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.

Andrew Lafrenz, integrative health and wellness, presented “The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on College Students Mental Well-Being and Physical Activity Levels” a poster presentation at the 2020 Oregon Public Health Association Annual Conference, Portland, OR, October 12-13, 2020. Conference provided virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Stephanie Salomone, mathematics, wrote “Building and Sustaining Community by Centering Affective Learning Goals.” (with student coauthor Branwen Schaub) in Assessment Update Special Issue on the theme of “Adapting Assessment Methods to Rapidly Changing Circumstances,” Volume 32, Issue 6, Nov. 2020. Retrieved from https://assessmentinstitute.iupui.edu/au/index.html.

Rachel Wheeler, theology, had her article, “The Revelatory Tide: Desert Spirituality and Contemporary Water Crises,” published in Spiritus 20, no. 2 (Fall 2020): 176-193.

Jakob Kotas, mathematics, served as editor for Advances in Nonlinear Biological Systems: Modeling and Optimal Control, Applied Mathematics Series Vol. 11, American Institute of Mathematical Sciences (Oct. 2020). Available at this link. He also cowrote “An alternative model to prion fragmentation based on the detailed balance between PrPSc and suPrP” (with Monique Chyba, Vincent Beringue, Human Rezaei, Angelique Igel-Egalon, and student coauthors Yuliia Kravchenko, Christopher Eblen) in “Advances in Nonlinear Biological Systems: Modeling and Optimal Control, Applied Mathematics Series Vol. 11, American Institute of Mathematical Sciences (Oct. 2020).

Christina Ivler, Shiley School of Engineering, presented “Hover Handling Qualities of Fixed-Pitch, Variable-RPM Quadcopters with Increasing Rotor Diameter” (with Farhan Gandhi and student coauthors Ariel Walter, Michael McKay) and “Development and Flight Validation of Proposed Unmanned Aerial System Handling Qualities Requirements” (with Truong, K., Kerwin, D., Otomize, J., Parmer, D., Tischler, M.B., Gowans, N.) to the Vertical Flight Society 76^th Annual Forum, Oct. 6-8, 2020.

Susan McDaniel, performing and fine arts, presented three art songs attributed to Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799), one of the earliest known Western classical composers of African descent (with Arwen Myers, soprano) as part of “Celebrating Every Voice! A concert featuring music of BIPOC composers” at CollabFest, the online conference of the International Keyboard Collaborative Arts Society, 15 October 2020.

Rebecca Smith, education, had her article, “Flipped learning during a global pandemic: Empowering students with choice,” published in International Journal of Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Higher Education, 5(1), 100-105. See the article using this link.