The Vol Study Center (VSC) serves as a hub for providing Learning Assistance services to students via support from the Division of Student Success; Our student staff provide peer-led learning assistance via 1-on-1 or group study sessions!
Students can apply to work for the Vol Study Center (VSC) via the application found on the “Work with ASC” page of our website. On that webpage, we have listed the roles that can be held by student staff. Job descriptions that are linked on that page will contain detailed information about the responsibilities that student staff hold within each position. Regardless of their position, all student staff are trained before they can perform their responsibilities – with training being tailored to the role that the student staff is taking on. In addition to this training, our student staff engage in professional development consistently during the time they are employed with our office.
- Purpose of learning assistance and meaning that it has for students
- One-on-one study sessions
- Group study sessions
- Group facilitation
- Professional Behavior
- Ethics of academic support
- Assessing student needs
- Referring students to UTK resources
- Handling challenging conversations
- Communication skills
- Positive psychology
- Active learning strategies
- Collaborative learning strategies
- Building a friendly learning environment
- Motivating students during session
- Study skills
- Motivational interviewing
- Goal setting & planning
- Key elements of Supplemental Instruction
- Planning a session
Our student staff have the opportunity to provide support to students on probation, to co-facilitate workshops, to engage in outreach, and to tailor services to meet a demonstrated need for a student group or population. For student staff that want experience with these responsibilities, we require training beyond the standard training mentioned above.
To provide the maximum support for student staff, we invite faculty to collaborate with the Vol Study Center on our peer-led services and hope that we can establish a positive connection that fosters the development of a strong working relationship between the VSC and the departments we collaborate with to offer student services. Faculty members are always invited to lend support, and we hope this list provides an idea of the variety of involvement that faculty can have with the VSC:
- Share syllabi (or at least the exam schedule – if possible) with student staff
- Integrate student staff into the faculty member’s Canvas page
- Refer students to VSC resources for assistance with courses that we offer
- Provide recommendations for potential student staff
- Aid student staff in development of review session material
- Meet with student staff to discuss course content – ensuring quality
- Meet with Vol Study Center staff
- Provide feedback to student staff regarding their educational materials
- Provide constructive feedback to Vol Study Center staff regarding student staff
- Assist Vol Study Center in developing training and workshops for student staff
- Facilitate training sessions or workshops for the student staff
- Observe student staff and provide feedback
- Request a classroom visit
- Request fliers or syllabus material
- Collaborate with VSC staff to develop department/course specific training
If you would like to chat more about the options for contributing to the learning assistance program or to just learn more about learning assistance within the VSC, please email VolStudyCenter@utk.edu!