SI Huddle All Chocolate Buffet 2007

Please Help Jane Pass Statistics

Jane needs help with her Math 220 statistics course. She remembers that a fellow student came to her Math 220 class and talked about how they have great tutors at the AARC. So she decided to pop into the library and pay a visit to the Math Program at the AARC. In the AARC she is welcomed by Marleen Meads, the AARC Coordinator, who tells her that there are three different kinds of tutoring:

1. one on one tutoring
2. the walk-in table
3. a study group

Jane does not know what to do. She would get a full hour of tutoring with the individual appointment. This tutoring is for the students who need intensive help understanding the concepts and principles of math. This would cost around twenty-five dollars an hour if Jane where to hire a private tutor, but it is FREE at the AARC. Unfortunately, all the individual tutors are booked, so Ms. Meads tells her to put her name on the waiting list because a lot of students either cancel or don’t show up.

Jane decides to also attend the study group for statistics. It meets twice a week in the AARC in one of the adjoining classrooms and is led by a fellow student who provides extended lecturing and examples at a white board. However, Jane knows that she will probably need the attention gained through a one on one session. So she is off to the math walk-in table, open from 12:00p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Here Jane can get immediate help with tutors who love math!

By using as many of the services at the AARC as possible and by visiting with her professor on a regular basis, Jane significantly improves the odds that she will pass statistics!

AARC Wows Fall 2007 Freshmen

Of the 2152 full time beginning freshmen last fall, nearly 50% benefited from AARC services during the semester, earning a 2.32 average grade as compared to a 1.97 for non-AARC freshmen. Students participated in a combination of one-on-one tutoring, walk-in tables, Supplemental Instruction (SI) groups, and study groups with 537 of the 1073 AARC freshmen coming for tutoring five or more times.

As in years past, the positive correlation between number of tutor visits and higher average grade was clear. Freshmen who attended 1-4 times earned, as a group, a 2.12 GPA; those attending 5-14 times earned a 2.35; and those attending 15 or more times earned a 2.76.

Heavy AARC users did not typically attend tutoring in one program only. The more visits freshmen made to the AARC, the more likely they were to participate in a combination of SI, Math, Content Studies and Writing services, with 69% of students who attended 15+ times participating in more than one of these programs.

Interestingly, the average SAT score for AARC freshmen (976) was lower than for students who did not attend the AARC (1000), combating the idea that students who attend AARC services are already better prepared.

This information is part of the AARC’s ongoing freshman retention / graduation rate study which began with the Fall 1999 freshman class. For detailed information on current and past freshman classes, including data on minority and developmental freshmen, contact Melissa Boiles (936-468-1412).

History Icon Honors History Major

The SI Leader Bravo Award is bestowed each year upon an SI Leader working towards certification in the CRLA Tutor certification program. This year’s winner is Rebecca (Becca) Mackey. Dr. Archie McDonald, icon of the Department of History and Becca's SI Prof, presented her with a plaque at the SI Huddle. In December, Becca will have achieved the highest level of CRLA Training: SI Master.

The SI Program of SFA applied and received certification from the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) at all three levels in 2002. CRLA’s international tutor certification program is an opportunity for SI to:

• Recognize and reinforce the good work of our SI Leaders
• Set a standard for training SI Leaders

We can certify tutors at three levels: SI Master (3), SI Captain (2), SI Mentor (1). Most of the training for Levels 2 and 3 involves training other tutors. Advancement means a change in title and an increase in pay. SI Leaders’ participation in CRLA certification is completely voluntary and does not affect their valued employment with SI.

Love Is All Around The AARC!

Once again this year on Valentine's Day, the AARC's 111 tutors and Welcome Desk staff will be peeking into colorful "love sacks" to see what secret surprises might brighten their day. The fun will begin on February 12 when AARC tutors and staff will begin slipping messages and treats into the bags, each labeled by name and arranged so that the students on each person's love-list can easily be found.

If there is a special AARC tutor or SI leader you would like to recognize, he or she would undoubtedly be touched. Faculty and AARC clients are welcome to join in by stopping by with tiny wishes to add to their tutor's sack. We always enjoy seeing faculty in the AARC!

State of the Art Writing Lab at the AARC!

The AARC Writing and English Program has entered a new era. Thanks to collaboration with the Department of English and Philosophy and Ralph W. Steen Library, SFA students will be able to get writing tutoring in a state of the art technology-based writing lab, a new addition to the AARC Writing Center. What we hope to offer students is a variety of services to meet their needs by adding resources that take the revision process and tutoring to a new level.

In the new writing lab, students can research and revise with tutors by their sides. Of course, face to face tutoring with a paper draft is not out of date. It will continue to be a vital part of AARC tutoring services. But, using technology has become such an integral part of writing that it makes sense to use computers in tutoring as well, and the newest technology will make that service more appealing to SFA students and better than ever before.

