The Learning Centre seeks peer tutors
By Dylan Hackett, News Editor
The Learning Centre, Douglas College’s in-house tutoring room, is looking for peer tutors to join their team of well-trained tutoring staff this fall. Applications are being received for the positions for online tutors, technology tutors, and office hour peer tutors.
“We look for students, above all, who have a love of learning themselves,” Learning Centre Coordinator Holly Salmon said. “In the Learning Centre, our primary goal is independent learning, which means we want peer tutors to share that love of learning: the inquisitiveness, the pursuit of knowledge, and the desire to both ask questions and find answers.
“We also have an extensive training program for our tutors, so we look for students who we feel will understand the concepts involved in training.”
Available for free use to all Douglas College students, the centre provides drop-in tutoring for those looking for advice and help during open hours, concentrated weekly tutoring sessions, and 24/7 online tutoring for students looking for help beyond office hours.
“We’re free for all Douglas College students and we hope it’s pretty easy to try us out,” Salmon said. “It takes five minutes to send your paper off to an online tutor for feedback. We also have 25-minute tutoring sessions you can sign up for through Student Self Service section on myDouglas. I can’t see how it wouldn’t be worth trying it out to see how our services might help you.”
For students looking to get involved with the Learning Centre, Salmon says “The first official step is to fill out an application on the Learning Centre web site. We also love when applicants stop by to say hello and introduce themselves, so once your application is submitted, a quick introduction is also welcome! We recognize many faces already because students who have benefitted from peer tutoring often apply to work here too.
“I’d also recommend contacting instructors who know your work. You can ask them if they mind being a reference for you and even if maybe they are willing to contact faculty in the Learning Centre on your behalf to let us know how well you’ve done in their classes.”
The Learning Centre is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at both campuses from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Those who send their work in for 24/7 online help are guaranteed a response within 48 hours.
To view all postings for peer tutoring positions visit http://www.douglas.bc.ca/employees/human-resources/jobpostings/student-postings.html.
