Struggling to write a conclusion? Stumped by a tricky calculus problem? What if the help you needed was just a peer tutoring session away? The Writing Center and Math Center are two institutions in Jefferson where students can receive peer tutoring to help with academic success. While the subjects differ, both centers offer a productive and supportive space to promote meaningful learning experiences.
The Writing Center provides a collaborative environment where students can get help on their writing pieces from peer tutors. A mix of constructive criticism and encouragement makes the Writing Center a place where students feel motivated to refine their work.
“The environment is really welcoming and open,” junior Writing Center Board member Shanna Chung said. “The tutors are gentle but give a lot of good feedback.”
Similarly, the Math Center promotes a focused but comfortable atmosphere to lead to efficient learning. This ensures that sessions are productive and centered on students’ needs, and getting comfortable helps the students not feel awkward during the session.
“Everyone is in their own world with their tutors, focused on their own assignments,” sophomore Math Center Tutor Srishanth Ravi said. “[Tutors] first greet the person, get their name, talk to them for a few minutes and get to know them so they don’t feel awkward when asking questions.”
Both centers have ways to maintain productivity. At the Writing Center, board members step in when students start to get off task.
“If students are here for socializing, board members remind everyone why they’re here,” Chung said.
Similarly, Math Center tutors follow the same policy.
“When I tutor more than one person, the conversation can start to get a little carried away,” Ravi said. “My job is to bring the conversation back to the material.”
Additionally, these centers provide mutual benefits for tutors and tutees. For Math Center tutors, teaching can fortify their own knowledge.
“Tutoring reviews the content for me and helps me apply it in my own classes,” Ravi said.
The resources offered at each center are unique to their respective subjects. The Writing Center assists students beyond school assignments, including personal and creative projects.
“The Writing Center offers a lot of different types of tutoring [that are] not just for academic work,” Chung said. “I know people that have come here for personal, creative projects like media scripting.”
In contrast, the Math Center is made to help students with mathematical concepts, often serving as a space for final test prep or clarifying materials taught in class.
“A lot of times, students come here for a last-minute review before a test and for help with just understanding concepts [or] further clarification on what they already learn,” Ravi said.
Whether a student needs help with a thesis statement or a trigonometry problem, both centers offer spaces where they can find help from peers.
“You should just come, even if you just want to study because it’s a great place to just focus and get help.” Ravi said.