Gateway

Issue date: 9/5/08 Section: News

courtesy Dana Richter-Egger [Click to enlarge]

courtesy Dana Richter-Egger [Click to enlarge]

Some people get the fear from numbers and problems. Others have it creep up in their spine before giving a speech. Many get the anxious weirdness when it's time to write a research paper.

Over the course of their academic studies, nearly every student will fall under one of these groups at one point. Fortunately, UNO offers three unique centers that address mathematical roadblocks, writing obstructions and speech trepidations in all their various forms.

No student shall be left behind given they have enough initiative to do something about it. And, best of all, they are all free.



Writing Center

The Writing Center found its home in Arts and Sciences Hall in 2005. Dorianne Richards, director of the center, said the Writing Center had more than 3,000 consultations last spring.

Since its inception three years ago, the center has seen the creation of the library satellite, which is in the newly opened lower level of the Criss Library.

Richards said the satellite, one of their more popular features, had nearly 300 visits last spring.

The Writing Center can help students with any part of the writing process.

"I think there have been misconceptions that were here just for people with English classes," Richards said.

Students can go to the Writing Center even if they just have "notes, general ideas or if they haven't got a focus, thesis or outline," Richards said. The center can also help students start on projects, work on different stages of organization and the bare-bone technical details.

"We've helped people with business letters, technical advice; we've helped people just starting on writing projects," Richards said. "I mean, really we just see the gamut."

The Writing Center can help any kind of student, too. Graduates, undergraduates and international students can all find help at the center, Richards said.

The consultants are prepared for a multitude of challenges. There is no one issue the Writing Center solely deals with because writing problems range widely.

"It's challenging for the consultants because they do have to know a lot about many different writing issues," Richards said.

The consultants consist of part-time English department faculty and graduate teaching assistants. Each goes through extensive training, Richards said.

"They all have teaching and composition background and are trained in consultation, theory and practice," Richard said.

Richards said that many students think the center will just provide editing for them and if they bring in a paper, someone will fix it for them.

"That would be a disservice," Richards said. "We want to work with them and help them gain the skills so that they can be effective, independent writers."

Richards said she receives e-mails from satisfied students. She declined to provide the names of students who commented, citing privacy concerns.

The comments range from "I appreciate the help" to "The staff here is very friendly and helpful. I would recommend the Writing Center to any of my classmates," according to the comments Richards shared with The Gateway.

There is one catch, though. In order to use the Writing Center, students have to make an appointment.

They can do so by calling or going to the center in person. Richards said the best way to make an appointment, or to find out any information about the Writing Center, is to visit their Web site at www.unomaha.edu/writingcenter.



Math & Science Learning Center

The Math and Science Learning Center, or MSLC for short, is a free center for students who need tutoring in math, science, chemistry, physics or even geology.

The center is located in the Durham Science building. The center offers free drop-in tutoring, and they have been helping a lot of students since the center's creation.

"The counter passed 40,000 by the time finals week last spring rolled around," said Dana Richter-Egger, director of the Math and Science Learning Center.

The counter - "a people counter, for lack of a better term," Richter-Egger said - is an infrared beam in the center's front door that counts whoever enters and leaves the center.

"So you have to divide by two and were looking on an order of 20,000 visits for the last semester," Richter-Egger said.

A sign-in sheet logged 200 people visiting the center for drop-in tutoring per week.

Traffic is certainly high. And rightly so: math and science are difficult subjects to excel at for even most above-average students.

"We knew that we had the funding to establish the center [in 2006]," said Richter-Egger "but we didn't have time to do some renovations."

The university conducted some drop-in tutoring at different locations in the Durham Science Center and it was "really pretty low key," Richter-Egger said.

"There was some activity but we really didn't have a Math and Science Learning Center," Richter-Egger said.

The fall semester of 2007 was when they were able to open the actual center.

The center employs undergraduate students, with Richter-Egger as the only full-time faculty.

The tutors all have different focuses in math, chemistry and physics, Richter-Egger said. The majority of tutors are upperclassmen, but Richter-Egger said "it is dependent upon where they are in their own studies."

