Peer Instructional Assistant Research Paper

And in my high school career, I have exposed myself to many challenging courses such as advanced placement or college credit classes to enhance my preparedness and foreknowledge of post-secondary life; I have learned many

Graduating high school was an exciting time, but I felt lost. I wasn't sure of my career goals or what I wanted to accomplish at University. When I first decided to attend community college, I felt hesitant because I did not take the traditional route like my other classmates. However, community college was cheaper and would give me time to figure out the career path I wanted to take.

I did a lot of volunteer work. For example, I attended all of the convalescent homes in Bakersfield and homeless shelters as well. I took four years of French because I already knew Spanish. My father had always told me that I just had to try hard to succeed in life and I listened. It was a pain to get through high school, but with my friends and family giving me kind words of encouragement, I knew that I could do it. I did the medical academy at Stockdale High School because I knew it would help me get into the college I wanted.

Education has played a critical role in my life because of the opportunities it has provided me and the access to resources. I was born in Miami, FL to high school educated Nicaraguan parents who had been in this country for 4 years. Once I was school-aged, my parents enrolled me at the local elementary knowing absolutely no English, but I eventually became fully fluent over the years. My family expected me to stay at home with the family or marry off after high school because that is what tradition indicated. I never really thought about going to college nor did I hear about it from my family.

Becoming a Wings peer mentor means that I get to take my knowledge I have learned while at Arrowhead and share it with the people who need it the most. One of the very first things I would share with them is one my my favorite quotes of all time, said by Zig Ziglar: “You can’t climb uphill by thinking downhill thoughts”. I would like to say that I have lived by this saying everyday in my life. All around me I hear degrading things being said about other people and it makes me realize that some days, high school can be a really brutal place to be. You never know who’s talking about you, what they are saying, if your friends are really your friends, or if your crush really likes you. You don’t know what grade you got on a test, and you feel like a teacher has it out for you. There are so many things that occupy a high schooler’s mind and make going to school one of the scariest things you will do, especially when you are a freshman walking into Arrowhead for the first time.

The comprehensive peer evaluation of Dixie State was conducted in October 2012. The size and scope of this evaluation required nine evaluators who worked on campus for a three-day period (VanderStaay et al., 2012, pp. 1 & 4). Steven L. VanderStaay, who then served as the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, chaired the evaluation committee. Joining VanderStaay were eight academics from universities in Idaho, Montana, and Washington (VanderStaay et al., p. 4; see Appendix C). Besides the evaluation, the committee listed 49 persons whom they interviewed in the course of the evaluation (Appendix D). They also conducted open meetings in which 150 persons were involved, although the names of these individuals were not recorded. Some of the major interviewees included the college president, the

My teachers hated me, I was never there, and the worst of all my work ethic was in the trash can. I knew how to write a resume before I knew what I wanted to do with my life. High school didn’t really teach me anything besides how to procrastinate, how to get a good grade without doing hard work, and the infamous “Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.” Did it prepare me for college? Heck no.

The Campus Tutoring Service will be open for business soon! Dr. Isabel Myers, Dean of Student

What was my reaction to the peer assessments? More than anything I was pleasantly surprised. I got a better rating and assessment than I thought I would.

Hi Kathleen! You have a lot to be proud of, a single mom of two, attending college, awesome! What a great role model you are for your children. Is this your first semester at Brandman? I hope that it’s going well so far?

My reaction to the peer assessments could be described simply as acceptive. Peer assessments is where greens, such as myself, will just take the new information in without putting feelings into it. What I was told was my strengths and weaknesses were not a surprise to me though. I fully understand that I lack participation and I’m not much of an outgoing person, I’ve always be that way in a classroom environment. I’ll sit back and absorb the knowledge of others when I’m sure that my own knowledge on the subject is not greater than others. With that in mind I really didn’t learn anything about myself from my peers. While it is nothing new it is good to be reminded of what my flaws are so I can work in accordance with my own personality to become

One strategy/ intervention that I would like to know more about is peer-assisted learning strategies, especially for those in secondary education beings that is the level of students that I serve. What works clearinghouse defines “Peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS) as a peer-tutoring instructional program that supplements the primary reading curriculum. Pairs of students work together on reading activities intended to improve reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. Students in the pairs read aloud, listen to their partner read, and provide feedback during various structured activities,” (What Works Clearinghouse, 2012, p. 1). Being a special education teacher working with many struggling readers I am often finding myself with limited strategies that keep my students engaged, let alone excited about reading. “Extensive research has shown repeatedly that systematic

I have and still am taking advantage of being able to take college classes through Mendocino College. For one thing, I get high school credit from these classes so I am able to supplement my high school curriculum. Moreover, I also get college credit from the classes as well. I have certainly relished the opportunity to take higher level classes during my tenure at Willits High as I find them interesting and challenging than what my high school has to offer. Seeing that my school is relatively small and does not offer all of the coursework that I would like to be taking. The junior college has given me options that my current school couldn’t. In fact, I feel like this was a barrier as well. The high school was limiting options severely.

My parents were unable to pursue their educational goals, so they made a commitment to instill in me, the value of education. They taught me that college will provide me with the foundation necessary to pursue my academic goals and to prepare me for success in my professional development. It also gives

Being the child of immigrants I grew up hearing that getting an education was important. My mother was not able to afford high school in Mexico so she always advised my sisters and me to take full advantage of the free school system in America; and that is what we did. My senior year of high school was tough. For the first few months of my senior year I did not feel excited about college the way that my peers. That is until I visited Trinity Lutheran College on one of its Fall Visit Days.