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Thursday, Februray 12, 2009
{The Blue Banner}
Money adds up for tutoring program
AT&T donates to community math program
By Lorin Mallorie
Staff Writer
LMMALLOR@UNCA.EDU
The Asheville Initiative for Math, the
department’s community outreach pro
gram, received funding for an innovative
math tutoring certification program aimed
at creating new standards for math tutors
across the local landscape^
“We see rnathemat-
ics as a tool,” said Sam
Kaplan, UNC Asheville
associate mathematics
professor and direc
tor of AIM. “What
ever you’re doing, with
mathematics, you can
do it even better.”
According to Ka-
Sam Kaplan
plan, the university math department un
dertook an active role in the community.
In 2006, the department included all their
community outreach programs under
AIM’s umbrella.
The advisory group enrolls not only uni
versity professors, but the county school
system, A-B Technical Institute and Mis
sion Hospitals, as well.
Now, with the new $25,000 grant from
the AT&T Foundation, AIM launched the
Math Tutor Certification Program, ensur
ing the highest level of local math tutor
competency. Comprised of three phases,
the new grant covers funding for the first
stage.
In the initial phase, researchers create
a standardized math-tutoring manual and
certification program for the first time, Ka
plan said. The manual teaches tutors how
to mentor and build problem-solving skills
while reflecting local school board poli
cies.
“This needs to be in place to build the
army of tutors needed in the community to
generate a shift of thinking about math and
math education,” said the 10-year faculty
member and Western North Carolina na
tive.
When AT&T wanted to give to the com
munity, the mayor’s office directed the gift
Lorin Mallorie - Staff Writer
Math professors help students in the math lab in Rhoades Hall.
to AIM and the tutoring project proposal,
Kaplan said.
Research shows that math education is
related to high school dropout rates; stu-,
dents become frustrated with math and
quit school altogether, Kaplan said.
With N.C. schools adopting a 4-year
math requirement, dropout rates may in
crease because students are not prepared
for this curriculum, a major concern for
city government.
According to a recent American Insti
tute of Research study, students who pass
Algebra II are more than twice as likely
to graduate from college as their less pre
pared peers.
“It is human nature for people to need
help in this subject,” said Peter Kendrick,
60, UNCA’s math lab director since its cre
ation in 1985.
According to Kendrick, the lab gener
ates more than 6,000 hours of student use
per semester, and the tutors should strive
to make the teaching experience a positive
one.
“If you’re at all punishing about it.
if you make the person feel like there is
something wrong with them, it’s not going
to work,” he said. “But once you’ve got
it, there’s something kind of pleasant about
offering help in math.”
Scarlett College, 19, a sophomore math
ematics major and N.C. Teaching Fellows
Scholarship recipient, is currently a tutor
at Asheville Middle School.
Using phrases like “we’ll figure this out
together” and “can you tell me how you
got to this answer” is important in math tu
toring, she said.
Kendrick encourages all university
students to take advantage of the free, on-
campus math lab which, he added, pro
vides a study oasis with solution manuals,
textbooks, coffee and a nice view.
“We serve a lot of students across cam
pus who have any issue with math,” Ka
plan said. “Then, if a student gets stuck,
they can raise their hands and the tutors
help them do it right.”
Off-campus, there is a remarkable com-
See Math Page 6 |
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