FSE Tutoring Centers

Overview and Introduction: The WHAT and WHO

The Fulton Schools Tutoring Centers (FSETC) is a free support service, staffed by trained ASU students who have excelled in the same classes they tutor. FSETC offers a variety of ways for students to connect with their peers to receive academic support, review concepts, and connect with their peers.

Learning from tutors at tutoring centers — A male student tutoring two other students on logic

Services and learning opportunities at the FSETC include:

Drop-in 1:1 tutoring. All Fulton students are welcome to come in person at the Tempe campus for drop-in tutoring.

Success Nights. The FSETC Success Nights offers academic support and homework assistance to students in key first and second-year Fulton Schools of Engineering courses. Students can work directly with other Fulton students in small groups to learn how to improve study skills, understand course material, and receive additional support in their classes.

Review Sessions and Workshops. Run weekly, review sessions cover popular concepts and high-demand courses will be tackled in these one-hour sessions each week.

Virtual Tutoring. Virtual tutoring Similar to drop-in 1:1 tutoring, students join tutors in Zoom room for 1:1 tutoring, on a first-come, first-served basis in the same queue as our in-person, on-campus students.

Study Groups. Faculty can partner with FSETC to provide formal focused study sessions for their class with Study Group Student Leaders, or informal semi-structured small groups review topics covered in class, to improve understanding of current concepts. Study group sessions follow along with a course’s timeline and assignments.

YouTube. FSETC also has a curated library of tutorial videos on their YouTube channel, where students can access content ranging from popular concept overviews to tutors walking students through common questions.

FSETC services are available to all Fulton students. The Tutoring Centers are a great resource for faculty to partner with on creating study groups and aligning review sessions.

Implementation and Timing: The WHEN, WHERE, and HOW

The best time to tell your students to engage with the tutoring centers is early and often. Encourage students to visit and become familiar with the center prior to needing help. Then they can feel confident to come as needed for support.

The hours for each tutoring center are location and semester-specific, but tutoring services are generally offered during the following times for synchronous help.

Fall and Spring

Monday-Thursday: 9 a.m. – 11 p.m.

Friday: 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Summer

Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

For current and specific hours of operations for each tutoring center, direct students to visit the Tutoring Schedule.

For faculty, there are a number of ways to engage with the FSETC and market tutoring services to students.

Marketing. In-class presentations/materials, adding the Canvas Common page to your course, or a short blurb in your syllabus is a great reminder to students of this free resource.
Syllabus submission. Send a copy of your syllabus to the FSETC at any time in the semester to help tutors and the centers prepare for upcoming projects, assignments, and exams.
Lead Review Sessions. Refresh students’ knowledge on a particular topic or subject covered in your course with resources and support from the FSETC.
Create Study Groups. Create formal or informal study groups for your course.

Rationale and Research: The WHY

The tutoring center is a resource to reinforce your in-class learning objectives. There are benefits for students as well to learn in a collaborative environment, where emphasis is placed on adherence to the Academic Integrity Policy, problem-solving techniques, and understanding of foundational concepts.

Peer-peer interactions have been found to increase self-confidence and be “the single most potent source of influence on growth and development during the undergraduate years”(Astin, 1993, p. 398). Additionally, considerable research exists on the effectiveness of the many different types and formats of peer tutoring (Topping, 1996) and for engineering students specifically (Paljug & Lampe, 2017; Garcia, Morales, & Rivera, 2014; Kieran & O’Neill, 2009). One study found that frequent tutoring sessions, even if they are shorter, produce better results.

Additional Resources and References

FSETC Book recommendation to faculty: Tough, P. (2019). The years that matter most : how college makes or breaks us. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Astin, A. (1993). What Matters in College: Four Critical Years Revisited. Liberal Education, 79(4), 4.
Garcia, R., Morales, J. C., & Rivera, G. (2014). The Use of Peer Tutoring to Improve the Passing Rates in Mathematics Placement Exams of Engineering Students: A Success Story. American Journal of Engineering Education, 5(2), 61-72.
Kieran, P., & O’Neill, G. (2009). Peer-assisted tutoring in a chemical engineering curriculum: Tutee and tutor experiences. Australasian Journal of Peer Learning, 2(1), 4.
Paljug, B., & Lampe, L. (2017). Assessing usage, satisfaction, effectiveness, and learning outcomes for an engineering peer tutoring program Paper presented at 2017 FYEE Conference, Daytona Beach, Florida. https://strategy.asee.org/29401
Topping, K. J. (1996). The Effectiveness of Peer Tutoring in further and Higher Education: A typology and review of the literature. Higher Education, 32(3), 321–245. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00138870