The Biology Peer Tutor program provides opportunities for undergraduates to gain experience teaching and also provides undergraduate students in biology lab courses with a chance to learn from peers who have recently been through the cours. A common sentiment among teachers is that the best way to learn a subject is to be involved in teaching it to others.
One of the educational objectives for Biology Peer Tutors is that they will learn subject matter content at a much deeper level than they did as students in the class. A second objective is for these students to learn about teaching. Having to explain a concept to someone else sometimes means having to distill it to its essence, or having to get inside someone else’s head to understand the difficulty they are having in learning. These are valuable skills that are best acquired by doing. Some students may discover that teaching is a profession that they want to pursue; others may decide they don't like teaching: either discovery is an important lesson. A third objective is for students to enhance their skills and abilities as learners and students through seeing the educational process from the perspective of a teacher.
Biology Peer Tutors will be involved in laboratory teaching situations in which a faculty member or a GTF is in charge of the laboratory. BPTs will primarily work one-on-one with students or in small groups. They may tutor students outside of the laboratory time in the Biology Peer Tutoring Center, located in rm 25 Klamath Hall. BPTs enroll for one or more credits of Bi 402, Supervised College Teaching, four credits of which may be applied to the biology major graduation requirement. BPTs will be under the supervision of a faculty member who will be responsible for ensuring that the work they do involves quality educational experiences. An example of the kind of outside reading and writing that a BPT might do in association with Bi402 credit is described in the sample syllabus available from Ariel Bordenave in the Biology Office.
BPTs may be paid, on an hourly basis, for time spent in activities beyond those that are done in relation to earning credit for Bi 402. The hourly wage for that work ranges from $8 to $9 per hour, and most Peer Tutors will work 8 -14 hours per week, on average, in addition to time spent on Bi 402.
If you are interested in being considered for the Biology Peer Tutor program, please visit the Biology Office in 77 Klamath Hall for an application form. In selecting Biology Peer Tutors, consideration will be given both to the educational need of the student applying to be a BPT, and of that person's ability to assist other students in learning. Students may repeat their experience as BPTs as long as there is a credible learning experience for them in doing so.
