For growing numbers of students and teachers, peer mediation programs are part of the fabric of school life. There are compelling reasons for their popularity. Student mediators and participants gain a greater sense of empowerment and responsibility while building important skills such as communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Administrators in schools with peer mediation programs report reduced disciplinary actions and improved school climate. Research shows that resolutions reached through mediation are more satisfactory, and more likely to hold up over time, than resolutions imposed through formal disciplinary processes. Putnam High School in Springfield, MA, has a well-established peer mediation program. In this video, students and teachers recreate a student-student mediation and a teacher-student mediation to show how the process works. First, two student mediators, Shawna and Gemmalee, help Damian and Nina resolve a problem in which Damian perceives that Nina is spreading rumors about him. Next student mediator Torres and faculty mediator Sonia Kjergaard help a student, Courtney, and a teacher, Mr. Gaylock, work through an issue concerning Courtney's poor performance in class. Several staff members and mediation coordinator Denise Messina talk about how a mediation program operates and why the program at Putnam is so successful. Mediation is a process of working out disputes with the aid of an impartial third party--a mediator. In school, students do not mediate alone, but work with a co-mediator. Mediators are not judges or arbitrators; they do not make judgments based on evidence, and they don't hand down decisions by which the parties must abide. Rather, they act as facilitators, guiding the disputants through a communication and problem-solving process to arrive at an agreement that is acceptable to both parties. To be an effective mediator requires knowledge of the process, excellent communication skills (especially active listening), and an ability to put judgment aside and forego prescription. Student mediators usually experience personal growth and develop valuable social skills. The entire school community benefits as mediators model the skills of collaborate conflict resolution, and students learn that conflicts can be resolved constructively. The mediation process is structured as a series of stages: Stage 1: Introduction and Ground Rules Mediators introduce themselves, explain the mediation process, and request that the disputants agree to some basic ground rules. These generally include some form of the following: allowing the other person to speak without interrupting treating each other with respect; refraining from name-calling and insults trying as hard as you can to resolve the problem between you Stage 2: Exploring the Issues Each party tells his or her story without interruption. With each in turn, the mediators listen, paraphrase, and summarize. The mediators then facilitate talking between the parties to allow them to explore the issues, identify needs, and recognize each other's point of view. They help the parties to reframe the issues as mutual problems to be solved, and to find common ground on which they can build toward a solution, e.g., they both want to remain friends. Stage 3: Generating Possible Solutions Mediators ask parties to think of as many ideas as they can for solving the problem. (For multiple problems or issues, mediators might help parties prioritize the issues and then take the issues one by one.) If participants offer no ideas, mediators can make suggestions, using neutral, noncoercive language. ("What would you think of . . ." or "Could it work for you if . . . ") Stage 4: Choosing solutions Parties pick the solutions to which they can both agree. Mediators check to make sure that both parties are satisfied with the solutions and that all issues the parties need to address have been included. Stage 5: Writing the agreement The mediators write the agreement, listing everything that the parties have agreed to do. The language is behavioral and specific, e.g., "David will take Mike's jacket to the cleaners on Friday." Items on the list are balanced so that both parties contribute to the solution. The parties and the mediators sign the agreement; each disputant gets a copy, and a copy is filed.

		Show students the first part of the video, through the mediation of the dispute between Damian and Nina. Ask: a. Damian and Nina were very angry with each other and got into a fight in the hallway. If mediation had not been available, what might have happened? b. Three ground rules for mediation are: no interrupting, no name-calling, and no violence. Why do you think these rules are necessary? c. Several times, the mediators ask how Damian or Nina are feeling. Why is it useful for the disputants to talk about feelings? d. What do you think about Damian and Nina's agreement? Who makes the decision as to whether the agreement is a good one?
		Students can invite community mediators to come and speak to students about their work.
		Students can work in groups to research and report on one of these four processes for conflict resolution: mediation, arbitration, negotiation, and litigation. Each group could also develop a brief role-play (2-3 minutes) to illustrate the process they report on. These role-plays will demonstrate the key differences between these processes.

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