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UT Wellness Network

BeVocal: The Bystander Intervention Initiative of The University of Texas at Austin

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Leading and Learning: A Student Educator Forum
Saturday, April 21st, 2018

9 AM – 4:30 PM
Perry-Castaneda Library, Learning Labs


Go here for the day’s full line-up of events.
Go here to read a descriptions of all of the workshops offered at the forum.
Go here to register for the forum.

Why

The Student Educator Forum is an opportunity for students to showcase their professional experience as a peer educator, share their legacy as a student educator, network with other student educators, and help make UT Austin a better place for future generations of students by working to create a culture of care.

Learning Objectives

Students who participate in the Student Educator Forum will have the opportunity to:

  1. Share inclusive best practices for supporting underrepresented students.
  2. Reflect on their experiences as student educators/peer mentors.
  3. Teach skills they have gained as student educators/peer mentors.
  4. Get to know other student educators on campus.
  5. Identify opportunities to collaborate and/or share resources.
  6. Develop new approaches to problems they have encountered while supporting students.
  7. Strengthen their interpersonal communication skills.
  8. Identify applications of their abilities beyond the duties of their current position.
  9. Expand their awareness and understanding of the many support services available at UT.

Schedule

8:00 - 8:50
Registration and Sign-In
Coffee


9:00 - 9:40
Keynote


9:40 - 10:00
Tabling


Concurrent Sessions
10:00 - 10:50
Tough Questions, Good Answers: The Healthyhorns Advice Line
Spilling the TEA at UT: Raising Transfer-year Experience Awareness  


Concurrent Sessions
11:00 - 12:25
Inclusive and Values-Based Leadership
Peers for Pride: What Do Thriving Queer Communities Look Like?
Stepping Out of the Spotlight: Balancing the Roles of Expert and Peer


12:30 - 12:50
Lunch Distribution & Raffle


12:50 - 1:30
Keynote


Concurrent Sessions
1:40 - 3:05
Making Magic Happen: What Harry Potter Can Teach Us About Facilitation
Personalizing Your Study Plan
The Juggle is Real: Time Management for Student-Educators


Concurrent Sessions
3:15 - 4:05
Bridging the Gap for the 20%: Creating an Inclusive UT for First Generation College Students
The Why Game: Using Context to Improve Recall
UT Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisors: Raising Awareness, Lowering Stigma, and Educating Peers with and about Substance Misuse


4:10 - 4:30
Final Announcements & Big Raffle


Workshop Descriptions


Inclusive and Values-Based Leadership
Presenters: Brandon Thint, Ahmed Semary, and Chau Nguyen
75 min
In this interactive presentation, learn about the benefits of leading a group from an empathetic and ethical framework. We will talk through how to create an inclusive environment that respects and affirms all social and personal identities as well as explore how to reference personal values when addressing ethical dilemmas. The presentation will consist of videos, small group discussions, and engaging activities. 



Making Magic Happen: What Harry Potter Can Teach Us About Facilitation
Presenters: Michelle Emery and Mandy Colbert
75 min
Do you ever find yourself wanting to put a listening spell on the students you're teaching? Look no further! This workshop is for novice and experienced student/peer educators interested in acquiring new tricks to increase engagement and manage difficult situations that can arise in the classroom. You will leave the workshop saying "accio student engagement!" with ease.


Peers for Pride: What Do Thriving Queer Communities Look Like?
Presenters: Len Rudd, Kalib Eddings, Callum Goulet, Nieves Vazquez, Sarah Hudson, Claire Norris, Iman Shah, and Jess O'Rear
75 min
Join the Peers for Pride for an interactive and performance-based workshop addressing intersectional issues related to queer indigenous rights, the experiences of being queer and undocumented, the ethics of academic research involving marginalized communities, and other topics impacting those who are LGBTQIA+ at UT. Using Michael Rohd's applied theater tactic of "Activating Scenes," the peer facilitators will perform a scene depicting a conflict between two characters which does not end in resolution. Audience members will be prompted to discuss the situation and invited to step into the scene and perform alternative modes of problem-solving to provide support for the protagonist.


