Jonathan Bridgewater Transcript

Interview with Jonathan

Jamie: Why did you get involved with the scheme?

Jonathan: The reason why I got involved with the scheme is because I wanted it as another form of work experience for my CV really. Its sort of giving something back to the university as well. I’ve done some work before helping create websites and that sort of thing for other student schemes, so one thing sort of led to another really I spoke to a member of staff who highly recommended it and then she said it was another good thing to do so it got me involved.

Jamie: How have you found working on the scheme so far?

Jonathan: Its been really good, its quite different at the start from what I thought it would be though, I thought all the mentors would have the same kind of roll helping people, although we all help people we help people in different ways. When we were told that we were setting up a retention site me and Luke, its quite different from what the other mentors would be doing which is helping students. But before we were set those rolls I was able to do some sort of mentoring one on one or little groups doing revision session so its been quite a varied experience for me.

Jamie: How has the relationship with your staff partner been?

Jonathan: really good because my staff partner is someone who has lectured me before so I have a productive working relationship with them anyway. She knows the sort of work I’m able to do and sets me task that I can do which can help the students, so it’s been positive

Jamie: How has the relationship with your mentees been?

Jonathan: Yeah its been really good, at the moment I’ve been lucky because a lot of the people who have asked me to help them have been in my year, but I think it might be different branching out to younger students or students in the year below. I think that will be the big challenge with the task we have been set, which is to set up this website for student retention, bridging the gap from college to fresher’s. Getting in contact with those students because it’s a different age range it will be hard to break the ice with people who aren’t already your friends because there less comfortable to ask.

Jamie: Can you briefly describe some of the things you have been doing, so you just been talking about your website

Jonathan: Yes so for the website, so far we have only been told to set up the basic ideas, so what to tell students, what to bring what to expect nightclubs they can go to, cheapest taxis that sort of thing the social aspect. Aswell as the educational aspect but I think the main things at the moment is the student experience, trying to get that sorted then slowly building them in to. We’ve been told to come up with a name because the current name is apparently to long and boring. On the complete flip side I have done the other side of mentoring which is ive have people say can you help me with revision so weve gone through, when Jamie and mel did their introduction they did a booklet telling us about the different revision techniques that sort of thing so we had to go through and see if they were someone who read and learnt or an active doer and that sort of thing, so weve been through that and then revision techniques and just going over stuff really, we set a few lesson objectives and targets and stuff that we touch upon aswell and the reason really why we have started to do that is because it allows you mentees to see the process which is what they want at the end of it really

Jamie: What are the benefits for you

Jonathan:  One is another website for my CV which is always good being a media student  to get as many on board as possible, because I’m always creating content which is good, two its almost borderline teaching skills, some of it, not teaching but like the basic of understanding students and being the in-between you sort of in a weird middle ground where your not a teacher but your not just a student anymore its quite nice to get that relationship with the staff where they can tell you more and you feel like you can do more really. I feel a lot more comfortable helping students now.

Jamie: What do you feel you have achieved throughout the process so far?

Jonathan: It  hasn’t been that long so I’d say I’ve helped a couple of I’ve done three revision sessions so far so I have aided people to learn weeks 1 -4 for their revision and the techniques they should use and set out a couple of objectives and for the website its very early stages to be honest. We haven’t really achieved that much but we now what the aim is and what we want to do so that’s a positive.

Jamie: What do you hope to achieve over the coming weeks?

Jonathan: Finish that website, I’m sure its going to take a long time because there’s a lot of content which we have got and what Kerry has given us ideas for but basically finish that website and up until the end of this week is the exam period so I’m doing other revision sessions after this and will continue to do those for whenever people need them and maybe carry on with that next year if its needed.

Jamie: what specific skills do you feel you have gained so far?

Jonathan: yea definitely my communication is on another level again I think the other work I’ve done I’ve done bar work and that sort of thing and you communicate for the fact of helping someone in a retail experience is very different to actually try to help teach or to help give someone a technique is very hard. Some time you have to depending on the student you might have to  go over things more then once and sometimes you might find that frustrating but you have to understand their point of view once you get in to it its quite a good skill its like emphasising with people a lot more and you start to work out aswell what peoples capablities and what there good at and its really good because you can be really productive and tell them its really good so yeah communication skills and be able assess people more

Jamie: Which skills do you wish to gain?

