How can the qualities of a peer leader motivate and increase enthusiasm among students

1
How can the qualities of a peer leader motivate
and increase enthusiasm among students? Chike
Ukaegbu, Peer Leader, The City College of New York

• Experiment
• Techniques I use in workshop to increase
  motivation are
• Being friendly and easy going
• Learning students needs, by asking them questions
• Being innovative by devising different approaches
  to the same problem
• Restructuring or changing my format of conducting
  workshop from time to time
• Using incentives like extra credit, candies,
  cookies to keep the students lively
• Using jokes and fun to keep the class active and
  interesting
• Listening to their problems and helping out when
  I can
• Making each student believe that he/she is not
  dumb and could excel
• Encouraging teamwork, and changes team partners
  occasionally
• Using competition among groups and making
  students put up answers on the board

Introduction The ability to stir up motivation
and enthusiasm successfully among one's peers is
a difficult task, which not only involves good
leadership, but also emulative characteristics
from the leader. Peer leadership is very
difficult because it involves motivating your
peers for positive change. According to James
Clawson, a leader has to assume different roles
in order to successfully motivate others. These
roles include v       Listener v      
Dreamer v       Voice v       Energizer v      
Imaginer v       Change Agent v       Designer
v       Story teller v       Clarifier v      
Servant v       Teacher/Coach In Addition, these
three dimensions should be added when considering
the role of a Peer Leader v       Peer v      
Friend v       Guide  A leader cannot motivate
ones peers efficiently without making them
realize that v     The leader is like them
(experiences difficulty in understanding some
things are a student like them and not a
professor, do not know everything, and is
willing to help them out when you can) v      
The leader has their interest at heart (you
believe that they can succeed, and help them
believe that too) v       The leader is their
friend (you are ready to listen to their
questions and problems outside the class when
YOU can, and you are concerned about their
success by encouraging them and not criticizing
or putting them down when they make
mistakes) v       The leader is a guide, not a
ruler nor a play-mate (you are a guide, which
calls for respect in class. However, you also
have to respect every student adequately without
embarrassing yourself.)
Leader
Good leadership qualities
 Implications The pie chart below is a result of
a survey I conducted on the effects of a peer
leaders attitude on both motivation and grades
of students
Leader's attitudes
Classroom context
 Hypothesis These three qualities inspire and
increase motivation among students if used
effectively.

• Definition
• Motivation According to the Webster's Third New
  International Dictionary, Motivation is the act
  of motivating, which means to
• A. To stimulate the active interest of in a study
  through appeal to associated interest or by
  special devises
• B. To make (a study) interesting or otherwise
  appealing to students
• Leader One who guides
• Friend A confidant, acquaintance or one who
  regards and respects another party
• Peer an equal, or one in equal standing with
  another
• From these definitions,a peer leader has to play
  the roles of friend, peer and guide to
  successfully motivate other students.

• Conclusion
• In order to motivate students to excel, a peer
  leader must
• Relate to students nicely
• Have good leadership qualities
• Be innovative
• Be a friend, peer and guide

Student motivation

• References
• http//faculty.darden.virginia.edu/clawsonj/pdf/L3
  L_2002_Syllabus.PDF, 04-20-04
• http//eric.uoregon.edu/pdf/trends/motivation.pdf,
  04-22-04
• http//bestfriends.org/nmhp/forumarchive/S8_shared
  20Leadership-A2.PDF, 04-22-04
• Roth,V., Goldstein,E.,Marcus, G., (2001).
  Peer-Led Team Learning A HANDBOOK FOR TEAM
  LEADERS. Upper Saddle River, NJ Prentice Hall.

Personal and student satisfaction

• Literature Review
• Deci And Ryan Theory Humans are born with the
  tendency to seek out opportunities to master and
  integrate new experiences.
• Braskamp and Maehr Theory Perhaps more than we
  realize, we are what we are expected to be and we
  do what the task and our significant others allow
  and demand

Graphic Representation of the End-Product of Good
and Friendly Leadership