Peer Mentor Program

The Peer Mentor Program forms part of a broader academic support initiative being offered to first year students by the Faculty of Law.

The primary objective of the Academic Support Programis to provide effective, broad-based support for students entering first year law in order to better facilitate their transition into legaleducation and achieve academic success.

Who are Peer Mentors?

Peer Mentors are second and third year law students at the University of Alberta who come from a range of backgrounds. All have been successful in completing first or second year. Some are individuals who are top students. Others have solid averages but have a range of personal definitions of academic success depending upon his or her circumstances (e.g. a mature working single parent, working student, student in her twenties living at home).

What are the objectives of the Peer Mentor Program?

The objectives of the Peer Mentor component of the Academic Support Program are to:

1. Provide support and reassurance to first year students through encouragement and sharing of student experiences that will help them adjust to the pace and style of law school learning.
   
   
2. Provide tips and perspectives for “surviving law school” from a student perspective.
   
   
3. Provide tips and perspectives on time management, study skills, and exam preparation from a student perspective and with the assistance of tools developed and provide to Peer Mentors for this purpose. 
           
4. Provide individual and confidential support to first year students on a drop in basis (Peer Mentor Office) and through individual meetings with Peer Mentors on an as needed basis.
   
   
5. Provide a structure for first years to discuss with upper year students questions and other matters arising the Exam Preparation and Writing Lecture Program.

What is the relationship between the Peer Mentor Program and the Exam Preparation and Writing Lecture Program?

The Exam Preparation and Writing Program is an optional series of lectures for first year law students designed to help with study and exam writing skills coordinated by the office of the IAS. Faculty members provide lectures on “Study Skills and Preparation for Multi-Issue hypothetical problems”, “Reading and Writing Exams”, “Lessons from the December Exams”, and “Preparing for the Final.”

Peer Mentors will help facilitate four group discussions following these sessions with first years from their Peer Mentor Group who wish to attend. The purpose of these discussions is to provide first year students the opportunity to ask questions they may have felt uncomfortable asking in a large groups setting or want to explore further.

The Peer Mentor role is not that of a teacher or tutor of substantive matter. The purposes of the first year discussion groups is to create connection among first year students, to share experiences from a student perspective in a smaller group, provide an opportunity for those who feel uncomfortable speaking in a larger group, and reach as many students as possible. 

What to talk about with your Peer Mentor: Study Skills:

Students may approach Peer Mentors for advice on basic study skills (e.g. note taking, briefing a case, critical reading and analysis, how to relate cases within an area or throughout the course to each other, how to approach writing and exam, and how to organize and prepare a summary for exams). In this event here is an example of actions you might take:

1. Peer Mentors should discuss with the first year student strategies that have
   worked for that student in the past and explore ideas for what might work or not work for first year law based on the Mentor’s experience (e.g. what might add or a new approach that might be taken).
   
   
2. Peer Mentors should review with the student the “Skills Checklist” and emphasize the importance of studying and preparing for the ability to apply what is learned substantively to new facts. Peer Mentors should indicate that this is important in most of the first year courses but that law school exams may differ, not all are hypothetical problems. Peer Mentors should encourage students to talk to professors about their expectations concerning application of knowledge and examination questions, attend the examination preparation and writing sessions, and consult the Faculty of Law Exam Reserve bank or other resources online.
   
   
3. Peer Mentors may find it helpful to look at the students’ notes or case briefs. If Mentors offer advice on note taking or briefing they should also refer students to their Professors to ensure they are including the correct content. It is not the job of peer mentors to assess accuracy of content of briefs or notes. Peer Mentors may also refer students to the Director of Indigenous Academic Services.