Acr presentation on peer mediators curriculum 10 9-13

• 1. Peer Mediators: A Complete School Curriculum (Grades 6-8) ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN DISPUTE RESOLUTION CENTER (APADRC)

2. Executive Director Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center 1145 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90017 Email: [email protected] Work phone: (213)250-8190 Websites: apadrc.org, peermediators.org, apadrc-divorce-mediation.org 3. Whats In this Presentation An overview of a peer mediation program and how it worksDescription of the positive impact a peer mediation program can have in the schoolsDescription of the new curriculum designed by APADRC and how it will make it easier for schools to start a peer mediation program 4. Collaborators on Peer Mediators Curriculum Development Team Charles Chang, Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution CenterWendy E.H. Corbett, Advancing Dispute ResolutionJustin Corbett, Advancing Dispute Resolution (Was with National Association for Community Mediation during the time the curriculum was developed)Darlene Mortel, Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center 5. Contributing Peer Mediation Program Curriculums and Materials: Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center, Los Angeles, CA Community Mediation, Inc., Hamden, CT Eagles Mediation & Counseling Centre, Liang Court, Singapore Inafa Maolek Conciliation, Guam National Association for Community Mediation, Mesa, AZ San Francisco Community Boards, San Francisco, CA Solve-It! Community Mediation Service, Mesa AZ 6. Curriculum Reviewers: Joe Brummer, Community Mediation, Inc., Hamden, CT Anya McDavitt, North Shore Community Mediation Center, Beverly, MASteffanie Medina, Creative Mediation, San Luis Obispo, CA Angela Mitakidis, Eagles Mediation & Counseling Centre, Liang Court, Singapore Darlene Mortel, Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center, Los Angeles, CA 7. What Is Peer Mediation Peer Mediation is a way to handle student conflicts and disciplinary problems Peer Mediation allows students the opportunity to talk out their differences in order to resolve their conflicts If a teacher/administrator doles out punishment like a suspension, the conflict will still be there after the students get back because they havent resolved their issues. Trained students serve as mediators so adults are not involved in dealing with the conflict other than to refer students to peer mediation 8. What Impact Does Peer Mediation Have In The Schools Can reduce suspension rates by 25% or moreCan handle bullying issuesCreates a better environment for studying and teachingCreates leadership opportunities for students who were getting in trouble and and getting into conflicts with other students 9. How Does Peer Mediation Work Students of diverse backgrounds are trained to be peer mediators (about 30 per school)When someone sees students having a conflict, they fill out a referral form listing the students and the type of conflict if they know itAnyone can refer administrators, teachers, other students, and themselves 10. How Does Peer Mediation Work (Cont) The coordinator takes the information in the referral form and calls out two student mediators during class time, and those two peer mediators call out the disputing students and they go to a room for mediationThe peer mediators handle all aspects of the mediation including the opening statement and filling out the agreement at the endThe adult coordinator oversees the mediation and gives feedback to the peer mediators after the mediation so the students can continue to develop their mediation skills 11. aka Peer Mediation Start-Up Kit (PM Kit) 12. Contents of PM Kit Implementation GuideTrainers ManualStudent WorkbookDVDCDOnline Conflict Resolution Class 13. Implementation GuideThe Implementation Guide gives an overall strategy for building and running a peer mediation program 14. Implementation Guide - Getting Started Conducting a school conflict resolution needs assessmentAssembling a Program TeamGarnering support from faculty / administrationIdentifying and Securing Funding Sources 15. Implementation Guide - Getting StartedSchool Conflict Resolution Center Needs Assessment Goal is to determine what conflicts exist within the school that can be helped with a peer mediation program Another goal is to determine among what groups the conflict exists (teacher/student, student/student, school policies, groups within the school) Determine what kinds of procedures are in place currently to deal with conflicts and if they are helpful What staff members have training in conflict resolution 16. Implementation Guide - Getting Started Assembling a Program Team At least one adult (teacher, dean, outside nonprofit staff, parent) must be willing to take on the role of Program Coordinator The Program Coordinator works with school administration, teachers, parents, and students to build and sustain the peer mediation program The more people that are part of the Program Team, the more likely that the peer mediation program will succeed 17. Implementation Guide - Getting Started Assembling a Program Team If there is no funding for the peer mediation program, it can still be implemented if a teacher or dean is