From surviving to thriving: How peer support and reflective practice fosters academic confidence and success
Session Type
Presentation
Room
Physics and Astronomy, room 106
Start Date
17-7-2025 3:30 PM
End Date
17-7-2025 4:00 PM
Keywords
inclusive excellence, metacognition, peer-mentoring, self-efficacy, belonging, reflection
Primary Threads
Teaching and Learning Science
Abstract
Ensuring all students have access to the tools and strategies they need to succeed is a cornerstone of inclusive teaching. Finding success often depends on students developing self-regulated learning (the ability to set goals, monitor progress, and adjust strategies), understanding disciplinary norms and expectations, and cultivating a sense of belonging in the academic community. However, many students enter university with vastly different levels of preparation and access to academic skill-building resources.
To help close these opportunity gaps, we developed a weekly, student-partnered success program that supports academic and personal growth through reflective practice, peer mentorship, and skill-building. Each week focuses on a different theme — such as time management, active study strategies, values-based career navigation — and guides participants through structured modules and self-reflection activities. The program was co-designed with undergraduate student partners, who contributed insights from both educational literature and their lived experiences. These partners also served as the peer mentors, leading small-group discussions that fostered connection, normalized help-seeking, and promoted student-to-student learning.
Though initially created to support biology students, this model offers a scalable and adaptable framework for fostering inclusion, confidence, and persistence across disciplines. We will share evidence of impact on students reported academic self-efficacy, confidence, and sense of belonging, and discuss how peer mentorship and reflective learning can be leveraged to support more equitable student outcomes.
Elements of Engagement
To emphasize the unique value of student-designed modules and explore additional areas where students’ insights can enhance academic support, participants will engage in an interactive brainstorming session. This activity will prompt attendees to consider what kinds of advice, strategies, or information students are better positioned to offer than instructors or staff. Responses will be shared in real-time using a live polling tool (e.g., Poll Everywhere) to capture the collective input and highlight patterns as they emerge.
From surviving to thriving: How peer support and reflective practice fosters academic confidence and success
Physics and Astronomy, room 106
Ensuring all students have access to the tools and strategies they need to succeed is a cornerstone of inclusive teaching. Finding success often depends on students developing self-regulated learning (the ability to set goals, monitor progress, and adjust strategies), understanding disciplinary norms and expectations, and cultivating a sense of belonging in the academic community. However, many students enter university with vastly different levels of preparation and access to academic skill-building resources.
To help close these opportunity gaps, we developed a weekly, student-partnered success program that supports academic and personal growth through reflective practice, peer mentorship, and skill-building. Each week focuses on a different theme — such as time management, active study strategies, values-based career navigation — and guides participants through structured modules and self-reflection activities. The program was co-designed with undergraduate student partners, who contributed insights from both educational literature and their lived experiences. These partners also served as the peer mentors, leading small-group discussions that fostered connection, normalized help-seeking, and promoted student-to-student learning.
Though initially created to support biology students, this model offers a scalable and adaptable framework for fostering inclusion, confidence, and persistence across disciplines. We will share evidence of impact on students reported academic self-efficacy, confidence, and sense of belonging, and discuss how peer mentorship and reflective learning can be leveraged to support more equitable student outcomes.