Peer Mediation Online

National Association of Peer Program Professionals Five Year Strategic Plan 2022-2027

Vision: To establish a culture of people helping people
Mission: The National Association of Peer Program Professionals helps adults establish, supervise, maintain, and evaluate peer programs so that trained peers may help each other with maximum effectiveness

Read the NAPPP 5 Year Strategic Plan here.

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.

Judy Tindall from the National Association of Peer Program Professionals (NAPPP) describes the context, scope, and elements of our Online Peer Mediation Project in her March 2016 article for Mediate.com. Read the article here.

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 school age 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 our Online Peer Mediation Platform are:

1-Resources
­Provide extensive information and training to anyone interested in peer mediation: useful links + resources , research + best practices , standards , curriculum , and media.

2-Online Training in Basic Peer Mediation Skills
­ Show how middle and high school can teach their students basic peer mediation skills using the peer mediation basics module.

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 we ran and video recorded six online mediation simulations. The results were very positive (students loved them). And therefore, we are 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 our six simulations and learn how middle/high schools can participate in our 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. Coming soon.

5-Peer Mediation Coordinator Training
- Following this intensive 32-hour training, individuals will qualify to teach adults how to establish, maintain, and evaluate a peer mediation program. Upon completion, participants will be eligible to receive a certificate from the Association for Conflict Resolution and the National Association of Peer Program Professionals as meeting the criteria of establishing a standard based program. In addition, participants will be eligible to apply as a trainer/consultant for the National Association of Peer Programs Professionals.

6-Organizational Conflict Resolution Training
- An organization’s success is based on its commitment to invest in human capital in order to compete in the global market. To sustain this advantage, organizations should consider the substantial return on investment from teaching conflict management skills and appropriate oral and written communication skills when working together. According to the American Psychological Association, the U.S. economy loses around $500 billion because of stress due to unmanaged conflict. Therefore, investing in appropriate conflict management skills can improve an organization's relationships, increase productivity, and reduce stress saving an organization thousands each year. Let our team work with your organization to teach practical techniques for managing conflict, effective conflict resolutions skills that improve working relationships and foster collaboration. Source

7-Teacher-Student Mediation for school administrators, counselors, and staff members
- Unresolved conflict in schools builds barriers to learning, including low motivation, lack of focus and disruptive behaviors that remove students from the classroom. Data show mediation is highly effective in repairing relationships and boosting understanding across racial lines. The goal of mediation is to restore respect so teachers can teach and learners can learn. This training will share evidenced based mediation techniques for use with teachers and students. The training will show the process of starting a student-teacher mediation, conducting a successful mediation, and collecting and monitoring data to measure the effectiveness of interventions.

8-Mediator Mentor Training for college students (Coming Soon)
- Nationally, there are tens of thousands of college students who have matriculated from peer mediation programs in the K-12 context who are often looking for further opportunities to use and refine their mediation skills. Further, many colleges throughout the United States offer conflict resolution studies as a focus for Bachelor of Arts or Masters level degrees. These students are well suited to gain training and support as Online Mediator Mentors to coach and encourage less experienced students at the high school level. The Online Peer Mediation Platform was established for high school youth, offering training modules for skill development as well as providing a platform to practice mediation simulations with the guidance of more experienced mediators who are college students.


9-Annual Peer Mediation Tournament - Coming January 2024
- To participate in the annual international online tournament, a school peer mediation coordinator will complete an application. OPMP will host individual Zoom meetings for each team to display their mediation skills. An OPMP mediation judge will preside over the Zoom meeting to score the team on their mediation techniques. Tournament manual and orientation video are posted on the OPMP website.


10 – Conflict Coaching for teens – coming soon


OPMP TEAM
Our team is a group of experts in peer mediation, online mediation, Internet and mobile technology.

Judy Tindall - President, National Association of Peer Program Professionals , Missouri
Dr. Cynthia Morton - Former Chair of Education Research and Teaching Section, ACR , Georgia
Karen DeVoogd - Conflict Resolution Education Trainer Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative - Los Angeles, California
Dr. Teresa Clerici - Attorney & Educator, Argentina
Darcy Thompson - Professional Mediator and owner of Thompson Mediation, Houston, Texas
Kristen Woodward - Trainer, Conflict Coach, Facilitator, and Mediator, Fairfax County Government, Fairfax, Virginia
Stacey Tisdale - Project Manager at Texas A & M Transportation Institute, Texas
Dr. Boone Benton - Professional School Counselor, Forsyth County Schools, Georgia
Dr. Chiquetta Thompson - Director of Youth Programs, The Mediation Center of Coastal Georgia, Georgia
Marilyn Bader - Peer Education Consultant, Missouri


Partnership Opportunity

In this three-hour online training, specialists in peer mediation will learn how to establish, implement, and train students to conduct an online peer mediation.
This training is aimed at school or peer mediation coordinators with an existing peer mediation program.

The video below is a recording of a Zoom conference which outlines the opportunities and how to get involved with Online Peer Mediation.


For more information about our Online Peer Mediation Platform, send us an email through our Contact page.