Every Monday and Wednesday at 8 a.m., Patrick Holder sits in Economics 222. Every Tuesday at 4 p.m., he meets with students in the course — this time to tutor them.
Holder, an economics senior, tutors for a new workshop at the Orfalea College of Business. The workshop was developed by the Student Success Center, located in the college’s computer lab.
“In the past, students had to rely on their professors to find them a tutor,” said Amy Swanson, academic adviser and industry liaison for the college.
The college built the center so students could get help without going through their professors. It was initially centered on the use of drop-in tutors, who are available throughout the week. Now, the center includes a new group workshop aimed at freshmen and non-business majors taking classes to fulfill their GE requirements.
The College of Business has hired 11 new tutors this quarter. Each was assigned to a different class and tutors several groups a week.
Sign-up sheets for the workshop were passed around the classes early in the quarter. Swanson evaluated the students and placed them into groups of about 10, each headed by one tutor. The tutor attends the class with the students, taking notes and isolating things they know from experience students will have trouble on. This way, the tutor knows exactly what happened in class when he or she meets with a group.
“Students will come in very lost with what’s going on in the class,” Holder said.
Holder gives students practice problems to work on at the workshop. He also does the problems on the board. When test day comes around, he teaches test-taking strategies and time management skills.
“It has really helped bridge the theory between learning and applying,” he said. “It brings the students a newfound mastery and understanding of the material.”
Professor Eric Fisher teaches Economics 222. The large class sizes, some of which have around 200 students, and the recent shift toward technology-complemented learning have placed some strain on Fisher’s teaching ability. This is where the tutors come in. They are a cost-effective solution for the college to help students, Fisher said.
“Patrick complements the lecture as a person to talk to, which is hugely important,” he said.
He and Holder meet twice a week to discuss lectures and any problems students may be having, which Fisher said is very useful in identifying where students are struggling. Holder asks which concepts or problems students found most difficult and relays the information to Fisher.
“I get an honest, open assessment of where students are getting lost,” Fisher said.
Holder said his experience as a tutor has been positive.
“Seeing the students completely turn around and understand what’s going on over the course of an hour is very rewarding,” he said.
Several non-business majors have found the workshop particularly useful, they said. Social science freshman Gianna Sen-Gupta has been attending the workshops with Holder since the third week of school.
“So far, it has been very helpful,” she said. “Patrick goes over many potential test questions, and being in a smaller environment definitely helps me learn better.”