By Bridgette Jasinski
Staff Writer
“You don’t have to sign in anymore!”
This was Prospect sophomore Brooke Wilson’s jubilant response when asked what improvements she has noticed about the Knights Learning Center this year.
This, along with a number of other improvements, has drawn in over 206 students who, like Wilson, have utilized the Tutoring Program since September.
The current policy in the KLC simply requires a quick swipe of a student’s ID or to type an ID number, in order to keep track of how many students utilize the KLC.
However, this is not the only improvement that was made to the Knights Learning Center, and students are beginning to take notice.
A new method for review sessions is now offered to students for specific subjects.
Teachers can request a specific tutor, or a number of them, who had been in the class previously, and held solid understanding of the subject.
A.P. Human Geography teacher Erik Hodges has a very positive outlook on the review sessions. Hodges expresses that a number of his committed students graciously attend them.
Yet a primary concern for Hodges, as well as other teachers, is that there will likely be at least a few difficult questions that the tutor is unable to answer.
Sophomore Dana Iverson, who has tutored for AP Human Geo, as well as Honors/Regular Biology, admits she was reluctant to host a review session at first, for this very reason, though the outcome proved positive.
Although an overall benefit to students, Iverson admits she had difficulty answering certain difficult questions during the course of her review sessions.
“If the teacher was in the library it would be so helpful,” said Iverson. “That way, if the students had questions that we couldn’t answer, we could send them to that resource.”
These minor complications need revision, and tweaking, though they have certainly not deterred the increasing number of students who attend the Review Sessions, Iverson’s AP Human Geography review alone assisted over 30 students.
However, this number has potential to grow, the only issue being the hesitancy that some teachers have to the review sessions.
Students, as well as tutors, have admitted that they are doubtful that staff members are aware of these new improvements, that or they are simply reluctant to utilize the Tutor-Lead Reviews. Yet tutors and students alike wish that more teachers would utilize this new review option.
Knights Learning Center head Lauren Ciesemier confirms and supports these concerns.
“Teachers are sometimes hesitant,” said Ciesemier. “We try to get the other teachers on board but sometimes that doesn’t always happen.”
Ciesemier said that the initial jump of teachers encouraging the use of the KLC, along with continued exposure, whether via twitter, announcements, or word of mouth appears to have aided in the increase in the number students who utilize the KLC, and should continue to do so.
“I think as more people try the review sessions we see better results,” said Ciesemier.
She is hoping this growing publicity and popularity around the Knights Learning Center will flourish with the next KLC improvement, Rent-A-Tutor.
This new program offers teachers a bit more flexibility, as well as a chance to attend to each student individually.
It entails a teacher contacting an administrator in the KLC who can then set them up with a tutor that has previous knowledge in the course.
The job of this tutor is, for a period, to assist the teacher with things such as lab set ups, editing papers, assisting with small groups, as well as aiding with answering questions, and reviewing.
This new system is still up and coming; nonetheless, Ciesemier is enthusiastic about the benefit that it will offer to the classroom environment.
With all of the changes being made to the Knights Learning Center, tutors have certainly had to deal with, and adapt to, the new environment.
Though coping with the changes certainly has not deterred students, such as Wilson, from desiring to become a KLC Tutor in the coming school year. The tutoring position is still equally welcoming in her eyes.
“I just like to help people,” said Wilson. “And honestly it’s just a sweet gig!”