 "Photo: May-Ying Lam")
Members of the UT Learning Center tutoring staff geared up for the fall semester Monday with their annual UT Student Educators' Conference. The two-day conference provides training and guidance to the center's 270 student tutors, peer mentors and teaching assistants.
"These students come with content expertise," said Alan Constant, the center's director. "We help them perfect the art of being able to communicate information effectively."
Peer educators provide a support system for the approximately 13,000 UT students who make use of the learning center each year and work closely with new students to help them make the transition from being high school students to being college students, Constant said.
This year the center added about 100 new tutors and mentors, who were required to attend various training sessions at Monday's conference.
The conference consists of workshops designed to enhance student educators' ability to prepare students for both academic growth and university life. These workshops cover everything from Presentation Zen, which teaches students to incorporate Zen principles into public speaking, to subject-specific sessions such as physics and math tutoring.
"This conference provides tutors with organizational skills and practical advice," said Jim Vick, UT mathematics professor and the conference's keynote speaker. "It is a chance for questions and the sharing of experiences."
English and photojournalism senior Liz Moskowitz attended the conference in preparation for her fifth semester working for the center.
"As a peer mentor I get to do a lot of problem solving and helping people," Moskowitz said. "It is surprising and exciting."
Though this is her third student educators' conference, Moskowitz said she is still looking forward to attending the workshops and improving her knowledge of the different skills tests used at the learning center.
"This is a good place to ask questions and hear other people's stories," Moskowitz said.
Student educators must have a minimum 3.0 GPA, submit faculty recommendations and go though a three-step interview process.
"These tutors are motivated and qualified," Vick said. "The learning center does a very good job preparing students for their task," Vick said.
Peer tutoring is absolutely critical to the UT community, Constant said.
"There is an expectation gap between student preparedness and faculty expectation," he said. "Tutors and peer mentors help close that gap."
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