The center looks for students with solid foundations in at least one discipline.

For math, the solid foundation is the calculus sequence through Math 1970. For chemistry, it is the general chemistry sequence through Chemistry 1190 and the organic chemistry sequence through Chemistry 2260. For physics, it is the first and second year physics courses, typically through Physics 2120.

"In many cases the students have that core competency and also a lot to offer in another discipline," Richter-Egger said. "This is one of the things that works really great about the center."

For instance, many students completing the calculus-based general physics courses would have completed the calculus sequence through Math 1970 at the same time.

The Math and Science Learning Center is able to take advantage of this overlapping, too. Instead of just having a math center or just having a science center, all the tutors are concentrated in one place.

"By virtue of not having them in separate locations, I can take one student and use them in two or three capacities," said Richter-Egger. "It provides some greater efficiency for the whole process that way."

The center particularly focuses on 1000- and 2000-level courses, Richter-Egger said, but not exclusively.

"If you're taking a 3000- or 4000-level course in math or in one of the sciences, we could probably help you, but may need you to come back at another time," Richter-Egger said. "We may or may not have somebody at that very moment that can help, but we definitely have somebody around who can help."

In addition to helping with coursework, the center's tutors might be able to offer insight into the emphasis or approach of a particular instructor.

"The other great thing about these students who work here is, being undergraduates, they have taken these courses before and from the same professors," said Richter-Egger. "But it really comes down to assisting a student with their learning."

It's important not to mistake familiarity with understanding, Richter-Egger said. He compared reading a book to problem solving.

"It's explained in class, students nod their heads and say that it makes sense," Richter-Egger said. "We have to get them to where they really do understand without checking for answers, without coming for assistance and having the confidence to check their answer and find their own mistakes."



Speech Center

Speech anxiety, organization, delivery, audience adaptation and expression are only a few points to take into consideration when organizing and delivering a speech. Speaking to an audience can be difficult. But there is help.

The Speech Center, located in Arts and Science Hall, is free and open to students and faculty alike. Marlina Davidson, the director of the Speech Center said, "We help undergraduate students, graduate students and people working on Ph.D.s."

The Speech Center has two rooms. The Speech Consulting room, located in Room 185, is for students who are not enrolled in entry level public speaking courses. The Basic Course Room, located in Room 183, is designed for students enrolled in their basic required Public Speaking Fundamentals (Speech 1110) course.

The Basic Course room has been serving students for approximately 10 years, Davidson said. The Speech Consulting Room is newer and approaching its fourth year.

Both services can be integral parts of a speech education.

The Speech Consulting Room serves students or faculty from any discipline and requires an appointment.

"You need to schedule at least 48 hours before an appointment," said Davidson. It is important to be on time and bring notes, an outline and a DVD or VHS to record on.

One of the features of this room is a booth in the back where a student can practice their speech and have it recorded, Davidson explained.

The purpose of this is so to allow a student to watch a recording of himself or herself delivering a speech. By doing this, a student can get a good impression on areas of their presentation that need to be worked on.

The consultant can then give the student a clear idea of areas that need improvement, whether its speech organization, anxiety or verbal or non-verbal communication.

The Basic Course Room is designed and reserved for students enrolled in basic speech classes. Sometimes students have not taken speech in high school or they have and forgot some points of delivering speech.

"We help jog their memory," said Davidson.

No appointment is necessary for the Basic Course Room. All that is required is the student is enrolled in basic speech classes. The room features graduate teaching assistants who are fluent in oral communication, Davidson said.

The consultants can help students generate ideas, research relevant evidence and material, write outlines, use speech-writing software and get to the point where the student can deliver an effective speech. The room also provides a means for students to record themselves giving a speech so they can self-evaluate.

"This resource is here. It's free; it's all anonymous," Davidson said. "[Students] can come in, and we can help with anything."

The Writing, Speech, Math and Science centers are all located on campus. They are staffed with competent people who consider a student's educational growth to be imperative. And they are all free.

There's really no excuse not to take advantage of these services if you need some extra help.

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