After seeing a significant increase in the use of study halls for classes such as economics, math, chemistry and physics, the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning has designed a new tutoring system in order to meet the capacity of students who want help, and plans to implement these changes within the next two weeks, Director of the McGraw Center and Associate Dean of the College Lisa Herschbach explained.
The McGraw Center will hold peer tutoring from7 p.m. to 11 p.m. and study hall tutoring from7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.Study hall tutoring is currently scheduled to beginon Sept. 21, and peer tutoring will begin, at most, one week later with half-hour slots. The Center plans to hire two tutors per course who will each have two-hour shifts.
Before these changes were made, peer tutoring and McGraw center hours were not held at the same time, and peer tutors would instead schedule their hours whenever they happened to be free.
“There’ll be more flexibility; we’ll be able to optimize our time, as well as make it easier for students who now know that, as long as they go to Frist [Campus Center], they can get help,” Herschbach said.
The peer tutoring system, which is different from study hall tutoring in that it is provided on a one-to-one basis, has always relied completely on undergraduates.John Axcelson, director of studies at Wilson College, was primarily responsible for coordinating the peer tutoring system. Axcelson declined to comment for this article.
“It’s more susceptible to the contingencies of people’s busy schedules,” Herschbach said. “It wasn’t working as efficiently as we hoped.”
The McGraw Center decided to make changes to combat the shortage and inefficiency of peer tutoring, combined with the overflow of students in study hall tutoring. The first concern was to simplify information and how to access it, Herschbach said, citing the Writing Center as a model of efficiency that the McGraw Center hoped to imitate.
Like the Writing Center’s system, students will be able to schedule appointments for peer tutoring, and the McGraw Center expects students to find others to fill their spot if they cannot make it.
“There’s no wasted time,” Herschbach said. “If you can’t make the appointment, you’re expected to find someone else to replace it. How can we learn from that and apply it to peer tutoring?”
Herschbach worked with colleagues at the McGraw Center, including Axcelson, Associate Director of the Undergraduate Learning Program Nic Voge and Senior Associate Dean of the CollegeClaire Fowler to come up with improvements.
In the process of brainstorming, the McGraw Center has also worked closely with the CHM 303/304: Organic Chemistry and PHY 101: Introductory Physics I faculty, discussing how tutoring could enhance learning in the classroom and maintain efficient communication so tutors and faculty can help each other. The McGraw Center is also developing additional targeted supplementary review sessions for critical pre-med track courses.
Another big change to the tutoring system involves the increase of salary for all tutors. Standardization is important, Herschbach said,and she added that all students should be compensated appropriately and at the same rate. Peer tutors were previously paid $12 an hour, compared with $14.80 for McGraw study hall tutors.
“We know there are lots of different kinds of things students can do,” she said. “We want to encourage students to take on this work, to sweeten the pot.”
The McGraw Center plans to pay all tutors every two weeks, as opposed to once a semester or on a weekly basis.
Matthew Wang ’16, a peer tutor, expressed his excitement for the changes to take place, recalling that last year, the program seemed disorganized overall. Saumya Swaroop ’15, a McGraw tutor since her sophomore year, also said that the McGraw Center is taking a step in the right direction.
“It’s an added incentive for tutors and makes it more worth our time, because we’re busy too,” Swaroop said.
The changes made to the peer tutoring system are a direct result of how popular the resources provided at McGraw have become, Herschbach noted.
“We realized we needed a different type of structure to make the system work,” she said.
Read More
Day ten of ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’ at Princeton
The “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” enters its ninth day after a quiet night in Cannon Green — follow for live updates.
The “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” enters its ninth day after a quiet night in Cannon Green — follow for live updates.
Day nine of ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’ at Princeton
Daily Princetonian StaffThe “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” enters its ninth day after a quiet night in Cannon Green — follow for live updates.
The “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” enters its ninth day after a quiet night in Cannon Green — follow for live updates.
Annual May Day March stops at ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’
Justus Wilhoit and Isabella DailOn May 1, campus and local organizations came together to organize the annual May Day March, to celebrate workers and advocate for labor rights and social justice.
On May 1, campus and local organizations came together to organize the annual May Day March, to celebrate workers and advocate for labor rights and social justice.