Stepping Out of the Spotlight: Balancing the Roles of Expert and Peer
Presenters: Cosme Dominguez, Jasmine Jones, Ye Ji Lee, and Ana Alyssa Hollander
75 min
As a student-educator, it can be challenging to help facilitate a peer's idea development without directing their decision-making process or telling them what to do. In this session, four consultants from the Public Speaking Center will share techniques for providing quality feedback and advice, while still allowing the consultee to be in the driver's seat. In small groups, participants will apply the strategies introduced by the panelists to a variety of sample scenarios and come up with a plan of action to best support that student's learning.



Personalizing Your Study Plan
Presenters: Khiem Hoang
75 min
This session addresses the misconception of the “one-size fits all study plan,” which many student educators unknowingly impart onto their students. The goal is to get student educators in the habit of tailoring educational strategies to the individual needs of the students they're supporting. This allows students to personalize their own study plan and encourages them to take an active and deliberate role in the process of discovering what works best for them. This skill is critical to being adaptable in different learning environments, workplace situations, and beyond.


The Juggle is Real: Time Management for Student-Educators
Presenters: Rebecca Wang, Tai Lewis, and Julia Joseph
75 min
Even the most experienced student-educators can find it challenging to juggle academic and professional responsibilities and still find time for family, friends, and the occasional Netflix binge. In this workshop, Outreach and Communication Specialists from the Sanger Learning Center will share research-tested strategies that helped them get through the busiest, most stressful times of the semester. They will also guide participants through the process of setting personalized SMART goals and incorporating them into a weekly plan.


Tough Questions, Good Answers: The Healthyhorns Advice Line
Presenters: Shannon Sullivan, Aman Hingu, Monica Gupta, and Shreya Angana
50 min
The Healthyhorns Peer Educators will share how best to engage students when discussing potentially triggering or unpleasant topics. Many of the workshops that Healthyhorns lead cover sensitive, and sometimes uncomfortable, health topics including sexual health, alcohol and drug safety, and nutrition. These peer educators will share their best tips on how to keep students focused and interested in the topic, as well as create a safe environment to ensure all participants feel comfortable, no matter what is being discussed!


Spilling the TEA at UT: Raising Transfer-year Experience Awareness
Presenters: Alexis Luoma and Miguel Robles
50 min
In this panel discussion composed of transfer students and TrIG mentors, you'll learn about the exclusion and isolation often faced by students who transfer to UT, including pressure to assimilate, stigma of being non-native, and the pre- and post-transition stress. We'll share where these stressors come from, illuminate existing native and first-time-in-college (FTIC) student privileges, and share what student educators can do to help alleviate the institutional barriers that transfer students face.


Bridging the Gap for the 20%: Creating an Inclusive UT for First Generation College Students
Presenters: Allison Kirkley
50 min
In a world of Longhorns, one in five is a first-generation student. Many of these first-generation students find themselves in an information vacuum, disconnected from campus resources and feeling lost about where to go for support. The more access a student has to ask questions and get answers, the easier it is to complete a task. By embracing our differences and sharing our resources, student educators can be the bridge for this growing population, closing the information gap and empowering our fellow students to succeed.


The Why Game: Using Context to Improve Recall
Presenters: Cameron Walsh
50 min
A common problem that many educators face is getting the material they present to stick in the minds of their students. Do your students seem have an initial grasp of the material at first but have a hard time retaining this newfound information despite all your hard work? This presentation will focus on creating context for information and using this context to foster connections in your students, leading to improved mastery over the material in a shorter amount of time.


UT Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisors: Raising Awareness, Lowering Stigma, and Educating Peers with and about Substance Misuse
Presenters: William McKenna, Carolyn Henein, James Lee and Tiffany Cunningham
50 min
The Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisors (DAPAs) will guide you through how to recognize red flags for substance misuse in UT peers, how to prompt and facilitate conversation about substance use/misuse, and how to utilize screening and intervention techniques, including reflective listening and motivational interviewing. This panel will also highlight the variety of solutions, interventions, and resources available for UT students.

Free registration is now open! Food will be provided to all forum attendees. Register here: http://bit.ly/leadandlearn.

If you have any questions, email conferencestudenteducator@gmail.com.

leading and learning a student educator forum


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