How can I get the most out of the Math Help Centre?
Here are some suggestions to make your visit to
the Math Help Center more efficient:
- Don't wait until the day before a test/midterm to come and ask your
questions. Those days will be usually very busy. Study regularly and make
some weekly hours availabe in your schedule during which you come and ask
your questions.
- Students must come with specific questions. They should
prepare their questions (and their rough work if possible) and try hard
before they give up and ask for help. In the past, there have been some
cases where students ask for a re-explanation of a whole section or a
whole chapter in the textbook: this is not really the mendate of the Help
Centre. Of course, there is no problem on claryfing definitions or
statments, but going through a whole chapter would be hard considering the
time limit (when it is busy).
- In normal situations, there is no time limit for asking questions, but
when it gets busy (and it will in many occasions), we limit the time to 10
minutes per student, at the end of which, the student can rewrite his/her
name at the back of the wait list. Before midterms/tests of major courses,
there will be an increase in staff so we can maximize the number of
students we serve.
-
It would be best for students to work in groups on the suggested problems and to
come in groups to the Help Centre. This will save a lot of time and cut
the waiting list in the busy days. The groups could be as small as two students.
-
The role of the consultants in the Help room is not only to give a
"solution" or an "answer" to a specific problem, but also to engage the
students in a discussion about the problem. Students are expected to
explain the method they tried to approach the problem.
- The Help Centre is a study place. Students should make every effort not to
disturb other fellow students who are trying to concentrate.
- A visit to the Help Centre is considered successful if the student can do the
same problems he/she came for help with on his/her own.
- If you are seeking help with an assignment question, don't expect a
full solution from staff. In this case a staff member can only clarify
some aspects of the question in order to put the student in the right
direction.