willing to allocate their time to maintaining the program A parent can also become the Program Coordinator and start and run the peer mediation program If several teachers agree to be on the Program Team, each teacher can take responsibility for supervising the peer mediation program for one period 18. Implementation Guide - Getting Started Assembling a Program Team An Advisory Committee can support the Program Coordinator and peer mediation programThe Advisory Committee can provide administrative support for the program like finding resources and getting support within the school 19. Implementation Guide - Getting Started Assembling a Program Team Garnering Support from Faculty/Administration Because a majority of the referrals to peer mediation are made by Faculty/Administration, its crucial that faculty and administration understand the value of mediation and how the program will fit in with their daily routine.Its important to have a pitch that you can use to explain how the program works, how it will address school conflicts, and what kind of overall impact it will have on the school 20. Implementation Guide Building a Program Strategy Develop a Program Implementation Timeline Adapt/Supplement School Disciplinary Policies Define the types of cases that will be mediated Design a case referral system Develop an intake / Pre-screening Procedure Develop Program Forms and a System of Case Processing Develop Guidelines for scheduling mediations Develop Procedures for mediation session preparation 21. Implementation Guide Building a Program Strategy (Contd) Designing a school-wide promotional campaignDefining peer mediator training requirementsRecruiting/Selecting peer mediators 22. Implementation Guide Training Students The most complex part of the peer mediation program is training the peer mediatorsThe training teaches students the conflict resolution theory and mediation skills they will need to mediate conflicts 23. Implementation Guide Training Students Other components of the peer mediation program like setting up the referral system or promoting the program doesnt necessarily take any skill or knowledge, but a trainer who has knowledge of conflict resolution theory and mediation skills will find it easier to train the students, although the PM Kit curriculum is designed to allow anyone to do the training if they read the materials. The majority of the training is activity-based with debriefs about the activities so someone with good facilitation skills can do the training without prior experience in peer mediation 24. Trainers Manual Trainers Overview 12 Modules First 3 modules Introduce students to each other, to conflict, and to peer mediation Modules 4 to 12 are focused on very specific skillsets within peer mediation Total of over 100 training activities developed to support training the students Student handouts are also included to make using the activities easy for the trainer When doing the training, the trainer can follow whats in the student workbook or switch out some activities in the Student Workbook with whats in the Trainers Manual 25. Trainers Manual The Trainers Manual is filled with hundreds of hours of conflict resolution activities which can be used for an entire conflict resolution/peer mediation class Although the activities are geared toward students, the theory and knowledge are the same that adults learn in an adult mediation training Contains activities to develop and promote the program Contains sample role-plays for practicing mediation 26. Student Workbook Contains 12 modules each module has several activities that teach about conflict resolution and mediationThe trainer can give each student a workbook and the trainer will select which activities to use for the trainingProgram Forms are also included so students can use the proper forms during mediation 27. Student Workbook Sample Forms Peer Mediation Session Checklist Agreement to Mediate Peer Mediation Notes Form Session Brainstorming Worksheet Peer Mediation Agreement Form Peer Mediation Evaluation Form (by participants) Peer Mediation Evaluation Form (by peer mediators) Case Log 28. Online Conflict Resolution Class 25 hour training for teachers and nonprofit staff that want to learn the knowledge that is being taught to students in the peer mediation training 3/4 of the training is self-directed online with quizzes on each module 1/4 of the training is a live class that anyone can attend by logging on the course platform Because it is all online, anyone from anyplace in the world can take this online class The hard copy of the PM Kit and the online class have a fee, but everything else is free 29. Our Vision The vision of the Peer Mediation Start-Up Kit was to make it possible for every school in the country to be able to start their own peer mediation program even if they had no financial resources to put toward the program 30. From peermediators.org, you can do the following: Order hard copies of the PM Kit which includes the 3 manuals, the DVD, CD with electronic versions of the manuals Stream scenes from the DVD View locations where the curriculum is currently being implemented Get future updates on the curriculum, including an upcoming book of conflict resolution games that will be coming out toward the end of 2014