This issue of Nutshell Notes summarizes the services and academic courses provided to students and the larger campus communities. It follows last month"s summary of faculty development services. More information is available at the Center"s web site at http://www.isu.edu/ctl/nutshells/index.html. These two issues should help acquaint the entire campus with the services and opportunities provided by this unique Center.

 

Content Area Tutoring ("CAT," Contact at 282-4823, Haydie Le Corbeiller, lecosuza@isu.edu) offers free one-on-one and small group tutoring, funded by student fees, to students of Idaho State University. CAT also provides students with employment opportunities, allowing peer tutors to share their knowledge and learning strategies with others as they develop their own tutoring skills and progress towards certification through the College Reading and Learning Association (http://www.crla.net). Tutoring support is offered for all undergraduate courses except writing and math, which are handled through the Writing Center and the Math Center (see below). Services are provided at both the Pocatello and Idaho Falls campuses.

 

English as a Second Language/ English for Speakers of other Languages ("ESL/ ESOL," Contact at 282-3903, Lynn Leonard, leonlynn@isu.edu) The English as a Second Language and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESL/ESOL) program assists undergraduate and graduate students at ISU for whom English is not the first or primary language. The program also serves visiting scholars, faculty members and participants in special training programs who seek to strengthen their skills in American English and American cultural awareness.

 

The program offers a wide range of direct services on the Pocatello and the Idaho Falls campuses: one-on-one instruction by appointment, small group workshops, Accent Modification Evaluation and follow-up, online writing lab and online research resources. We provide credit courses (ENG 100, AMST 100), cultural excursions and cultural exchanges, skills assessments (SPEAK), problem identification, and remediation, language and strategy support for International Teaching Assistants.

 

Program staff also provide informational resources, community workshops, consultation, training to assist in faculty development, future teacher education, international exchanges and interinstitutional agreements.

 

The staff helps cross-train Writing Center tutors and Math Tutors in ESL issues and strategies, and works in professional collaboration with Janene Willer of the Department of Communication Sciences to train graduate clinicians in multilingual/multicultural competencies through the Accent Modification Evaluation service. The program administers the SPEAK assessment in support of the ISU Graduate Office, and provides one-on-one consultations to enhance communication effectiveness of International Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, and Graduate Assistants. The staff serves on various campus committees, such as the Diversity Committee, International Student Support Team, and as advisors to various graduate students with related research interests. The program assists colleagues across the campus in hosting and informing international visitors to ISU with the goal of exploring and developing international collaboration and exchanges to benefit the university and the community.

 

Mathematics Center (Contact at 282-4023, Cathi Kunicki, kunicath@isu.edu) The Math Center offers free mathematics tutoring to ISU students at the Pocatello campus and at other ISU centers. Adjunct instructors, graduate students and certified tutors help students in undergraduate math and math related courses. The purpose of the Mathematics Center is to help students improve their mathematical skills, to increase their confidence to use mathematics and to understand and apply mathematical concepts.

 

In addition to meeting the needs of students through tutoring in the Math Center, the Director of the Math Center offers focused assistance with areas such as math anxiety, study techniques, and test taking strategies through one-on-one counseling and through a one credit eight week course, College Learning Strategies for Mathematics.

 

Math tutors are not substitutes for instructors. Tutors do not teach/reteach a course to students, nor will they do their homework or tests for them. Students need to attend their class, read their textbook, try the assigned homework on their own, come with specific questions to ask the tutor, and show the work that they have done. Students should also bring their class notes to the Math Center.

 

The tutor first assists in ways that emphasize correct approaches and help detect causes of possible mistakes. The tutor then works through examples with the student and gives suggestions about how to approach such problems. Math tutors help students understand by asking questions to clarify what they know and to determine concept mastery.

 

Writing Center (Contact at 282-4024, Steve Adkison, adkistep@isu.edu) The Writing Center offers a variety of services at no charge to ISU students, staff, and faculty. Our certified tutors can help with any writing project at any stage of the writing process. The Writing Center operates according to a twofold principal mission. The first is to assist students in improving the quality of the academic writing done in courses at all levels; the second is to serve as a resource for university faculty, and to support writing across the curriculum in the General Education courses and within the disciplines. This twofold principal mission reflects the need for students to write and reason effectively, and strongly supports the development of writing abilities as a university-wide endeavor.

 

In accomplishing the first part of this mission, Writing Center tutors work individually with students on their writing assignments, covering all phases of the writing process:

• discovering topics and generating ideas;
• finding supporting materials;
• developing and organizing;
• revising;
• polishing and editing.

In addition to meeting students' needs in writing for their courses, the Writing Center also offers focused assistance with problem areas such as writer's block, essay test taking, and mechanics, as well as collaborative aid in application and exam preparation for graduate and professional schools and general employment.

 

In accomplishing the second part of this mission, the Director of the Writing Center provides the collaborative expertise to help faculty with the following:

• development of writing assignments appropriate to courses in the various disciplines;
• creation of accurate and efficient instruments for evaluating student writing;
• introduction of collaborative learning strategies for students;
• presentations to classes on writing strategies relevant to a given assignment;
• editorial assistance for professional, grant, and proposal writing.

 

College Learning Strategies ("CLS," Contact at 282-5161, Kristine Rudd, ruddkris@isu.edu) The program offers a one-credit course, College Learning Strategies (ACAD 101). The areas covered in the course include learning styles, time management, note taking, reading, memory, test taking, controlling test anxiety, and critical thinking. Students may also make individual appointments for tutoring to develop study strategies relevant to their courses. In addition, the Coordinator provides specific learning strategy topics presented in workshop formats to campus classes, for campus groups, and at residence halls.

 

First Year Seminar ("FYS," Contact at 282-3933, Missy Cummins, cummmeli@isu.edu) is a course that welcomes students into the learning community of Idaho State University by providing an introduction to campus resources and the concepts of higher education. FYS encourages and supports students’ academic success and engagement with the university culture. Participation in FYS helps students to discover how to be in charge of their own education, to embrace the meaning and value of becoming lifelong learners, and to focus on collaborative learning and active engagement.

 

Clustered Learning for Academic Student Success ("CLASS," Contact at 282-3933, Missy Cummins, cummmeli@isu.edu) is a program designed to enrich students’ academic experience. CLASS students become a learning community by enrolling in a cluster of courses, where they may develop study groups and long-term supportive friendships. Faculty who teach in a CLASS cluster have demonstrated specific interests in fostering a learning community.

 

University Honors Program (Contact at 282-4945, Cindy Hill, hillcynt@isu.edu) The Honors program at Idaho State University is an academic learning community that offers a broad range of enriched educational experiences, typically found at a small private college, for talented undergraduate students.

 

Eligible students may apply to the University Honors Program or simply enroll in selected honors courses (please check the Honors course listings at http://www.isu.edu/ctl/honors/honors1.html). New freshmen must have a 3.6 high school GPA , a 25+ composite ACT, and submit a writing sample and an application. Continuing ISU students must have a 3.5 GPA and submit the writing sample and application. Once accepted into the program, students are eligible to enroll in honors courses, receive honors scholarships, attend regional and national honors conferences, submit poetry, essays, and other writings for publication in a regional student journal, serve on the University Honors Committee, and graduate with honors. Graduates of the University Honors Program are recognized at graduation and on their official transcripts.

Idaho Falls Center - CeTL maintains a suite of student support services in tutoring at the Idaho Falls satellite campus. (Contact at 282-4823, Haydie Le Corbeiller, ifctl@isu.edu.)