Math Dept. to restructure help centers

The Math Department will soon begin restructuring two study programs to make them more student-friendly, according to Undergraduate Chairperson Dennis DeTurck. At the present time, students struggling with a concept in their classes depend on the rotating staff of the Math Center and the Maple Center to assist them with their difficulties. The two centers, typically staffed with at least one graduate student and one undergraduate student, take turns rotating among various residential halls -- including the Quadrangle, King's Court/English House and the six College Houses -- four nights per week. Math Professor Ted Chinburg noted that the rotating schedule of the current centers can make it inconvenient for a student to receive assistance. He emphasized that a more centralized system will increase usage. "Centers now are sometimes well utilized and sometimes not," Chinburg said. "This tends to happen when a program is located in a central location but, if you disperse it, people are more likely to take advantage of it." Through the efforts of Chinburg, DeTurck and student coordinator Laura Kornstein, a College sophomore, a restructuring of the two centers will be completed by the fall to provide Math and Maple advising on a more consistent and convenient basis. Kornstein explained that many residences will have centers staffed by upperclass Math majors providing a more flexible schedule for math students. The restructuring will create a more stable residence-based system. "Graduate students will still be available at more structured times, but the hope is that we can cater the undergraduate support to better suit the needs of calculus students," she added. Chinburg noted that since students tend to do most of their work in their dorms, they will be more likely to take advantage of the new support. The restructuring will be modeled on a program, called the ResTech Primary Support Project, initiated last summer at Van Pelt College House, according to English Professor and Van Pelt Faculty Master Al Filreis. The Residential Faculty Council -- which also coordinated the development of that project as well as other efforts like writing advising and library reference help -- is assisting with the Math and Maple advising. The entire RFC undertaking is named the "Wheel Project." "We have found that academic support systems delivered to students residentially are most effectively offered by students hired within the house," said Filreis, the RFC chairperson. "In computing support this has worked marvelously." DeTurck noted that, depending on funds for the project, it may take some time to implement all the changes. But he said he hopes to develop the restructured program in addition to maintaining scaled-back versions of the present centers. "I am happy with it because it's the natural next step in the development to help students do their math and to use their computers to do math," he said. "The [Math and Maple] centers were the first step."