Peer Mentoring

• New lesson editor
• Study Skills
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)
• Upper Secondary (Key Stage 4)
• BTEC, GCSE

Introduction

Welcome to this lesson on Peer Mentoring! It can be a hard sell to learners usually, so this lesson aims to make it easier to persuade them to see the benefits! There are a range of activities here including word clouds, open questions, role play scenarios and quiz questions. This lesson is intentionally designed to be easy to modify for your own learners and centre. You can also experiment with the actual order of the slides. Hope you and your learners find the lesson useful!

Peer Mentoring

Hello and welcome to this lesson on Peer Mentoring. Because of LessonUp's interactive functions. this typically dry topic becomes a much more enjoyable and thought provoking lesson than it would normally be! You can easily customise this one to suit your intitution and your learners. Every image and text box is replaceable. Enjoy!

What qualities does a great role model have?

We open with a word cloud starter to establish the tone.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the session learners will be able to:

• Identify Benefits: Recognise at least three advantages for the mentee in a peer mentoring relationship.

• Develop Skills: Explain two key skills like leadership and communication gained from mentoring, and how they apply to jobs or studies.

• Recognise Behaviour: List at least two 'Do's' and two 'Don'ts' to maintain a trustworthy mentor relationship.

The learning objectives page.

What is Peer Mentoring?

Peer mentoring involves a skilled student guiding someone less experienced. It benefits both: the mentee gains knowledge, while the mentor strengthens their own skills. Helping others is truly rewarding.

An information slide (the image here is of adult learners but you can easily replace this image from stock, upload or AI.

Benefits for the Mentee

• Academic Success: Access to experienced advice on study techniques, time management, and course navigation. This is essentially reducing the learning curve.

• Reduced Stress & Isolation: Having a trusted, non-authority figure to talk to helps them overcome encountered problems.

• Increased Confidence: The mentor acts as a source of encouragement, helping the mentee believe in their own ability.

Information slide.

Benefits for the Mentor

• Develop Leadership Skills: Guiding others gives you leadership experience for your CV and university applications.

• Improve Communication: Learn active listening, ask questions, and give feedback effectively.

• Boost Confidence: Helping others boosts your own knowledge and confidence, known as the "Protege Effect".

Another infromation slide.

Imagine a new student struggling to manage their workload. How does hearing study advice from a peer (instead of a teacher) change how they receive that advice?

Open question to consider the value of peer mentoring.

Mentoring reduces feelings of...

A

Confidence

B

Isolation

C

Energy

D

Enthusiasm

A quick quiz question to highlight one of the positive qualities of mentoring!

Beyond feeling good, what transferable skills do you think a mentor develops?

And this open question performs a similar function for the mentor.

Role play scenario #1: Sarah's Stress

• Mentor: Liam (Second-year student) Mentee: Sarah (First-year student)

  Sarah is scheduled to meet with Liam for their third session. She shows up 10 minutes late, clearly agitated. When they finally sit down, she bursts out:

  
  

The following slides contain hypothetical mentoring scenarios with open questions.

Role play scenario #1: Sarah's Stress

"I don't know why I bothered coming. I have three assignments due next week and I’m completely overwhelmed.

My parents think I should drop one of my modules, but I don't want to.

I’ve tried all the time-management apps you suggested, but they don't work.

I feel like I'm letting everyone down, and I probably won't even pass this year. I just wish someone would tell me exactly what to cut out so I can fix this."

Based on this scenario, Liam needs to respond immediately. Write your first two sentences to Sarah.

Advice

Your response should demonstrate:

Empathy (Acknowledge her feelings).

Active Listening (Show you heard the real problem).

Boundary Setting (Avoid giving specific, directive advice she asked for).

Role play scenario #2: Pavel's Panic

• Mentor: Chloe (year 13 student)

• Mentee: Pavel (year 12 student)

  Pavel has final coursework due in two days and is panicking. He manages to catch Chloe (his mentor) outside the library, looking stressed.

  
  

Role play scenario #2: Pavel's Panic

• "Chloe, I haven't even started my introduction. I know you got an A* on this exact module last year. Can you please just read the rubric and tell me exactly which four sources I should use? If I use yours, I know I'll pass. I’m running out of time, and you’re the only person who can fix this for me right now."

If you were Chloe, write your first two sentences back to Alex.

Advice

Your response must demonstrate:

Empathy (Acknowledge the pressure).

Boundary Setting (Clearly refuse the inappropriate request without being harsh).

Reframing (Shift the focus back to guiding Pavel, not doing the work for him).

Peer Mentoring Do's and Don'ts

Do's

Don'ts

When you have the student answers in this word cloud with categories, click on the hotspots to reveal some suggested answers to compare.

Active Listening

Listen

How can you show that you are listening?

Think

Give time to consider what your mentee is discussing with you,

Speak

What kind of language should you use with your mentee?

A diagram showing Active Listening

Structuring Constructive Feedback

The 'Action-Impact-Suggestion' Model (or SBI/Sandwich):

• Action (or Situation): State the specific thing they did well or could improve on ("I noticed you rushed through the conclusion of your presentation.")

• Impact: Explain why this matters ("This made your final points unclear to the audience.")

• Suggestion: Offer a clear way forward ("Next time, try leaving 30 seconds extra for the summary slides.")

Role play scenario #3: Maya's Presentation Desperation

• She did a great job with the research and the visual slides (the content was strong), but during the Q&A session, she frequently interrupted the marker and other students, jumping in before they had finished their questions. This led to some confusion and made the Q&A run over time.

  
  

  
  

Role play scenario #3: Maya's Presentation Desperation

• Maya turns to Ben after the presentation and asks, "Well, how was it? I think I bombed the Q&A, didn't I?"

  
  

  
  

Ben needs to give Maya helpful, balanced feedback immediately, focusing only on the Q&A issue.

Advice

Using the Action-Impact-Suggestion (AIS) Model, draft Ben's full piece of constructive feedback to Maya in three separate sentences.

Action/Observation: (What specific behaviour did you see?)

Impact: (What was the consequence of that behaviour?)

Suggestion: (What specific, actionable step can she take next time?)

The hotspot gives more detailed advice and instructions.

Setting and Maintaining Boundaries

Key Boundary Rules:

• Time: Clearly define available times and stick to them.

• Scope: Do not take on problems that require professional help (e.g., severe mental health crises, abuse, criminal activity—always inform your educational institution about these sorts of issues).

• Confidentiality: Discuss the limits (what stays between you both, and what must be reported if it involves safety).

Important advice about safegurading. You may wish to make this more specific to your centre.

What should a mentor NEVER promise to a mentee?

A

To listen to their problems

B

To meet up regularly

C

To provide constructive feedback

D

To solve their problem or keep a secret that involves harm

One final quiz question.

For more topical lessons visit the

UK Spotlight Channel

Hope you and your learners found the lesson useful!