Jonathan: To get my communication skills even better because I feel with some students there more, the more you talk to a student the easier it is to help

Jamie: What difficulties have you came across?

Jonathan: The only problem we’ve got is finding students so a lot of people have done stuff like posting on their face books that there a mentor. Some people are nervous to come across and that’s why they need mentoring in the first place so of the people who have asked me for mentoring have say struggled in class and asked if I would help. Just getting across that you’re a mentor and your willing to help as daft as it sounds when we started this project for the website and the retention thing and its got the face book page and whatever I think there going  to recognise from day once that me and Luke set it up and were the people who pretty much reply to all there questions I’m  hoping they will know who we are even before they meet us, if people come and recognise me at the university and know they can come and ask me for help in fresher’s before I have already met them I think we will know that it has worked but for other people I think that it might be difficult to engage in who needs mentoring who needs help, because sometimes the people who don’t need help are the people who come forward.

Jamie: So far do you feel like you have helped students?

Jonathan: Definitely specially with the revision sessions its simple things going through techniques and stuff its stuff you sort of forget about after doing gcses or a level and at university you see to be doing a lot of the theory work and we don’t have exams very often so people go out of sync with it so helping them get back in to it so yeah I feel like I have helped them.

Jamie: How have you gone about planning your sessions?

Jonathan: the way I do it is basically three targets and a learning objective so the learning objective is what they need to of learned by the end of the session and the targets is throughout the lesson so beginning middle end so at the start it will be weeks 1 to 2 then week 3 and 4 and what they have to know so the reason why I have structured it like that is because my parents are teachers and they always been told to do and I think I’ve just copied that and when you do revision sessions and stuff it’s a smaller time period so its easy to show students progress and the easiest thing to do is to say look this is how far you have come in this session. 

Jamie: What resources have you used?

Jonathan: Obviously the blog, blogging about what we’ve been doing which I need to be on there more.  Weve used the student academic mentoring handbook which ive used to give out revision techniques and moodle in general as a resoure and powerpoints from lectures for revision lessons.

Jamie: What are you most proud of?

Jonathan: Feeling like we actually get to help people because, so for the revision sessions people genuinely are thankful that you have helped them, and they really like you’ve helped them think their going to get a better grade now and just some people need the confidence of revising with someone else because sometimes you revisie on your own and your like is that right or not but if you have someone else with you to go back over the originally lecture to say look this is what it says here, it sounds daft but sometimes you go off into your own little world and you don’t get back to basis. So that makes me feel like ive helped.

Jamie: Is there anything you can think of to improve the scheme?

Jonathan: Start it earlier I know that this year its been a pilot at later in the year and from future times it will start earlier that’s the only thing because we’ve got it on just finding people right on the edge of exam time but I suppose its different for every project because were doing web design and that sort of thing and making content but for to get the whole experience for the student if it started say from Christmas well maybe before actually because you have to deal with all the freshers who will probably need the most help , just start it a bit earlier really but other then that no complaints.

Jamie: Would you recommended the scheme to another student?

Jonathan: Definitely I think its CV very very good to have on your CV its not just for me its practical experience for the fact that I get to do filming and designing and get to do writing but when im blogging im discussing things and ideas about teaching and that sort of learning new skills that I wouldn’t get from anywhere else.

Jamie: Has you attitude to university life changed since being a part of this scheme?

Jonathan: Yes definitely, ive worked along side staff before for the SAP projects and I really enjoyed that and then to do with the mentoring scheme as well its up another level because its not just working with the staff its working with the students aswell so its been a really good experience so far

Jamie: What do you wish to gain from this experience?

Jonathan: Improve my skills in general just like I said before really I want to get better communication with students and get to meet different kinds of people not just people that I want to find more students and help students more. Sometimes you need to be able to identify someone and offer help in the first place.