Learning Commons: Finals Week and Newly Certified Tutors

April 24, 2020

The Learning Commons will operate on a reduced schedule during finals week. Content tutors and the Writing Center’s writing assistants will be available by appointment only on a limited basis. Writing and math tutor schedules are on WCONLINE at https://up.mywconline.net. Tutors in the Natural Sciences Center, Language Studio, Group Work Lab, and Speech and Presentation Lab, as well as our nursing and business tutors, will offer limited tutoring through our email hotlines posted on the Learning Commons website at www.up.edu/learningcommons.

The Learning Commons recently certified 16 tutors at Level 1. The following tutors have completed the Learning Commons’ nationally recognized tutor training and at least 25 hours of active tutoring time:

Mikey Antkiewicz (Math)
Valerie Chen (Nursing)
Riley Dehmer (Math)
Bao Huynh (Biology, Chemistry, and German)
Kaylin Ingalls (Math)
Hanna Leonard (Nursing)
Ashley Lincoln (Nursing)
Megan McClarnon (Statistics)
Paul Meister (Math)
Julianna Oliphant (Nursing)
Princess Palicte (Nursing)
Annie Smith (Finite Math)
Clare Spinner (Math)
Anna Tinoco (Math)
Victor Tu (Math)
Ali Venneberg (Statistics)

These students are also among fifty-five tutors and writing assistants who trained in March to shift all Learning Commons tutoring and Writing Center support online in Microsoft Teams. The Learning Commons trains all its content area tutors; the Level 1 training is certified by the College Reading and Learning Association’s International Tutor Training Program Certification. Multiple research studies conclude that tutor training and program assessment are essential for high-quality tutoring programs and positive student outcomes.

For more information about the Learning Commons tutor training program, contact Jeffrey White at white@up.edu.

Hannah Pick, Dundon-Berchtold Institute, published a review of Yuval Levin’s A Time to Build: From Family and Community to Congress and the Campus: How Recommitting to Our Institutions Can Revive the American Dream through the journal of Christian Higher Education (22 January, 2021; DOI: 10.1080/15363759.2020.1865123).

Natalie Nelson-Marsh, communication studies, was featured in the Portland Business Journal magazine February 26 edition for her participation in the panel discussion on “Organizational Transformation – The Impact of COVID on the Future of Work.”

Katie Danielson, education, published “Enacting content-rich curriculum in early childhood: The role of teacher knowledge and pedagogy.” Early Education and Development, 32(3), 443-458. doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2020.1753463

Alice Gates, social work, presented on March 3, 2021 as part of the University of Minnesota School of Social Work 2021 Research Colloquium Series. Her paper was titled “Engaging equity and critical race perspectives in community-based research.”

Jordy Wolfand, Shiley School of Engineering, published Assessing resilience of a dual drainage urban system to redevelopment and climate change. Journal of Hydrology. 2021. 596. 126101.

Stephanie Salomone, mathematics, was an invited participant at Envisioning and Enacting an Inclusive and Diverse STEM Professoriate: Aligning the Recruitment and Retention of Diverse STEM Faculty, an APLU Think Tank, virtual.

Jeffrey White, International Languages & Cultures, presented MS Teams And Office Integrations During Covid (2.0). Roundtable presentation and discussion at the 2021 National College Learning Center Association Virtual Winter Conference.

Hillary Gaudio and Randy Hetherington, education, presented Inequity in the classroom: Improving teacher training by listening to completer voice. Virtual paper presented at the Oregon Association of Teacher Educators (ORATE) conference.

Randy Hetherington, education, co-presented Training transformative leaders: Valuing teacher wellness in complex change. Virtual paper presentation at the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges of Teacher Education (AILACTE) conference.

Jacqueline Waggoner, Randy Hetherington, Hillary Gaudio, Bruce Weitzel, James Carroll, education, presented Inequity and the reality of teacher preparation: Hearing the voices of completers. Virtual paper presentation at the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges of Teacher Education (AILACTE) conference.

Bruce Weitzel, Hillary Gaudio, Jacqueline Waggoner, James Carroll, Randy Hetherington, education, presented The completer voice: Inequity revealed. Virtual paper presentation at the Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) conference.

James Carroll, Randy Hetherington, Jacqueline Waggoner, Hillary Gaudio, Bruce Weitzel, education, presented Educator preparation in traumatic stress. Virtual paper presentation at the Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) conference.

Randy Hetherington, education, co-presented Interrelated leadership: Valuing teacher impact in a complex school. Virtual paper presentation at the Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) conference.