplish something that might be a little uncomfortable or difficult. This applies to being a peer mentor because we are going to be put in some situations where we may be uncomfortable and being able to get practice in any kind of uncomfortable situation will make me even more comfortable when something more serious comes up.

Communication

This week, we talked about and learned about different kinds of communication skills and ways of communicating. I thought Lauren and Dylan did an awesome job in creating their lesson plan and it really helped me understand the difference between giving advice and using interpersonal communication. Before this week I did not know there was a right and a wrong way to help someone solve a certain type of problem. Giving advice is for more of a direct answer to helping them find other ways to solve their problem. It could also be my own opinion or what I think should be done instead of what the student might actually need to do. For example, if they don't know which major to choose, I can give them different resources that could better help them make a decision. For interpersonal communication, it is more like asking open-ended questions where I wouldn't give them a straight answer but where it would help them come up with their own answer to their problem. 

I think knowing when to use the two different types of communication will come in handy when we are peer mentors. The interpersonal communication is new to me and it is going to take a lot of practice in being able to come up with the right kinds of questions to ask. I think it is very important to know how to ask those kinds of questions instead of just giving the student your advice because most of my advice from my past experiences might not be the right answer for the student. It would be bad if they decided to take the same route I did and not get the same results. Everyone has different experiences or problems that need their own answers.

Diversity

This week was all about diversity. I thought that Amy's teaching was great and the questions she made really made me think about the role I play in diversity. Being the majority is easy and many do not know what if feels like to be the minority. Many of the older generation have preconceived thoughts of the minority and they have thought that way for so long that it is almost impossible to change their minds. That leaves it to our generation to get prejudices to be a thing of the past. And us as peer mentors are going to be able to help inform the minds of the incoming freshman about the importance of peer mentors. 


I went to the communications session in the morning and it really informed me on how to communicate and to mediate conversations between people that are having conflicts. It helped me find ways to encourage, re-ensure, and support peoples actions and help build their confidence. 


I also went to the "Taking the Sit Out of Diversity." This session was great! Denise was able to get everyone involved and she was able to give us many ways to engage students in activities about diversity. When I first walked in, we were told to fill out this survey about different things like your race, your sex, your religion, if you have ever made a racial joke or laughed at one, and the final one was if you felt uncomfortable checking some of these statements. There was only six people that came to the session so we were not able to do the activity but it made me think. It made me think about if I was the only one that checked the last question. That is one of the things that I need to work on, being more comfortable with diversity and gaining the confidence in being able to ask questions and make conversation. There were a lot of other great activities that talked about diversity and I am very excited to use some of them next year because I enjoyed them and I enjoyed being able to do activities and not have to sit there and be lectured to.