A strengths-based educational approach emphasizes developing students’ unique talents and abilities, fostering a sense of confidence and engagement. By empowering students to leverage their strengths, they become active contributors to both personal success and the betterment of their communities. This approach promotes collaboration, critical thinking and leadership, cultivating resilient learners equipped to drive positive social change. Strengths-based learning often begins on college campuses, where students are encouraged to apply their talents in leadership roles and programs such as peer mentorship are poised to integrate models that empower students, uplift communities and ultimately transform lives.
Facilitating student development activities through a strengths-based lens allows faculty and staff to identify and support the many gifts and talents that students possess. When situating the strengths-based philosophy in the first-year college experience, it is paramount for educators to intentionally work with students and student leaders to identify and build on their strengths. To facilitate student-centered strengths-based educational experiences, the Office of First-Year Experience at Richard J. Daley College (Daley College) leveraged several instruments and practices that supported first-year students and peer leaders in identifying and developing the individual and collective gifts, talents and skills they used to support their personal, academic and career aims. Herein is an overview of how Daley College implemented a strengths-based approach within its Peer Leaders Program and examines the impact of leading with this approach on both first-year students and peer leaders.
Operationalizing a Strengths-Based Approach in a First-Year Peer Leader-Led Program
The strengths-based approach is a methodology that identifies and leverages an individual’s natural skills. Asset framing has become a powerful method for assessing how people operate most effectively, particularly regarding their natural talents—their strengths. This methodology offers a tailored and positive approach to personal and professional improvement by focusing on developing an individual’s strengths. Through asset framing, students were introduced to their predominant areas of strength. This initial identification allows individuals to engage in strengths-based experiences to increase their awareness and understanding of their talents. By doing so, they can effectively leverage these strengths in their academic and personal lives, enhancing their overall performance and well-being. Contrary to conventional methods that typically identify areas for improvement, the strengths-based model adopts a positive developmental framework that enables individuals to enhance their natural strengths. This approach results in higher engagement, productivity and overall well-being.
Daley College designed a peer leader program that utilizes a strengths-based approach model, significantly improving the effectiveness of students who served as mentors to other students. Participants serving as peer leaders in this program underwent extensive training that started with identifying students’ areas of strength. This initial stage laid a solid foundation for self-understanding and personal growth. The program included interactive classroom discussions, collaborative small group activities and diverse tasks designed to help peer leaders identify and utilize their talents in their daily lives. By engaging in these activities, peer leaders deepened their awareness of their skills and learned how to use them to be more effective and productive in their roles.
The training also included simulated sessions where peer leaders practiced actively involving students in conversations that focused on their strengths. The experiential learning component was essential because it enabled peer leaders to practice the ideas of an asset-based framework in real-life situations. Peer leaders were educated on prioritizing assets instead of weaknesses, allowing them to assist students in recognizing and utilizing their abilities. This approach fostered a pleasant and empowering environment. This technique helped students receiving mentorship and enhanced peer leaders’ comprehension and utilization of their abilities, significantly enhancing their effectiveness in guiding their peers. Furthermore, integrating an asset-focused framework into the Peer Leader Program equipped student mentors with the skills and confidence to support their peers effectively.
A Bird’s-Eye View: Transformative Strengths-Based Peer Leadership in Action
In summers 2023 and 2024, Daley College organized three highly successful programs, each designed to achieve a particular goal and cater to a unique group of students. The initial program, the Young Executive Leaders Program, primarily emphasized professional growth and career exploration. It provided students with opportunities to engage in events and workshops that facilitated their exploration of various career options and the development of essential professional skills. The second initiative, the district-wide Summer Start Program, gave students an advantage by enabling them to earn college credits and receive tutorial instruction for math and writing placement testing. The Student-Athlete College Success Bootcamp, the third summer program, focused explicitly on first-year student-athletes. It offered a thorough week-long orientation that addressed various customized topics relative to the student-athlete, including managing a class schedule alongside athletic commitments, building an effective routine for athletes and strategies for academic success.
Each of the three programs integrated a strengths-based approach into its curriculum. The students within the programs took the assessment, gaining insights into their strengths. Upon completing a strengths assessment, students participated in a comprehensive strengths-based experience that peer leaders trained in motivational interviewing and appreciative inquiry facilitated. This experience included workshops, activities and small group sessions designed to guide students in effectively understanding and applying their strengths. Over 100 students participated in the summer programs and benefited from strengths-based peer mentoring. These peer-led experiences guided students on effectively employing their talents in academic, professional and personal endeavors.
Peer leaders enhanced the student experience at more significant campus-wide events such as new student orientations. Their involvement ensured new students received personalized support and guidance, fostering a welcoming and inclusive campus environment. Additionally, they provided peer-led workshops during Chicago Public Schools enrollment days. These peer leaders engaged with more than 200 students, making a substantial impact on their seamless adjustment to college life.
Impact Analysis
Formative assessments, including midsemester focus groups, were conducted to gather student perspectives on the peer leader program at Daley College. These assessments provided valuable insights into the most effective components of the first-year experience and identified areas for improvement. One of the critical methods used was an end-of-program empathy interview, where students were asked to reflect on what it means to feel at home and how this feeling relates to their experience at Daley College. Students consistently defined home as a place where they feel safe, comfortable and free to be themselves. This feedback was instrumental in understanding the aspects of the college environment that contribute to students’ sense of belonging and well-being.
In response to how the feeling of home applies to Daley College, students emphasized that the institution makes them feel comfortable and accepted. These insights from the empathy interviews highlight the importance of creating a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere in supporting student success. While traditional summative assessments such as analyzing semester grades, cumulative GPA and completion rates remain essential in measuring academic outcomes, the formative feedback these focus groups provide offers a deeper understanding of students’ experiences and the factors that contribute to their overall satisfaction and engagement within the peer leader program.
Strategic Enhancements for Greater Impact
The peer leader program is a multiphase initiative emphasizing continuous improvement to maximize its impact on student success. While the program has achieved notable success in facilitating students’ transitions into college life and fostering a strong sense of community, it also undergoes careful analysis to identify areas for growth. Some notable areas of development are as follows:
- Enhanced peer leader training: Implement additional specialized training sessions for peer leaders focused on advanced strengths-based application techniques and situational leadership to better prepare them for diverse student needs.
- Expanded program integration: Increase the integration of an asset-framing model across more college activities and courses, ensuring more students and faculty are familiar with and benefit from the strengths-based approach.
- Peer leader support network: Create a formal support network for peer leaders, including mentorship from experienced peer leaders and regular check-ins with program coordinators to address challenges and share best practices.
Daley College’s Office of First-Year Experience deliberately integrated a strengths-based approach into its peer leader program curriculum, demonstrating the significant influence of this asset-based framework that highlights student achievement and individual strengths. Equipped with tools like appreciative inquiry and motivational interviewing training, peer leaders effectively aided first-year students in managing their transition to college. These mentors provided new students with the guidance and support necessary to identify and cultivate their talents and abilities, ensuring no student felt lost or unsupported. This resulted in an empowering college experience, fostering personal development, success and a strong sense of community.
By incorporating peer leaders trained in various strength-based methodologies into different programs and activities, Daley College ensured that first-year students were actively engaged in a way that empowered and motivated them throughout their educational journey. The strategic incorporation of strengths-based mentoring emphasized the college’s dedication to establishing a dynamic and supportive learning environment.
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