CAPS UNM Spring Training

1. CAPS STEM Team Training
Spring 2017 STEM Team Module Training

2. Module Purpose
 You will be provided with disciple specific trainings to hone your content
skills, communication training to hone your methods, and professionalism
training to advance your career.
 This module will give you insight into CTL and CAPS, your role, and skills to
successfully support students.
 Food for thought: your role as a STEM tutor is to provide academic support to
UNM’s diverse undergraduate population. Some student who use services will
be STEM majors. Others will not. We must treat every student with respect,
empathy, and understanding in a comfortable and judgment free space.
 This module will give you tools to understand your role and support students. It is
my hope that you will bring energy and empathy to this process and this position.

3. Outline
 Program Mission, Vision, and Goals
 Team Structure
 Services
 Resources
 Tutor Toolbox
 Mock tutoring sessions
 Training Structure
 Expectations for you as a tutor

4. STEM Mission and Vision

5. STEM Mission and Vision
 The CAPS STEM Program will develop a learning community of critical thinkers
and self advocates who utilize resources, ask questions, and correlate content
to their individual academic and professional goals while decreasing math and
science aversion across the academic spectrum.
 The mission of the CAPS STEM Program is to provide an interactive,
collaborative peer tutoring environment that encourages students to ask
questions, take ownership of their education, and experience individual
success in the math and science core curriculum.
 What does this mean for you as a tutor?

6. Your role as a peer tutor…
 Be positive, empathetic, and encouraging to all students.
 Provide a learning environment that is open to all and welcomes UNM’s
diverse student population.
 Facilitate conversations related to content and encourage students to ask
questions and become advocates for their own education.
 Assist students so they can complete similar problems on their own
 Know your strengths and never be afraid to ask for help

7. STEM Team Structure
STEM Management Team Overview

8. Team Support Structure
 Callie French: STEM Program Specialist
 Xavier Quintana: Assistant Coordinator
 Gabriella Dalton: Student Support Services Center, Location Manager
 Alexandrya Leeds: Algebra and Statistics, Student Manager
 Mario Esparza Perez: Calculus, Student Manager
 Shannen Ramey: Chemistry and Biology, Student Manager

9. Positions
 Callie French, STEM Program Specialist:
 Oversees all hiring decisions
 Maintains funds, budget, and STEM schedules
 Develops new UNM initiatives with STEM Support in mind
 Outreach to students, faculty, and staff
 Bring awareness to UNM student needs and advocate for academic equity
 Publish articles to better the field of STEM education
 Build the personal and professional skills of each tutor through mentorship
 Design, build, and facilitate trainings

10. Positions
 Xavier Quintana, Assistant Coordinator
 Graduate Assistant promoted from within STEM team
 Oversee schedule changes
 Mentors tutors and student managers
 Create training materials
 Oversee drop-in lab
 Student Managers
 Develop content trainings related to their field
 Mentor tutors
 Oversee drop-in lab

11. Services and Locations

12. Services
CAPS provides academic support at a variety of locations on campus in a variety of ways.
 Zimmerman
 Individual Appointments
 Drop-In Tutoring M-R 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, F 9:00 am – 2:45 pm
 Faculty Office Hours
 Student Union Building (SUB)
 Drop-In Tutoring M-R 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
 Student Support Services Center (SSSC)
 Drop-In Tutoring Su-R 6:00 pm -9:00 pm
 Math Connection (High School Math Tutoring)
 Online Tutoring TR 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
 Drop-In Tutoring Su 2:00-5:00

13. STEM Courses Supported
 The STEM Team is broken into 5 main teams for academic support:
 Algebra and Statistics
 Calculus and Upper Level Math
 Physics
 Chemistry and Biology
 Multi-Discipline
 We welcome students from any UNM class which contains content related to
these areas.
 For example: students from Psychology 200 often come to the drop-in lab for
statistics support or Environmental Science students come to drop-in support for
chemistry support.
 Every day and every interaction will be a brand new challenge! You will
quickly learn to think on your feet and diversify they way you discuss content!

14. Resources
 Caps provides resources for tutors to utilize while in interactions with students.
The following resources may be checked out from the front office and must
remain with you, the tutor, the entire time they are checked out. No resources are
to be left with students unless noted.
 Textbooks and Manuals
 Calculators
 Laptops (students may check out laptops)
 Chemistry model sets
 Portable white boards and markers
 Scratch paper (and lots of it!)
 Sample Problems and worksheets made by fellow tutors or faculty members
 If there are resources not listed that you feel you need, please inform your
Program Specialist, Callie French

15. A Typical Interaction
Know Your Tool Box Tactics

16. Tutor Toolbox
The tools below can be used to facilitate content conversations with
students. These tools will be incredibly valuable to you during the
semester.
 Prompting-This involves helping the student by providing some information or
asking questions that will help point them in the right direction.
 Probing-This allows you to determine if the student is struggling with what
they are currently studying or if they are missing some background
information that is hindering their progress with new concepts/problems.
 Metaphors/ Analogies- Relating concepts and problems to something concrete
the student is familiar with helps them to understand and think about a
problem logically.
 Wait-Time- Gives the student time to ponder the question you just asked or
make a connection between points A and B.
 Assigning Tasks- This gives the student a chance to apply what you just
discussed and solidify their understanding of the concept.

17. A Typical Interaction
A typical tutoring interaction will follow the outline below. The tools from your
toolbox will assist you in the investigation, evaluation, and problem solving
sections.
 Introduction- Tutors are expected to introduce themselves to students prior
to jumping into tutoring.
 Investigation- Tutors ask probing questions in order to try to get the student
to identify the type of problem they are working on and what they need help
with.
 Evaluation- The tutor identifies where the knowledge gap is occurring for the
student and how to best help meet their needs.
 Problem Solving- Tutors help students break down complex problems,
determine what they know and what they need to know, and assist them with
using resources effectively.
 Recap and Farewell- Tutors are expected to check for understanding rather
than simply solve problems.

18. Mock Tutoring Interactions
 The videos to follow illustrate both positive and negative tutoring
interactions.
 Use your Tool Box and the Outline we previously discussed to follow the
interactions.
 Next you will watch a few short tutoring interactions. You will be asked to
answer the following questions when the videos end.
 What does the tutor do well?
 What could they do better?
 What would you do differently?