Maiju Tyni and Sandra Aalto, students in the Entrepreneur’s Degree Programme, have been working as peer tutors, and together with their tutor team, they have developed a well-functioning tutoring model that has been compiled into a handbook.
The peer tutoring model for multiform and online study groups responds to the growing need to provide stronger support to students who often study alongside work, and possibly online. Their challenges can differ considerably from those faced by full-time students in the degree programmes implemented as daytime studies.
Escape room game as part of the handbook
The handbook on peer tutoring for multiform and online study groups was presented at the previous Pedagogical Wellbeing Day, where SAMK’s guidance and counselling staff welcomed it with enthusiasm.
Maiju and Sandra recruited new tutors and trained them. Now they are leading the pilot project at SAMK until the end of September. The aim is to integrate the model into SAMK’s basic activities thereafter.
– It’s been great to build something completely new that genuinely helps students. Multiform and online study groups need support tailored to their needs, and this pilot project enables us to respond to that need, says Sandra.
As part of the handbook, an escape room game has been developed to help students familiarize themselves with SAMK’s key services before they start their studies.
– With the help of instructions provided by the tutors, students proceed step by step: first activating their SAMK ID, then setting up email to contact their tutor. After that, the tutors add the students to a shared Teams platform, where they can introduce themselves using a ‘friendship book’ style, says Maiju.
Peer support benefits all students
Even before the studies begin, tutors send a video greeting to the student group and invite them to a virtual coffee break.
– Virtual coffee breaks lower the threshold for networking. Students can get to know each other, but they can also just come to listen to the tutors chat, says Maiju. Virtual coffee breaks continue after the studies start.
The needs of multiform and online students often differ from those of daytime students. In most cases, they already have jobs and families alongside their studies. Sandra points out that peer support offers adult students not only practical help but also an important sense of community. It reassures them they are not alone with the challenges of balancing everyday life and studying.
– We want to encourage students to ask for advice and share experiences with others in the same situation. It is also possible that even if the motivation is high at the beginning, the situation may change. Then it is important to know where to turn for help if necessary.
The pilot has also faced challenges, such as tailoring materials and operating models to very different student groups. However, Maiju and Sandra feel that effective cooperation between SAMK and the Student Union SAMMAKKO has helped to overcome the issues that have arisen.
– It’s motivating to see how this pilot can develop the entire peer tutoring culture. We hope that the model can be expanded and developed further in the future, Maiju sums up.
—————
For more information on peer tutoring:
Kai Hytönen
Communality advisor, Student Union SAMMAKKO
kai.hytonen@sammakko.fi
Mari Linna
Coordinator, Student guidance and Curriculum work, Education Services
mari.linna@samk.fi
