Peer Leadership

lindsayrichardson

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Peer Leadership Demonstration (due Friday 28 March)

Earn up to 4 points toward your final grade by demonstrating peer leadership in one of the following ways:

Become one of the course’s Peer Leaders

You can sign up to have your name (and email) displayed on the Brightspace homepage as a Peer Leader. This role provides your peers with an additional support person throughout the course.

Your responsibilities may include:

Answering peer questions via Brightspace, email, or other channels (within reasonable boundaries).
Hosting or facilitating study sessions, discussions, or peer review activities.
Sharing tips and strategies for success based on your own experiences.

Deliverables you will submit:

Peer leaders must demonstrate how they’ve contributed by submitting evidence in Brightspace. You must submit a reflective report detailing your leadership experience, including what you learned and how you supported your peers.

Evidence Submission:
Upload examples of your contributions to Brightspace. Evidence could include:
- A summary of the questions you answered.
- Screenshots of support provided (e.g., via discussion boards or emails).
- Feedback from peers on how you’ve helped them.
Reflective Report:
Submit a 1–2 page brief describing your leadership experience, including:
- What you learned about leadership and collaboration.
- Challenges you faced and how you overcame them.
- Specific examples of how you supported your peers.

For more information, please email Lindsay. Deadline to apply is Reading Week (and earlier applications are appreciated).

Present a Difficult Concept

Earn peer leadership points by presenting a challenging concept from the course’s material during an in-class session. This is a great opportunity to deepen your understanding of course content, build presentation skills, and engage your peers in learning.

Sample Topics

Here are some suggested topics from the course:

Theories of Motivation: Compare Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to Self-Determination Theory.
The Psychology of Success: Explain the concept of durable learning and its application in higher education.
Neural Plasticity: Discuss how the brain adapts to learning or recovering from injury.
Ethics in Research: Explore a historical case study (e.g., the Stanford Prison Experiment) and how it shaped current ethical guidelines.
Personality Theories: Analyze how the Trait and Psychodynamic approaches differ in explaining behaviour.

How It Works:

Choose a Concept:
- Select a difficult concept from the list below or propose one of your own.
- Collaborate with a peer (optional) to prepare and deliver the presentation.
Create Your Presentation:
- Provide an overview of the concept and why it is important.
- Include a real-world example or application to help your peers relate to the material.
- Design an interactive element, such as a question for discussion, a poll, or a short activity.
Deliver in Class:
- Present your concept in a 5–7 minute segment.
- Lead a brief discussion or activity to engage your peers.
Submit a Reflection (optional):
- Reflect on what you learned by preparing and presenting.
- Describe the challenges you faced and how you overcame them.

Collaboration is Encouraged!

You can work individually or with 1–4 peers to prepare and present the concept.
If collaborating, divide responsibilities (e.g., one person explains the theory, and the other leads the discussion or activity).
All collaborators will receive equal credit, provided their contributions are clearly documented.

How to Apply:

If you’re interested, email Lindsay by Reading Week (earlier applications are appreciated) with:

The concept you’d like to present.
Whether you plan to collaborate and, if so, with whom.

Think You Can Find Another Way to Demonstrate Peer Leadership?

Have a creative idea for showing leadership? Email Lindsay to propose it by Reading Week (earlier applications are appreciated)!

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