Math Center Faculty Resources
Along with drop-in sessions and appointments for all students, we also offer specialized assistance for courses, in and beyond the classroom.
If you have a big project or test coming up, please reach out and let us know of any specific requirements or parameters you have to that we can support your students in the right ways. Do you want to offer credit or require tutoring sessions for your course? Our tracking systems allow for you to monitor student use to make this happen.
- Use Our Syllabus Blurb
Feel free to copy the following syllabus blurb and paste it into your course syllabus:
The University 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 services in person and online. Drop-ins are welcome as availability allows, but to make an appointment, download the Retain Mobile app from your app store, or visit cwu.retain.io. You can also visit the Math Center website, e-mail the Learning Commons at tutoring@cwu.edu, or call 509-963-1270 for more information.
- Track Your Students' Use of the Center
When a student of yours has had a consultation with the University 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.
You can also access your unique Retain dashboard (log in to MyCWU first) and view reports of your students' use of the Math Center and other CWU Learning Commons services.
Please note that students using Online Tutoring, which is administered by the Northwest eConsortium and does not have access to CWU's system, will themselves need to provide their professors with information about their consultations.
- Encourage Your Students to Use the Math Center—for Credit?
We hope you will encourage your students to seek the Math Center's assistance on their own, since 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 term. 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 University 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. You can also access your unique Retain dashboard (log in to MyCWU first) and view reports of your students' use of the Math Center and other CWU Learning Commons services. (Please note that students using Online Tutoring, which is administered by the Northwest eConsortium and does not have access to CWU's system, will themselves need to provide their professors with information about their consultations.)
- Schedule a Class Visit
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 to our services or lead a workshop, please e-mail Hannah Barta, who manages the Math Center, at hannah.barta@cwu.edu.