As engineering programs integrate more makerspace activities into classrooms, it’s become essential to better prepare peer mentors to help students learn effectively in these spaces. To bridge this gap, Pamela Dickrell, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Student Affairs at the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and Instructional Professor with the Department of Engineering Education (EED), aims to develop an open-source modular program for training peer mentors using a three-year grant funded under the National Science Foundation’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Directorate (NSF IUSE).
The project will enhance mentors’ ability to guide student learning in makerspace classrooms. Dr. Dickrell aims to develop, implement, and research the impact of peer mentoring preparation by leveraging high-impact mentoring strategies such as role-playing, observations, reflections, shadowing, and simulations. Currently, peer mentors are engineering undergraduate student helpers in the UF Engineering Design & Society course (ENG2020C), who assist fellow students and support faculty’s teaching efforts. While these peer mentors are often knowledgeable in the technical aspects of designing and prototyping, their preparation in educational methods is typically limited, reducing their ability to support student learning as effectively as they could with more formal training, according to Dr. Dickrell.
“Our undergraduate engineering student population typically has not taken any courses on educational methods as part of their engineering degree programs,” said Dr. Dickrell. “They just have not had the opportunity to receive instruction in the field of educational methods.”
Dr. Dickrell’s program will also support the professional development of peer mentors as they build transferable skills for their own engineering careers.
“The topics covered include Education Methods Fundamentals, How People Learn, Understanding Learner Needs, Fostering a Growth Mindset, Effective Classroom Observing, Building a Supportive Learning Environment, Student Identity, Fostering Teamwork, and Group Conflict Resolution,” Dr. Dickrell said. “Over the three years of this project, the program content will be refined based on peer mentor feedback and the measured impact of the training on first-year students in the Engineering Design & Society course.”
Dr. Dickrell notes that the NSF emphasizes broader impacts that elevate the STEM education community through research and open access to tools developed.
“An open-source preparation course allows the developed peer mentor training program to be utilized by other universities, state colleges, and the broader STEM education community freely,” Dr. Dickrell said. “By creating the training program in a modular format, other organizations can adopt the modules most relevant to their peer mentor needs and curriculum, without requiring them to use every module if it doesn’t fit their environment.”
Brady Budke
Marketing and Communications Specialist
Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering