By Megan McGuinness, Staff Writer
With finals week right around the corner, there are a variety of free academic support resources available to students to help them excel on their finals and ace their projects and papers. Two of these resources are the Writing Center and the Math Center, which are both open up until the last day of classes and into next semester!
The Writing Center is facilitated by student tutors, with many available to help students with any and all stages of the reading and/or writing process. The peer tutors who work for the writing center are highly qualified, as they all possess strong reading and writing skills, have gone through an extensive application process, and participate in ongoing practicums with their fellow tutors.
These individuals offer a wide range of services, from helping students brainstorm research topics and break down assignments to assisting students in revising their own work and understanding how to properly cite sources in their papers. Further, the peer tutors look at all different kinds of writing. For example, students can come in with a lab report, a research paper, or even their own creative writing and receive guidance on how to make it the best it can be.
“What’s really great about the Writing Center is that it is actually a place to have a intellectual conversation about your work,” shared the Writing Center Director, Christine Crutchfield, “It’s nice to have a springboard to talk to and sometimes you actually start working out some of the issues on your own.”
The one-on-one, personalized tutoring sessions are typically 30-60 minutes in length and are carried out in a relaxed and private setting. The tutors work with each student who comes in to determine how they are best able to help them achieve their writing goals. “There is a really great community at the Writing Center,” said Crutchfield, “It’s a comfortable place to be; it’s a friendly place to be.”
The Writing Center is open both in-person and virtually this year and is located in Herman Hall Room 107. Interested students can stop by for “drop-in tutoring” during normal hours or can make either a one-time or weekly appointment ahead of time. One can go about booking an appointment by either stopping by the Writing Center, calling or emailing the Writing Center during normal business hours, or filling out an “appointment request form” which can be found at: https://www1.wne.edu/writing-and-reading/writing-support-services.cfm along with the regular business hours.
As mentioned, since the Writing Center is student-run, each spring they look for additional tutors to fill open spots. If one is interested in potentially working for the Writing Center, they can fill out an application in the spring, which requires providing a writing sample and a few letters of recommendation; they can also email Professor Crutchfield directly expressing their interest.
On the opposite end, the Math Center is an additional valuable resource, which both students and faculty can utilize. Similar to the Writing Center, this organization is student-run by many highly qualified students who have achieved an A- or above in the courses for which they tutor or grade.
In addition, many of these student workers have completed the application process, have been recommended by math department professors, and participate in training sessions each semester. Those interested in working for the Math Center are encouraged to first see if one of their math professors is willing to nominate them and should reach out to Professor Hayward at [email protected] in order to access an application.
First, faculty members in the math department who teach 100-200 level courses can connect with the Math Center in order to find students to serve as graders for one or more of their courses. Collaborating with the Math Center helps reduce the workload for professors and supports them by enabling them to provide immediate feedback on homework assignments.
“As a grader, working for the Math Center has been a really good opportunity to connect with faculty in a more professional way,” reported Taryn Padilla, a Class of 2023 Secondary Education/Mathematical Sciences major, “Since I want to be a teacher, it has been a cool experience to see how to grade math homework!”
In addition, the Math Center offers many valuable services that students can take advantage of. First, the Math Center offers both drop-in and “by appointment” tutoring for most 100-200 level mathematics courses and puts forth weekly help sessions for some 100-level mathematics courses. Additionally, students are able to engage in “calculator exchanges”at the Math Center, where they can swap out their basic/scientific calculator for a graphing one to be used while completing homework or taking an exam. Also, students are able to use the many computers in the Math Center to complete assignments and to print out math-course related documents.
The Math Center is located in Herman Hall Room 303. Students interested in tutoring can stop by for “drop-in tutoring” during normal business hours or can request a one time or weekly appointment using the “online request form” which can be found at https://www1.wne.edu/math-center/appointments.cfm along with the normal business hours. Further, a schedule is posted on the glass window of the Math Center listing the available dates and times for drop-in tutoring by course.
Scheduled tutoring appointments are typically one-on-one and 30 minutes in length. Students who request an appointment are encouraged to come with questions and a goal for the session. Tutors can help students complete their homework, review for upcoming math exams, and/or review notes and clarify key concepts.
However, in addition to being a place of organized tutoring and learning, the math center is also a place where students can come to relax and destress by playing a game of chess with a friend or by reading a Math Horizons article. In addition, students are welcome to use the math center as a place to meet up and work on homework with friends or to engage in an intellectual conversation about math!
“We try to have a very welcoming atmosphere in the Math Center,” said the Interim Director of the Math Center, Gail Hayward, “It seems to be getting more like it had been pre-pandemic.”
These two organizations are here to support you in your learning and help you achieve your academic goals! Students are encouraged to take advantage of the many beneficial services that these organizations offer, if not in this semester than in the next! Good luck on finals!
