NEST (Nurturing Excellence in Student Teachers) is a program where a fourth-year BSc. in Education student became a peer mentor to the third-year students in advance of their school placement. The time leading up to school placement can be stressful and provide a sense of uncertainty for student teachers, as they prepare resources for their placement. As a mentor in this program, I offered the third years with advice and support about their preparation for school placement as well as role-play many possible scenarios they could encounter during placement.

My role as a leader, myself and fellow leaders went through how to implement group work in the classroom so that it can be useful. As part of this class, we performed an example of group work which the students completed. We went through different scenarios and role-played issues that may arise during group work. The lesson also emphasised on time management withing a class and how time within a class can get used. Students found it very beneficial before heading out on school placement, as it equipped students with the necessary skills to deal with such incidents.