If you are hoping to expand your conflict resolution horizons, develop your online mediation capacity, and increase your potential for future income, all while elevating the conflict resolution skills of our younger generations, Online Peer Mediation might be your garden to cultivate.
According to Peer Mediation Online as of Tuesday, May 10, 2016:
THE NEED FOR ONLINE PEER MEDIATION
Since the mid 1980s peer mediation has been the most commonly used conflict resolution education program in the United States. Research indicates that as many as 25% of US schools have had peer mediation programs serving grades 3 to12 and many programs in large urban districts are districtwide. However, three important changes in the educational and social context now suggest the need for an online version of peer mediation.
1 Significant and Increasing Online Public Education
In formal educational contexts (K through 12) the increase in online schools has skyrocketed. Approximately 3 million K through 12 students are now enrolled in free, online public schools, which are not served by peer mediation.
2 Prevalence and Preference for Online Communication
Current schoolage generation prefers to communicate online. For the millions of students in conventional K through 12 schools, community groups, or youth organizations, online peer mediation opportunity is more congruent with their use of social media and communication technology.
3 Global Peer Mediation Growth
Peer mediation programs have been growing not only in the United States, but also around the world. In fact, much of the increase in peer mediation since 2000 has happened in Europe, Australia and South Asia.
ONLINE PEER MEDIATION PLATFORM (OPMP)
For the reasons listed above, in December 2014 the JAMS Foundation funded this Online Peer Mediation Platform (OPMP), a 2-year project initially managed by the Association for Conflict Resolution, and now managed by the Association of Peer Program Professionals
OPMP GOALS
The four goals of the Online Peer Mediation Platform are:
1-Resources
Provide extensive resources to anyone interested in peer mediation: useful links
2-Online Training in Basic Peer Mediation Skills
Show how middle and high school can teach their students basic peer mediation skills online . Peer mediation simulations
3-Online Peer Mediation Skills Development
Teach middle/high schools how students can practice their peer mediation skills by participating in online peer mediation simulations with other students and their trainer. Each simulation consists of four parts:
- 1- (Co)mediation of a typical school-related conflict between two or more students.
- 2- Debriefing, to reflect on what happened during that peer mediation: what worked well or not-so-well, and why.
- 3- Video Recording.
- 4- Online Survey, to collect all students’ feedback: e.g. what they liked about their simulation, what the learned.
In 2015 OPMP ran and video recorded six online mediation simulations. The results were very positive (students loved them). OPMP is now seeking 10 middle or high schools in the USA that are interested to learn in 3 hours (for Free) how to set up, run and video record online simulations with their own students and trainer. To watch the video recordings of the six simulations and learn how middle/high schools can participate in the 3-hour “Train the Trainer” program, click here.
4-Online Peer Mediation Services
Show how middle/high schools experienced in peer mediation can deliver online peer mediation services to schools that don’t have a peer mediation program: useful links
OPMP TEAM
The team is a group of experts in peer mediation, online mediation, Internet and mobile technology.
Judy Tindall – President, National Association of Peer Program Professionals
Dr. Cynthia Morton – Chair of Education Research and Teaching Section, ACR
Prof. Karen DeVoogd – MA, Director Mediator Mentors, California State University Fresno, Fresno CA
Jay Edwards – Website Consultant, ReelFire Productions
Giuseppe Leone – Founder, Virtual Mediation Lab
Kristen Woodward – Conflict Resolution Specialist, Fairfax County Schools
For more information about their Online Peer Mediation Platform, send an email through their Contact page.
