Academic life at Harding was littered with difficult courses and hard to grasp concepts. However, many departments offered numerous ways to aid their struggling students. Professors often kept regular office hours, leaving the door open to any student who needed a little extra guidance in the class. Professors were not the only ones who made themselves available to help, though. For those who found themselves floundering in their math classes, help was as close as the Pryor-England Science Building where senior Jason Loy and May 2007 graduate Clint Langston tutored their peers in the Math Lab. “We’re meant to be a supplement, not a substitute, for the teachers,” Loy said. “Teachers can’t be there all of the time, and that’s where we come in.” The Math Lab, which was open from 8 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, provided a come-and-go atmosphere for the students who needed some extra help in any of the math classes offered on campus. “We help with everything from beginning algebra to differential equations,”Loy said. “Anyone who comes in is free to ask questions, work in groups or work out problems on the board.We don’t do concentrated study for one class. One night, eight people were there, and eight classes were represented.” Loy and Langston first came into the Math Lab as confused math students themselves. After seeing how helpful the lab could be, they decided that they would like to help out others who were in their same position. “When I was taking Calculus I, [the lab] really helped me,”Langston said. “The next semester I went in there for help with Calculus II and ended up helping other people who were in there with their calculus.” Senior math education major Brian Jones used the lab to meet with his Foundations of Geometry class for study sessions. “We usually end up in the lab,” Jones said. “It gives you the chance to get up at the board and work out your mistakes.” Junior math major Kena Gibson also took advantage of the lab whenever she needed help. “You can get help one-on-one, or they’ll work the problem out on the board for you,” Gibson said. “You can also work the problem out on the board, and they’ll correct it.” Even though the lab was held in a classroom setting, those who attended felt that being helped by their peers aided them in a way that a teacher might not be able to. “The good thing about the Math Lab is that you get help from someone who has recently struggled with the same thing you are,”Jones said.“Math is a struggle. Once you’ve worked through it, it’s like, ‘I just did this and I didn’t think I could.’ I get a thrill from that.” The reward for the tutors was to see the progress of their fellow students. “We’ve had a few light bulb moments,” Loy said, “but it’s kind of hard to see progress day-to-day. You can really see the difference over the semester, though.” The students were able to get together and pool their knowledge to help each other. “When you come into the lab, you get to talk to someone who has had the course,”Langston said.“You can find people to study with and work as a team. Others remember what you can’t, and you all help each other.” The Math Lab did not just provide answers but gave the students the opportunity to discover the answers with the aid of the tutors. “It doesn’t happen overnight,” Jones said. “But the struggle makes it mean more when you finally get it.” [Jennifer Harris] Lab provides peer assistance for students Tutoring
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