I hope everyone is having a great Winter term!
We are now offering tutoring on Saturday for students that would like extra help on the weekends. I feel this is a great opportunity for students to get a little more one-on-one time with us. This is a new program, so the first weekend was a little slow, but I'm sure once more students are aware of the Success Center being open they will see the benefits. Make sure you are letting students know that we are available!
We also have a new(ish) program being added called Student Lingo, and this can be accessed via UCC's Self-Service banner or by clicking the link.
https://www.studentlingo.com/umpqua
There are videos available to help students and tutors, as well. Discovering your learning style, navigating through the tangled mess of the financial aid process and there are even tips on how to succeed in an online course. Many of the tools in these videos can be helpful to the success of every student, so I encourage everyone to check out a couple videos that interest you and comment your thoughts on them.
We all have different ways to motivate students and we are encouraged to do this every time we sit with a student! We should really try to encourage students to have a positive outlook and attitude. What motivates one person may not motivate everyone, so just encourage them to do their personal best every chance you get.
Don't forget that we will be having a meeting for all Success Center tutors and training will be a part of this meeting. Daniel has set up the time from 4pm until 5:30 pm on Friday, January 23rd. If this time does not work for you, please let him know as soon as possible so he can make sure that you are still able to get the Training/Workshop information.
UCC Success Center Tutoring
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Tutor vs. Teacher
Welcome to Week 10!!! We made it!
This week's blog is a challenge. Teacher vs. Tutor; how do you define the two? According to Merriam-Websters Dictionary, they are very similar.
Definition: teach·er (noun):a person who teaches, especially in a school.
tu·tor (noun):a private teacher, typically one who teaches a single student or small group.
I found the definition of the two terms to be very interesting. I have heard many tutors say, "we are not teachers, we are just tutors," According to the definitions, we are both.
Personally, I am going to college to become a teacher, so I found the previous statement to be controversial because as a tutor, we should be teaching. These students are expecting us to teach them! In some ways, tutoring is easier; we don't have to set up lectures, create assignments or grade homework. On the other hand, our job is more difficult because we have to teach students how to understand the material in a different way than the teacher.
As
a tutor, we are expected to have a higher understanding of the material
being taught. We should be able to help a student understand the
material and explain in several ways how to approach the subject. Most
important of all, we need to be able to show the student how the process
works in a way that the teacher could not.
I would love to hear how everyone defines the two terms. Please leave a comment :)
Side Note:
The Doodle polls will be sent out on Tuesday morning to all tutors to
get your availabilities so that Daniel can create a schedule for next term. If you receive a message from Doodle please
respond by Thursday
if you plan to tutor next term so that we can get a day that will work
for most people that need it.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Fall 2014
First and foremost, I would like to
thank everyone for all the effort that has been put in to make the Success
Center a great work/study environment. I am glad to have the opportunity to
work on the blog as well as contributing time to the Woolley Center.
We are in week 8 already, wondering where the time went! This term didn’t seem as hectic during mid-terms, but we should anticipate more students coming in as we approach finals. Winter registration is already open and it is important to get registered as soon as you can.
We are in week 8 already, wondering where the time went! This term didn’t seem as hectic during mid-terms, but we should anticipate more students coming in as we approach finals. Winter registration is already open and it is important to get registered as soon as you can.
Fall is finally upon us, and
everyone is bundling up for college. The campus has an eerie feeling to it in
the morning again as the fog slowly gives way to the little amount of sunshine
we hope for. This is one of my favorite
times of the year. We all have something that the Fall season reminds us about;
hot cocoa, bonfires, hunting season and many more things that we associate with
the season. For me, Autumn is all about the beauty of the wonderful state that
we live in. Oregon has so much to offer during this season with the vast amount
of trails, waterfalls, rivers and mountain roads, we sometimes forget to enjoy
the beauty of it. I would love to hear what everyone looks forward to in the
Fall. Any plans for a road trip? I love going to the coast during this time of
year, the cold air mixing with the salty smell of the ocean always makes me
smile.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Americorps Opportunity
Daniel and I introduced the AmeriCorps member position in the last tutor meeting and I have the job description posted below. Please read it over as well as the short commentary at the bottom of the page.