While the AARC has had an electronic tutoring lab for years, the old lab space has now been designated for writing tutoring and will receive an upgrade. As part of the changes, working in the writing lab will be promoted with new energy. Students will be able to schedule an appointment, get tutoring throughout their revision process, and print their drafts on the lab’s laser printer. Access to the labs will be by appointment, and writing help will still be available to all SFA students without an appointment via the writing center’s walk-in tables where face to face tutoring will continue to be offered.

Hands-free Writing Tutoring

Along with our latested equipment upgrade in the Writing and English Program, additional tutor training will be aimed at helping tutors use the best tutoring practices for the electronic environment. One notable issue is student ownership as the speed technology allows can make it easier to cross the line between coaching thought processes and offering suggestions for changes. At the AARC, our attitude is that the assistance we offer should foster independence rather than dependence. M. E. McWilliams's powerful image of breaking the spoon illustrates this important principle. For students, building a relationship with the AARC means learning skills, and for writing tutors, this means coaching students from the sidelines rather than playing the game for them.

During training for the Writing and English Program, we encourage writing tutors to work without a pen and ask the writer to revise and make all changes. Tutors are also trained to use questioning techniques rather than telling students what changes they should make. This way, students are assisted in thinking about their own writing, and they can take full credit for their work. When using computers, tutors will see to it that writers do the typing and that students are coached rather than spoon-fed. Through all the changes of late, faculty can rest assured that we are dedicated to student ownership more than ever.

2 Weeks in Math + 1 New Director

This year has brought many changes to the Math tutoring area at the AARC. I took over the math part of the AARC on January 14. Justin Biddle, who left to teach at Diboll High School, did an excellent job running the math portion of the AARC and left me a great staff of peer tutors. And we started the semester with a bang! The first week of tutoring brought in 255 visits compared to 159 for first week last spring. In the second week, we had 386 visits compared to 170 for the previous spring. The increase is due to more vistits to the walk in table and to an increase in study group vistits. The first week we had 225 people register in the first four days compared to 139 last spring. The second week was just as successful with 222 people registering compared to 64 last spring. The tutors are great, and I look forward to working with them and the students at SFA in the years to come.

Does The AARC Tutor My Subject?

Both students and faculty at SFASU often wonder what specific courses the AARC tutors in any given semester. The answer is easily available by accessing the online tutor registration system through the AARC Web site. (Just follow the "Sign up for a tutor" links!)

While faculty are often aware of Supplemental Instruction (SI) groups offered for their specific sections, they may not be aware that the AARC also offers their students help through one-on-one tutoring, walk-in tables, and small "study groups" that don't require that the tutor attend class. The tutors we hire are all excellent students with high GPAs. They are hired because of their love for their subjects and their desire to share their enthusiasm and expertise.

The range of subjects we tutor is diverse, focusing on entry level courses in most core curriculum areas, but occasionally offering tutoring in specialized or advanced courses as well. If you don't see your course represented, feel free to contact an AARC program director to see if tutoring might be a possibility. Contact Andrew Davis for math courses (davisaj4@sfasu.edu), Lori Wijntjes for English courses (lcwijntjes@sfasu.edu) and Melissa Boiles (mboiles@sfasu.edu) for all other subjects. If you'd like to have an SI group for your course, contact M.E. McWilliams (mmcwilliams@sfasu.edu).

With more than 44,000 tutor contacts by SFA students last year, the AARC is a "hoppin'" place. We welcome all on campus to stop by any Monday through Thursday afternoon to see us in action!

Dr. Greg Miller Scores SI Prof Bravo Award!

This year's winner of the 2007 SI Prof Bravo Award is Dr. Greg Miller of the Department of Mathematics. Dr. Miller was lauded for his long standing support of the students who have served as his SI Leaders, including Stephanie Brown, his SI Leader for Statistics. Stephanie presented Dr. Miller with a plaque and then delivered the following speech before his colleagues and the provost who had come to honor him:

Dr. Miller has been my biggest inspiration. Before
I had him as a professor, I was ready to drop out of school. I hated school, and
I thought everyone else did too. Then I took a class that made me smile. I
couldn’t help smiling in this class. I loved doing the homework and for once I
didn’t dread tests. This class was Math 220, Probability and Statistics and the
professor was Dr. Miller. He helped me to decide to change my major to math, and
now I plan on going to graduate school in statistics.

Anytime I need to make a big, school-related
decision, I go to Dr. Miller. He has confidence that I can make good decisions,
so he doesn’t make them for me. He gives me the evidence I need to make a
decision, which is a classic thing for a statistician to do. He has also been
there for me, like a friend. He has let me and others cry in his office when
things got tough. Dr. Miller is not only a model professor, but a model person,
and I am proud to be his SI Leader.