Welcome to the training guide
The “Introduction to Student-Centered Peer-Educator Training” online training module provides peer educators with introductory and foundational skills and concepts relevant to a wide range of peer-educator roles.
We hope you’ll use this training as part of your peer educator training, and recommend you supplement with additional activities and information. Below, you’ll find a few ideas to help you integrate these units into your broader training program, including information on how to initiate this training, debrief with peer educators who have completed it, and a short list of additional topics you may use to supplement this online component.
Training Options
The training is organized into three units, allowing you to select the ones that best align with student employee responsibilities. Unit 1 provides foundational concepts and core communication practices that benefit every peer educator, regardless of role. Unit 2 is especially relevant for positions that involve subject-based learning (like tutoring). Unit 3 focuses on how to structure an effective interaction whether that’s appointment based or a drop-in conversation, using our “WISE” model.
Students can complete the training entirely online, which allows them to work through the material at their own pace and from any location with internet access. While less common, some programs choose to complete the modules as a group, reading sections aloud and pausing for conversation or reflection. Many supervisors blend the two methods by having students complete modules individually and then bringing the group together afterward to debrief, practice skills, or connect concepts to their specific workplace context.
As you launch the training for peer educators, it is helpful to provide them with some information on:
- Logistics: which units they are expected to complete, how long the training will take, when it needs to be completed by, and any expectations you have for completing the reflection sheets or demonstrating/confirming completion.
- An overview of their role: Because there are many different formats of peer education, we recommend describing the role they’ll be serving in, the format of peer education (e.g. tutoring, coaching, one-on-one, group), and some of your expectations for their work in advance of the online training.
- Expectations for completion: This may also be a good time to highlight the value of training and professional development within your unit or organization (see the section on “Additional Training Topics” for more ideas).
Follow-Up Activities
Consider gathering a group of peer educators who have taken the training, or meeting individually with peer educators to discuss key takeaways, practice some of the skills, and address any areas of confusion. Peer educators with limited experience in their role could share previous experiences that relate, while experienced peer educators could share examples from their current peer-to-peer work.
Sample exercises and prompts:
- Talk through responses to the questions on the reflection sheet, sharing examples and hearing a variety of responses to each.
- Practice listening, asking questions, paraphrasing, and validation with another peer educator as they speak on a prompt. (e.g. “What are your current goals?” “Where are you needing to focus effort this week?”)
- Brainstorm learning activities that work well in the context of your program and peer educator positions.
- Discuss what it feels like to be stuck, frustrated, or stressed, and how peer educators can support students in those situations.
- Provide case studies of common situations and discuss possible responses.
- Ask peer educators to share how they like to learn and what their preferences for learning are. Ask them to consider how their preferences might affect their work with students or how they might adapt their approach to someone who works and learns differently than they do.
Additional Training Topics
Program-Specific
- Unit values and philosophies
- Goals/desired outcomes for working with students
- Drop-in vs. scheduled, individual vs. group
- Session length and frequency
- Populations of students you serve
- Organizational structure for your department and unit
Logistics
- Time sheets and recordkeeping
- Absence, late arrivals, and illness
- Setting schedules and arranging changes
- Technology, physical spaces, virtual spaces
Expectations & Professional Development
- Professionalism in this role, including meeting locations, dress, and boundaries/self-disclosure
- Routine communication and crisis/concerns, including contact information and availability for anyone supporting their role
- Regular meetings and additional trainings they will be expected to attend – timing, content, and expectations for their engagement
- Learning about their goals, expectations, and needs in this position
University or Department Policies
- Requirements for work eligibility (student positions)
- Policies for holidays and inclement weather
- FERPA and confidentiality
- Mandatory reporting
- Policies for responding to bias, reporting on discrimination
- Responding to student crisis and distress
- And others as determined by your institution or unit
Other Units
Many programs supplement the Intro Training with information about other resources so that peer educators can make referrals to those programs. Additionally, it can be helpful to have content experts from these units provide training information directly to peer educators. Examples of key partner resources within the OSU context include:
- Academic Departments or other tutoring unit
- Academic Success Center
- Basic Needs Center
- Counseling & Psychological Services
- Equal Opportunity & Access
- Disability Access Services
- Office of Institutional Diversity
- Office of International Services
- Writing Center
The training platform does not collect student information or create a certificate or confirmation of a completed training. If you would like to verify that a peer educator has completed the training, we would recommend you have the peer educator fill out the reflection sheets (#1, #2, #3) as they study the content and provide those documents to you. It would also be possible to have students take a screenshot of the menu on the right side of the screen to demonstrate completion of all sections (indicated as blue checkmarks) though this only indicates someone has scrolled through the information and does not demonstrate engagement with the information.
This training was designed to cover many of the foundational topics commonly included in CRLA’s International Tutor Training Program Certification (ITTPC) Level 1 guidelines. Users can choose to pair the online modules with the provided handouts and optional live discussion or processing sessions, which together may support institutions as they build toward meeting CRLA-aligned training expectations.
Because CRLA certification is awarded at the program level—not for individual training products—each institution must review the CRLA requirements and determine how this training fits within their overall certification plan. Some institution-specific components, such as FERPA training or employee onboarding modules, are not included here and would need to be added locally.
This training was developed with accessibility in mind and incorporates many widely recommended practices such as clear structure, color contrast, use of headings, alternative text and captions where applicable. Beginning in 2026, public‑sector digital content is required to conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA (under Title II of the ADA). Starting April 1, the site should meet the new accessibility requirements including reflection worksheets that are Microsoft Word documents, and “take-away” sheets that are accessible PDF documents. If any users find elements of this training that do not conform or are not functioning as intended to conform, please report those to [email protected].