________________________________________________________________
Position Description and
Benefits:
The
Connect2Complete (C2C) AmeriCorps position will work with developmental
education (DE) students and faculty on campus to build community-engaged
learning into DE curriculum and serve as peer advocates for DE students.
Members will work closely with DE students to provide institutional resources
as well as with DE faculty to plan two service-learning projects.
Connect2Complete is designed to increase the rate of DE students successfully
completing and enrolling in transferrable, credit bearing coursework, increase
GPAs and persistence, and build service projects which meet community needs.
Essential
responsibilities include:
·
Working
with developmental education faculty to plan and implement two service-learning
projects, one of which must be on a National Day of Service
·
Connecting
with developmental education students to provide resources and support
·
Strengthening
and building relationships on campus and in the community
To serve as a C2C Member candidates must be:
- A current student in good standing at their
institution
- At least 17 years of age
- A U.S. citizen, U.S. national,
or lawful permanent resident
- Able to serve 300 hours of
service within one year of enrolling (~ 10 hours / week)
- Able to pass a full criminal
history background check
Connect2Complete Project AmeriCorps Member Benefits:
·
An
education award of $1,175 upon completion of service
·
Training
and professional development opportunities
·
Access
to an extensive network of AmeriCorps Alums
·
Loan
forbearance and interest accrual, if applicable
All Members
that successfully complete 300 hours of service within one year from
their date of enrollment (TBD by each individual campus) will receive a $1,175
Eli Segal Education Award.
Connect2Complete
AmeriCorps Members do not receive a
living allowance through Oregon Campus Compact for their service.
__________________________________________________________________________
Each of you have interacted with many of our developmental education (DE) students while tutoring. Many of the DE faculty work with ESB 15, and I know that many of you have existing relationships with those faculty members. Some of the highest complements that I have heard from students are in respect to these instructors.
Tyler and I will be approaching Dr. Ali with a pitch for the service learning projects and I will get back with all once the decision has been made. I highly encourage you each to come talk to me about the position and what it would entail. From the feedback that I've heard from many of your own tutoring experiences, I know that some of you would absolutely love working in this position. We are looking to find members by the time we have our first training, which is Nov. 21st at 11:00am in Lockwood Hall Rm 2 (Next Friday). We are excited for the opportunity to work with more of UCC's students to promote their success during their time at Umpqua Community College.
Tyler and I will be approaching Dr. Ali with a pitch for the service learning projects and I will get back with all once the decision has been made. I highly encourage you each to come talk to me about the position and what it would entail. From the feedback that I've heard from many of your own tutoring experiences, I know that some of you would absolutely love working in this position. We are looking to find members by the time we have our first training, which is Nov. 21st at 11:00am in Lockwood Hall Rm 2 (Next Friday). We are excited for the opportunity to work with more of UCC's students to promote their success during their time at Umpqua Community College.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Week 6 updates
Hopefully everyone is handling the pressures of midterms well (I'm not... sorry about all the sirens around noon yesterday). It's hard to believe the majority of the term is already downstream of us. It's tough, but will be so so worth it!
Some updates for this week:
Winter is approaching and the UCC bookstore is having a 50%
sale on jackets. Good time to get a warm winter shell.
Please help us in welcoming several new tutors to the team. Isaac, Marcy, Sandra, and Kevin have been hired on as peer tutors. Also starting are many students who are volunterring from the Nursing program. Welcome, Courtney, Keeley, Tyler, Hensel, Eden, Beth, and Maria. We are happy for both our peer tutors and volunteering peer tutors, and all of them make a great addition to the team!
When checking out iPads and Laptops, make sure that an assistant
acknowledges that you are doing so. Just like with tutoring, the front
desk can get busy and it is important that all of our inventory gets
accounted for.
