The Learning Assistance and Resource Center, located in 105 Lawrence Center is more than just a tutoring center. Commonly referred to as the LARC, this comprehensive tutoring and academic assistance program offers benefits at all levels of academic accomplishment. Whether youʼre a diligent student frightened at the prospect of having to get yourself through Organic Chem II, or youʼre in need of some basic skills in time management and long term assignment planning, the LARC has an array of helpful and realistic methods to get you through the academic gauntlet. The LARC tutors are more than just students who passed the class which, in you, instills so much fear. The tutors are trained by faculty and other experienced tutors on the methods of good academic planning, as well as the best ways to communicate such methods to the students being tutored. If you go to the LARC, whether for academic help or to help someone academically, chances are youʼll find a great opportunity for personal advancement. The primary function of the tutors, as indicated on the LARC Web site, is to “assist students in learning the concepts covered in the course.” Tutors accomplish this through reviewing course materials and texts, as well as general methods of good notetaking, and time and stress management. Additionally, tutors at the LARC have at their disposal a range of sample questions and practice exams pertaining to any of the courses they tutor.
Through the combined efforts of student and tutor, the LARC enables a student to learn coursepertinent material while increasing their knowledge and use of general skills of task management.
The Web site offers a window into the study skills that tutors and students will employ when working with one another. Time management, note taking and exam preparation are emphasized; the Web site offers an overview of each of these categories and detailed information on each is available through links that are easy to navigate.
Finally, the LARC offers interactive programs that involve more than merely good study habits. There is the “supplemental instruction,” where a tutor attends the class, has the text, and is therefore able to address course specific questions. There are workshops that emphasize many of the skills tutors use for individual students; these workshops are done in groups, and therefore facilitate open learning based on peer discussion and tutor or faculty leadership. Workshops cover topics such as test taking, essay writing, and even specific topics of your choice, if you are a group of four persons or more. That means that the LARC accommodates even that which it does not directly address in the Web site or other programs.
Remember when you were preparing for the SATʼs? Remember all those people who said you needed to experience an SAT review course, or at least get one of the various SAT prep books? Hopefully, if youʼre like me, you raised your SATʼs score by a nice amount just through using those silly review books and attending a few sessions. Well, now LARC offers just such a review session for the PPST I, or Pre Professional Skills Test I. All of the concepts and topics that could be covered on the PPST I are covered in the review sessions held by the LARC. LARC also offers many different times to fit with your schedules.
How do you sign up to become a tutor so that your fellow students may benefit from your vast knowledge? Here are some names and numbers. To sign up for a tutor, come to 105 Lawrence Center and fill out a form. You may sign up for three different courses. To find a list of available courses, go to the WCU homepage, click on other links, then scroll down and click on “Tutoring.” The LARC is open for visits Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Friday 8 – 4:30. The sessions are available on a first come, first serve basis, so put downthis paper and hurry over if youneed a tutor but have only a daya week thatʼs free on your schedule. You can also call the LARC at (610) 436-2535, or send an email at larc@wcupa.edu. Enjoy expanding your knowledge at the LARC!