By Dr. Charlene Berquist, Director, and Heather Blades, Associate Director
This fall the CDR offered several peer mediation trainings to support students in area high schools and at Missouri State University.
On September 30th the CDR provided peer mediation training for students at Glendale High School. Then, on October 5th nearly 30 Missouri State students were trained as peer mediators. These students assisted the CDR to provide a district-wide high-school peer mediation training (hosted at Kickapoo High School) for nearly 70 area high-school students and educators.
What is Peer Mediation
Peer mediation is a process where two or more students involved in a conflict meet in a private, safe, and confidential session to work out their problems with the assistance of a student mediator. Student peer mediators are trained in the skills, structure, and dynamics of mediation so that they can assist their fellow students with a variety of types of conflicts. They use their communication skills and knowledge of the mediation process to helps their peers understand each other’s perspectives and work together to develop a plan to manage their conflict.
Experiential Learning for Missouri State Students
The Missouri State students trained in peer mediation by the CDR have a number of volunteer opportunities available to them, each of which offers an outstanding learning and public service experience:
- Missouri State University peer mediators provide free mediation services to their fellow college students through the Peer Mediation Program offered by the CDR.
- Missouri State peer mediators assisted with the district-wid
e high-school peer mediation training this past October at Kickapoo High School, and may support future trainings. - Missouri State peer mediators may choose to mentor high-school peer mediators by co-mediating cases with them and providing ongoing education, supervised by the CDR.
For More Information on the CDR’s Peer Mediation Programs
The CDR is pleased to help fulfill the University’s public affairs mission by supporting peer mediation programs and volunteer opportunities, as well as other programs that meet community needs while offering invaluable experiential learning opportunities for the students. For more information, please visit the CDR website or contact the CDR at 417-836-8831 or CDR@MissouriState.edu.