The “Success Clan” has won six out of seven clan wars, and
the first tutor has joined the clan! We look forward to accepting the other
tutors as they join. Please help us spread the word to our students! The clan
is for all UCC student employees and students who play Clash of Clans.
Tyler Ramos recently fulfilled the position of Coordinator
of Success Center Initiatives. He will continue his work with CSM and is now
accepting the responsibilities of the Supplemental Instruction program. Daniel
and Tyler will work closely together for the success of the S.I. Program.
Blake Mecham and Tessa Smithey have been working with us for
three weeks now, but each are newly hired assistants. Blake works with the CSM
program as an assistant and Tessa works as an assistant for the Success Team.
Please help in welcoming Blake and Tessa to the team and
congratulating Tyler for his new position!
And the following was sent all UCC students from Marjan
Coester’s office, and bears repeating.
“Writing Instructors [are] available to help students with their
essays, reports or any other writing assignments. The writing instructors will be available in
the Writing Lab located in the UCC Success Center (ESB 15). Helen Laurence is available in the Success
Center on Tuesdays and Thursday from 10:30 am to 11:30 am and Andrew Madaus is
available in the Success Center on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:00 pm to 5:00
pm. In addition to the writing instructors, we also have peer tutors available
to assist with the writing concepts and paper formatting. Please visit the center for a copy of the
peer tutor writing schedule. When
utilizing the Writing Lab or student tutors we ask that students bring a copy
of any drafts of their paper, any related assignments or handouts, class
syllabus, and course textbook if available.
This resource is available to students free of charge!”
Carpe Diem, my friends. I miss you all and hope all is going well.
—N.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Week 3 already!
The weather is changing, days are getting shorter, but there
is still plenty of activity to be had here on campus.
A few upcoming events:
Saturday, October 18: UCC’s annual Harvest Celebration. Wear
your costume, bring your kids, and get ready for some family fun! There will be
trick-or-treating and other fun games available 11am – 2pm
There will be a job fair in the student center on October 22nd
from 11am – 2pm. Local employers will be on hand to answer questions and, just
maybe, accept resumes.
Also, the office of Student Life has sent the following
statement, which is so important that I will repost it here in its entirety:
“Got Respect? Have
you ever felt disrespected or marginalized because of who you are? Or have you found others treat you in special
ways because of your individual status?
We want to hear your story.
Participated in one of eight focus groups being held this term to aid in
a research project about respect and inclusion at Umpqua Community
College. The focus groups are: Age, Ability,
Ethnicity, Women’s Voices, Poverty, Race, Religion and Sexual Orientation. If you are interested in participating or
would like more information, please send an email to got-respect@umpqua.edu”
Finally, a representative from Portland State University
will be on hand Wednesday, October 15th from 11 – 1 in the
cafeteria. They will be answering questions regarding degree programs, transferring,
and other important topics.
Keep up the wonderful work!
—N.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
A heartfelt Thank You
Ladies and gentlemen!
This week is International Tutor Appreciation Week. For more info, see here.
I'm going to keep this short. I want to thank all of you for your outstanding work, dedication, and commitment to UCC and it's students. I've said it before, and I'll say it once again: I'm proud to have worked with such a great team, and I must say that after comparing UCC's Success Center to other tutorig services I have used this fall, you all should be extremely proud of what you have accomplished. It is, by far, tthe best tutoring lab I have seen.
Keep up the exemplary work.
—N.
This week is International Tutor Appreciation Week. For more info, see here.
I'm going to keep this short. I want to thank all of you for your outstanding work, dedication, and commitment to UCC and it's students. I've said it before, and I'll say it once again: I'm proud to have worked with such a great team, and I must say that after comparing UCC's Success Center to other tutorig services I have used this fall, you all should be extremely proud of what you have accomplished. It is, by far, tthe best tutoring lab I have seen.
Keep up the exemplary work.
—N.
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