Learning Commons

Feel free to copy the following syllabus blurb and paste it into your course syllabus:

The Math Center

In the CWU Math Center, trained peer math tutors offer you support and guidance as you build your mathematical understanding, work through homework and other projects, and study for tests. Regardless of your background and whether you excel in math or not, our tutors are trained to meet you where you are, answer questions, help you build conceptual knowledge, and assist you in studying math topics. We offer in-person and online services. Drop-ins are welcome as availability allows, and to make an appointment you can also visit the Math Center website, e-mail the Learning Commons or call 509-963-1270 for more information.

When a student of yours has had a consultation with the Math Center—whether in person or via Zoom—you will receive a message through Retain (our scheduling and record-keeping platform) listing the student’s session information, including some details about what was discussed. This provides you with knowledge of how your students are using the Math Center, and it also gives you a way to keep track of who is using the service and how they are using it.

Please note that students using Online Tutoring, which is administered by the Northwest eConsortium and does not have access to CWU's system, will need to provide their professors with information about their consultations.

We hope you will encourage your students to seek the Math Center's assistance on their own, because students voluntarily using the Math Center usually gain more from their consultations than those who are required to use it. For this encouragement to work, students should ideally know that collaboration is at the heart of what we do. The Math Center is a place for all students, whether they excel in math or not, to engage in a studio-style workshop. They can have a seat and work on their own for a while and then grab a tutor for to have a focused conversation about any concept or problem, including their mindset regarding math. Students need to know they are in control, with us assisting them, not the other way around. Those who think the Center is a “fix-it” shop just for students needing remedial "help” are unfortunately underestimating what we can do for them, and they probably won’t use the service (whether it's required or not).

Although we generally do not recommend requiring all students to use the Math Center in a single week's time, we do recommend asking students, especially those in early math courses, to use the Center at least a few times per quarter. As long as the students know what to expect in a session, this repeated exposure to the Math Center can help them build conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, strategic competence, adaptive reasoning, and a productive disposition. Many instructors offer their students points, or even extra credit, as an incentive for these sessions.

When a student of yours has had a consultation with the Math Center—whether in person or via Zoom—you will receive a message through Retain (our scheduling and record-keeping platform) listing the student’s session information, including some details about what was discussed. This provides you with knowledge of how your students are using the Math Center, and it also gives you a way to keep track of who is using the service and how they are using it. (Please note that students using Online Tutoring, which is administered by the Northwest eConsortium and does not have access to CWU's system, will need to provide their professors with information about their consultations.)

If you would like to bring your class to the Math Center, or if you would like someone from the Math Center to visit your class and give an introduction of our services or lead a workshop, please e-mail Hannah Barta, who manages the Math Center.