Origin of the Undergraduate Peer Tutoring Center

Written by: Nicole Reynolds

It began as an Instagram DM. 

Cody Cruz, Sophie Jenness and I (Nicole Reynolds) were working as Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UGTAs) for OCEAN 210 in Fall Quarter 2022. As we approached the first problem set, we received a few private messages from friends or colleagues about problem set questions. Since we all wanted to make any resources available for students equal, we thought of making a “group office hours” temporarily called “Problem Set Sessions”.

Working together with the professor Dr. Mikelle Nuwer and Dr. Sasha Seroy, we organized and publicized these sessions to students and oriented the times for student success. By timing them later in the day after most classes were over and on the day that problem sets were due, we had an overwhelming turnout, and the tables were often full. As we gathered around the table in the Student Oceanographic Society (SOS) Lounge and helped students through the problem sets, we wanted to encourage collaboration between classmates while adding in clarification when needed. Due to the community-based space, students felt comfortable learning concepts and building relationships with their colleagues. Since fall quarter, I’ve had several people let me know how helpful those sessions were for them when they took OCEAN 210, and that they remember the “Problem Set Sessions'' fondly.

I continued the sessions into Winter Quarter with Jason Halden, only in OCEAN 295, as I had previous experience with hosting the sessions. Even though it started later in the quarter than I had hoped for, the sessions were really helpful for students struggling to grasp the difficult organic chemistry concepts. By working together and problem solving as a student team, students found that they had an easier time completing the problem sets and preparing for the exams.

Continuing the program into Spring Quarter, we launched it even larger, with multiple oceanography classes, multiple tutoring sessions a week, and exam reviews. We also had students who took classes in Fall or Winter Quarter who were now UGTAs for the same class. This created such a unique dynamic that has helped both students and UGTAs alike. We also officially partnered with SOS and utilized the back of the SOS Lounge as a permanent location for the Peer Tutoring Center. The space is already a focal point for the undergraduate oceanography community, and by adding the Peer Tutoring Center there, it only helped the community grow stronger.

This program truly is the best of both worlds for undergraduates (no, I’m definitely not biased…). Students get to work on their problem sets, homeworks, or study for exams and don’t just learn blindly, but get to integrate and interact with the material with others. As the students learn, the UGTAs are too. Based on firsthand experience, I can tell you that I understood pressure gradient forces and oceanic gyres much better after I had UGTA’d for OCEAN 210, compared to when I took the class. Have you ever heard the phrase “If you want to learn something, you have to teach it first”?