Peer Learning at Bielefeld University

The Context

I was part of something special at Bielefeld University: The Peer Learning project wasn’t just about helping students with their studies – it was about building a support system and developing skills that would serve them throughout their careers.

Technical Challenges

We did really cool stuff at uni: we planned and executed workshops for nearly every skill students at University could need:

Workshop Topics

• Memorization Techniques - From memory palaces to spaced repetition
• Presentation Skills - Both PowerPoint design and public speaking
• Time Management - Balancing studies, work, and life
• Academic Writing - Structure, citations, and argumentation
• Exam Preparation - Strategies for different types of assessments

I found the PowerPoint workshops we held to be really fun, teaching people who were just so able to operate a computer and write a thesis to make presentations in a controlled and safe environment.

Coaching Approach

We also provided 1:1 coaching on these topics and others. The personal touch made a huge difference – sometimes students just needed someone to listen and help them structure their thoughts.

Team Dynamics

Working with other peer tutors and university administration required:

• Coordinating workshop schedules across multiple tutors
• Aligning with university requirements and standards in different departments, from humanities and law and hard science
• Building trust with students who were often struggling, even doubting their abilities to graduate

The flat hierarchies, the willingness to learn and excel for the good of others, and experimenting with applying methods in our own meetings and internal workshops was rewarding, educating, and fun. We were repeatedly looking for practices that fit the ever changing team with every semester. Our team lead Melanie had her fingers on the pulse of the team at all times and softly nudged us towards reflection and reorganization, which she did with impressive grace in hindsight. At the time, I often didn’t even notice that we were starting to shift things again. Since I stayed for so long, I saw many different team sizes and needs, funding and University restructuring come and go and affect our organization – which ultimately shrunk, but survived, and performs still.

Personal Reflections

This experience taught me:

• Teaching & Communication – Breaking down complex topics into digestible pieces
• Program Development – Creating curricula and workshop materials from scratch
• Leadership through Competence – Coordinating with other tutors and university administration without being ‘higher up’ in any hierarchy
• Empathy – Understanding different learning styles and challenges
• Project Management – Planning workshop series, setting up processes for our team of tutors

While this might seem unrelated to software development, some skills transferred directly:

• Documentation - Teaching taught me to write clear, helpful documentation and make better presentations so that others could jump in and perform as well
• Systematic Thinking - Breaking down problems into teachable components
• Knowledge Transfer - Essential for code reviews and team collaboration
• Peer Support – Without a mentor in programming back in my teenage years, I wouldn’t have persisted; peer tutoring filled the skill gap at University, too. I believe a community of practice is the right choice for software development as well.

Impact

Over eight years, we helped hundreds of students not just pass their exams, but develop lifelong learning skills. Some of them went on to become peer tutors themselves, continuing the cycle of support. This whole thing, peer tutoring, was experimental and breaking new ground in Germany – at least at the time. It felt like the UK was much farther along, much more professional and also pragmatic on that front.