Learning Centers in Review
By: Anvi Bhate and Chengyue Zhang
The Learning Centers—consisting of the Math Center, Science Center, Writing Center, and Modern Languages Center—runs from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and serves as a space for students to get academic help in various subjects from peer tutors and teachers. Operating on the first floor of Phillips Hall, students are able to receive help from a faculty member and other students by signing up or dropping in.
The Writing Center was shut down halfway through the 2018-19 school year, and was brought back earlier this year by English Instructor Alex Myers. Alongside the revival of the Writing Center, an effort to combine peer tutoring and the newly installed Modern Languages Center began. Both students and faculty alike find the centers very helpful and nourishing learning experiences.
Explaining why the learning center was brought back, Myers said, “Peer tutoring has existed for a long time, and the Writing Center ran for three years and then stopped. This year we committed to re-opening the writing center and in the process Languages, Math, and Science also became interested, so they joined on. We asked the peer tutors to join us in the Elting Room so that all the groups would be together. That makes it easier to find and use the help. We wanted to offer help at a time that is convenient and consistent so that assistance was available to a wide range of students.”
History Instructor Mika Court described her experiences at the Writing Center. “[As a] faculty member, [the experience is] always really smooth, clear, and enjoyable. I get to see the range of assignments that faculty are assigning, which I find fascinating, and I get to work with so many students in a different way, one on one. As much as it takes time, it's energizing. I love teaching, and I love the feeling of [knowing that] I can be providing some support.”
Faculty Member Laurie Barr, who is a neurodiversity dyslexia disability specialist, shared the same sentiment, “Everybody in the Learning Center is working hard to support students in such positive ways,” Barr said. “I think that it's become a, not just useful, but really engaging and supportive environment, and that has been awesome to see.”
This year, the Modern Languages Center was a new addition to the program, and has received very positive feedback. “At the beginning I was a little skeptical about how many people were actually going to come to like the Center, but I've gotten a good amount of people,” Spanish peer tutor and upper Sofia Morais recalled. “Every time I'm here, someone will come ask for help, and towards finals, it starts to pick up a little more.”
Other tutors had similar thoughts. “It's pretty high commitment, but I honestly feel like it's worth it. You really feel like you're helping people, and it helps me also review things by explaining it to other people.” Biology peer tutor and upper Vibha Udayakumar reflected, “The environment is really welcoming. There's always a lot of people to help you out. If I end up helping someone with math or if I don’t know how to do my own math homework, there are people who can help me.”
Besides the peer tutors, there are also Math and Science Inatructors available for drop-in tutoring in the Elting Room, and many peer tutors themselves commented on this as a very helpful aspect of the program. “Teachers are also available, which is particularly helpful when there is a more advanced Math problem or to provide a better bird's eye view of a concept,” Math peer tutor and prep Derrick Chu explained.
Many students who have used the Center commented on the positive experiences they’ve had at the Learning Centers. “I usually go there for writing and chemistry help,” lower Jocelyn Orr said. “The writing center is very good for reading over stuff, and I usually get a better grade if I go and get it read over by teachers. And for chemistry, if I can't do the problems, they show me the ways to do them and help me comprehend the materials better.”
“For writing, [the teachers there] are never judgemental of your work. Usually, I pull up my narrative and the teacher reads it first just for a quick skim. Then, they would have me read it out loud and basically pick it apart, figuring out what worked and what did not,” prep Anika Bhatnagar agreed.
Many people find the center very helpful for science and math, such as Lower Quinn Coaxum. “It’s been so helpful. Students who are tutoring me are in much higher maths than I am, and it's very nice to get the opinion of other students instead of teacher's point of view on a math problem,” Coaxum continued, “I remember [during] final fall term, I was really stressed and panicking, and they helped me in all that. And I did really well, and I kind of chalk it up to the Learning Center. Really, truly they were most helpful.”
“I go there for pretty much everything you can possibly go there for. I've used Math tutoring every other night. Then the Science Department got involved, so I've been going for chemistry and it's nice because they have teachers too… I've gone to the Latin extra help and I've also used the Writing Center [as well], which is really helpful,” lower Pippa Pflaum said.
Some students found the peer tutoring intimidating when they first began, though most have grown more comfortable over time. “Previously, I was kind of scared because most [the peer tutors at the learning center] are so cool and slightly intimidating,” lower Katelyn Cui said. “Now that I've been there, I feel like I understand that this place is actually really inviting, and the people there are super nice and totally helpful.”
“For peer tutoring, there's teachers there, but mainly it's the students. The students are really helpful. You can go there and chill, but you also have to reach out when you're there to ask for help,” Orr added.
Though the Centers are overall beneficial, some students think improvements could be made. “Sometimes I wonder if we can split up science and math,” chemistry peer tutor and senior Olivia Williamson suggested. “They have us in the same room, so sometimes we don't get many science kids, and sometimes we get a lot of them. It's not always as easy to balance.”
In addition to this, people felt the need for increased outeach to students to make it more accessible. “I wish more people would take advantage of the Learning Center. Obviously, emails get sent out every week, but I don't know if everyone actually sees the emails. [They can maybe] advertise it a bit more or ask the language teachers to really be like ‘if you need help, I'll be here tonight in the learning center.’ A lot more people could benefit from this if they knew more about it,” Morais said.
Pflaum, among other students, also wished there could be minor changes in the schedule of the centers. “They are not open on Friday nights when we have Saturday classes or on Sunday nights, but I feel like they should always be open when we class the next day. It'd be really helpful.”
Myers also agreed that while the center was effective, there was more that could be done. “I think we’ve done well, but have room to improve. I’d like to offer daytime hours,” Myers said. “I’d like to offer more private space for students to work quietly. I’d like to offer more specialized help for students who have specific needs.”
Overall, despite the minor concerns, most agree that all the Learning Centers are helpful and a resource that students should take advantage of. “Definitely utilize the Learning Center!” Coaxum concluded.
