Volume 26, Issue 5

Page 4

4 news

december 18, 2009

Revamped and refurbished, SLIC opens its doors Shan Shao News Editor

A great increase in student enthusiasm has allowed for greater student and teacher utilization of the Science Learning and Instructional Center (SLIC) in Room 3104. This year SLIC is open during 26 out of the total 28 blocks in the week for any students that wish to work on science with teachers, peer coaches (science TAs) and classmates. SLIC also contains many science textbooks and new computers available for students to use. SLIC was established in the fall of 2007 “with the idea that peer support is one of the most effective means for improving student learning,” according to its website. Students would be able to go to SLIC and work with classmates or receive one-onone guidance for their science classes. SLIC was the original vision of science teacher Alan Crosby, who is the current overseer of the center. “Something I’ve wanted to do ever since I [arrived at South] was to develop a student support center for the science classes. I think students need a place to work together with science,” Crosby said. “Science can be difficult and, spending more time with it, especially in a nurturing and helpful environment, breeds success.” In the past two years, however, lack of staffing has prevented SLIC from being as effectively used as Crosby had hoped. “Staffing was always an issue,” Crosby said. “In the past we had 6 blocks where SLIC was occupied by teachers and the opportunity for students to use it was much lower. Teachers didn’t even feel confident recommending SLIC [to their students] because there was a high risk that there … would be no one to help them in the blocks that they were free.” This year SLIC has become much more popular due to a tremendous increase in the number of students interested in becoming peer coaches. More than 15 juniors and seniors work in SLIC as peer coaches. The student-run SLIC was first opened to students this October and has rarely been empty. “The reason it’s successful now is that it’s staffed. There’s someone there all the time … We’ve got enough help that students can show up any block and find someone there. And that’s really the key,” Crosby said. He believes it is beneficial for students to receive help from other students who have gone through the same classes. “Someone who has been through the class and succeeded is able to better guide students through the learning mechanisms,” Crosby said. Once a week, the SLIC staff meets with Crosby to touch base with him on how things are going in SLIC, bringing to him any concerns they may have about a particular student. Sophomore Marissa Rodenstein is a student in Crosby’s honors chemistry class and claims SLIC is her second home. “I kind of live in the SLIC room,” Rodenstein said. “I come here for all my studies and sometimes during J Blocks or if I have a free [block].” Rodenstein finds the individual support that the peer coaches at SLIC provide helpful. “I find it really helpful to get one-onone help with the TAs because, in a class of 25 kids, you can only get so much individual help. The [peer coaches] can really walk you through a problem step by step if you don’t really understand it, and they tell you the key ideas to remember,” Rodenstein said. Sophomore Jack Summers goes to SLIC

photo by Noel Hwang

SLIC has been refurbished this year with new computers, and offers peer tutor help for students of all grade levels and science classes. to receive help for his chemistry assignments students] half a point of extra credit for goand thinks it is helpful to receive aid from up- ing to SLIC. I was trying to get them into the perclassmen that have already been through habit of going to SLIC and using the resources the class he is currently taking. there. They don’t get extra credit any longer, “It’s helpful to come here and talk to but I think a lot of them are developing the someone who has gone through the course habit of going there,” she said. before and steer me in the right direction,” Junior Adam Isselbacher is one student Summers said. of Cifuni’s who has developed this habit. Currently, the target students for “I went to SLIC for the first time in SLIC are freshmen and sophomores, mainly order to get extra credit on my old test and because mostly juniors and seniors run the also to receive help on the next upcoming center. test that would be a big part of my grade,” “Our target audiences are freshman he said. “Since then I’ve been coming back physics and sophomore chemistry because to receive more help. There are a lot of textthe juniors and seniors who work there have books and computers [at SLIC] and there’s all had freshman physalways a [peer coach] ics and sophomore if you have any “A lot of people are coming there chemistry,” Crosby questions.” said. Isselbacher has here consistently so I think Upperclassmen, seen a great improvehowever, have also we’re making progress. But ment in his grades been able to make use this is the first year we’re do- since using SLIC. of SLIC. “Overall I think Senior Gina Lu ing this, and not everything [SLIC] is a pretty good finds SLIC a quiet and program because, afcan be perfect.” resourceful place to ter going to SLIC, I got JOLIE YU study and goes to SLIC a 90 percent on my PEER COACH, CLASS OF 2011 right before her AP next test, compared to physics tests to work my 55 percent [on the with the many of the peer coaches who are first test]. So I definitely improved with the use her fellow physics classmates, as well. of SLIC and its resources,” Isselbacher said. “I think going to SLIC is more efficient Students who go to SLIC for help aren’t than going to the library. [My friends and the only ones benefiting from the center. I] get together there to study and do group The peer coaches themselves are learning work,” Lu said. as well. “But at the same time, because I go to “The students who are rendering asSLIC, I never go to J Blocks with my physics sistance get a lot out of [SLIC] too,” Crosby teacher anymore. I think it’s easier to go to said. “They review material that they’ve seen SLIC and work with peers because you’re before, which puts it back in their mind so it kind of all in this together. The teacher knows doesn’t get forgotten. And they have to rethink the concepts really but your classmates are the material in a way to help other people the ones who really go through the same get more structured and organized about struggles as you.” that material, which really helps their own Senior Mika Braginsky, who works in thoughts get more organized as well.” SLIC as a peer coach, believes that one of the Science teacher Patrick McFarland ways the center can be improved is by raising agreed with Crosby. greater awareness among students on the “SLIC is good for students receiving existence of SLIC. help and the students giving help. It’s amazScience teacher Alyssa Cifuni tries to ing what you learn when you teach; teaching make her students aware of SLIC by giving really exposes the small misunderstandings them an incentive to go there. that come to the surface when you try to “There was one test where I gave [my explain something to someone else,” Mc-

Farland said. Junior Jolie Yu, a peer coach at SLIC, believes her work at the center has helped her improve in her own science class. “I’m taking AP biology this year, and when I’m helping students who come to SLIC, I teach them how to write more concise answers. It helps me be more concise when I’m answering questions for my own class,” Yu said. Crosby thinks the increased popularity SLIC has received this year comes from an increase in enthusiasm as well as staffing. “The key is student enthusiasm, both from students who are willing to offer help and from students who are happy to work with someone to learn,” he said. “Every day we have at least one student showing up every block to get their questions answered and their work done,” senior Hasith Vidanamadura, an SLIC peer coach, said. Some students, such as sophomore Antonia Nichols, said that there are sometimes too many students in the center and that they would like to understand things more fully when leaving. Cifuni, however, believes SLIC has been a tremendous success so far and will continue to improve in the future as the system becomes more permanent and the SLIC coaches get more used to it. Yu agreed with Cifuni. “[The peer coaches] try our best for everyone that comes. A lot of people are coming here consistently so I think we’re making progress. But this is the first year we’re doing this, and not everything can be perfect,” Yu said. “Before the end of the year, we will have a review process and try to formalize the system, as in if we’re going to make any changes and how we’ll reorganize things for next year,” Crosby said. Many students hope that SLIC will be here to stay as a part of the South science department in the years to come. “I’d like to see that SLIC is here next year, benefiting the people who need help,” Isselbacher said. “People have free blocks all the time and going to SLIC is a great way to get extra help. It’s a really good resource that anyone taking a science class could use, and more people should really start using it.”


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