Being a Supplemental Instruction Leader and Mentor
A little more than a year ago, I began working as a supplemental instruction leader in freshman math at Tarleton State University. Initially, I accepted the job offer as a way to make extra money, but I soon found myself helping students in my spare time because I enjoyed it so much.
It had been more than twenty years since I had any formalized math instruction, so I started my college career with the basics. My high marks in these early courses, along with the recommendations of the instructors, brought me to the attention of the director of the Academic Support Programs, Kayla Wood, who offered me the job. My first semester as an SI was in Trigonometry, followed next by an Algebra class. I continued taking other math courses because math is my minor and because it relates to my major of economics. I appreciated how much my SI work helped me in these advanced math classes.
I was stunned to realize that most of the students I worked with were uncomfortable with even the most basic principles of math. Their discomfort led to avoidance and a sort of internalized mathematical lethargy. Instead of seeing math as an inclusive system in which a number of real-world problems could be addressed, they saw it as a collection of disjointed rules that had little relation to their own lives or career goals. To help these students, not only did I have to connect each lesson with a practical application they could relate to (i.e., shopping, engineering, etc.), but also to the lessons that preceded it.
In addition to being a math SI, I also had the opportunity to work with an introductory macroeconomics class. Economics is my major and given the frail state of the economy, it was quite easy to connect each lesson with the day's headlines. Nonetheless, the material was still challenging for the students, and likewise a challenge for me in getting them to understand the concepts.
Despite the challenges of being a supplemental instruction leader, I have been quite successful. The director of the Academic Support Programs has noted my modest success and made me an SI mentor after only a semester and a half. I am looking forward to working as an SI in freshman Calculus this coming semester. I can honestly say that I have walked away from every one of my SI sessions feeling like I have helped someone.
Questions and Answers
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from a collection of various forms, thus creating a whole. A collage of sometimes may include newspaper clippings, ribbons, bits of colored or hand-made paper, portions of another artwork or text, photographs and found objects, glued to a piece of paper or a canvas.
The competition among students with their marks is becoming tougher and tougher to get admission in the best colleges of Delhi. Delhi university cut off marks seems to be unrealistic as it has touched the pinnacle in last few years.
For the first time, SOL will offer the facility of online admission for undergraduate courses. Students can download and submit application forms on the SOL website - Sol.du.ac.in
In order to perform a search and get the exact college textbook that is required you need the following information; Title, Author, Volume# or Edition#, and the ISBN number. Armed with this information you are able to search online or in other bookstore for the exact item for a college book and not pay university prices. There are many different sites online that offer a college textbook at a better price. But don't discount the local public library. You may be able to find your college textbook
The prices of collect textbooks continue to rise. That's the bad news. And the good news is that there are ways to get cheap textbooks – you either rent or buy them from college bookstores online.
While it is clear that the roots of the current financial crisis can be found in the housing boom and subsequent bust, it is not at all clear that one of the most oft cited scapegoats for the crisis, subprime mortgage holders, are the primary culprit. Lax regulations and enforcement of existing regulation, coupled with the securitization of home mortgages all contributed substantially to what some economists have taken to calling the Great Recession.
Inscribed on the seal of the United States of America is the latin phrase e pluribus unum: "Out of Many, One." This simple phrase at once celebrates our diversity and embodies our individualism (Patterson, 10). Our Declaration of Independence proclaims that we are all entitled to "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."
On September 12, 1962 at Rice University, President John F. Kennedy gave a stirring address that inspired a nation to reach for the stars with outstretched arms and touch the hand of God. In 1969, American Neil Armstrong became the first human being to step on another planet. "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," he said as he stepped off his spacecraft and onto truly foreign soil.
The roots of our child protection system can be traced to the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (SPCC)[1] founded in 1874. The SPCC began a movement that spread rapidly through America and Europe and by 1910, more than 200 such agencies were in existence in the U.S. alone.
Discuss this Article
