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.