The Math Center
"The Best Thing Since Peanut Butter!" ( anonymous student )
Welcome Math Students! 
Whether you're taking math for fun or at gunpoint, the Math Center is the right place to go. For those of you who are taking math with reluctance, we can offer some solace and support. You might surprise yourself by enjoying and understanding math for the first time in your life or just by surviving your math course with your sense of humor intact. And for those admittedly rare individuals who are taking math for fun, you might find that math is that much more fun when you have someone to discuss it with. Visit the Learning Center homepage for our current hours.
- Useful Links
You'll be surprised what great math resources you can find on the Internet.
Math Tutoring: Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Who are the math tutors?
A.. We are primarily students like yourself with a little more experience in math. Some of us started with Math 054 or 055 and slowly made our way to calculus, so we know what you are going through. If you prefer working with an "expert," we have Educational Technicians who have already acquired their degrees in math or sciences. In addition, all math instructors spend a couple of hours a week tutoring at the Learning Center.
Q. Why go to the Learning Center for math help?
A.. If you are having trouble understanding what is going on in your math class or cannot finish your homework, you can come for help. Helping students in distress is indeed one of our main functions, yet it would be wrong to think that having "trouble" is the only reason to come see us. Students come for everything from a little moral support to sharing insights to discussing the nature of mathematics.
Q. What are the tutors likely to do for you?
A.. We will try to make the math you are doing more comprehensible. This might include working on problems with you, explaining a concept, or simply letting you know you are on the right track. A simple statement of our philosophy might be that we help you help yourself. Yes, we know how trite that sounds, but it does underscore the idea that we are a resource to aid in your understanding, not a substitute for understanding.
Q. Will I pass my math class if I come to the Learning Center?
A.. Coming to the Learning Center will almost certainly increase your understanding of math, which is directly related to passing the course. But that alone will not get you through--attending lectures, doing your homework, and passing exams are important too. The more you do to try and better understand the mathematics you are learning, the better you will do in your math courses.
Q. What other services do you provide?
A.. There are periodic workshops offered during the semester that range from course specific problem solving sessions to how to effectively use your calculater. During these workshops you can review course material in a group setting, moderated and assisted by a tutor. We also have a collection of old math exams, which will help you prepare for your tests. Textbooks and calculators are available for use at the Learning Center, and some textbooks can be checked out. If there is a service you wish we offered, come tell us about it or call us at 796-6348. We are always open to suggestions.
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Quotes for Courage And Enlightenment
"It is impossible to be a mathematician without being a poet in soul." Sophia Kovalevskaia
"Mathematics is no more the art of reckoning and computation than architecture is the art of making bricks or hewing, no more than painting is the art of mixing colors on a pallette, no more than geology is the art of breaking rocks, or the science of anatomy is the art of butchering." C.J. Keyser
"It is a great nuisance that knowledge can only be aquired by hard work." W Somerset Maugham
"We only think when confronted with a problem." John Dewey
"Failure is instructive. A person who thinks learns quite as much from his failures as his successes." John Dewey
"Success isn't permanent, and failure isn't fatal." Mike Ditka
"It demeans mathematics to justify it to appeals to work, to getting and spending... Can you recall why you fell in love with mathematics? It was not, I think, because of its usefullness in controlling inventories." Underwood Dudley
"The only way to learn mathematics is to do mathematics." Paul Halmos
...and finally our motto...
"There ain't no rules around here! We're trying to accomplish something!"
-Thomas Edison
Useful Links
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If you have comments or suggestions, email our coordinator at jnjhc1@uas.alaska.edu
View our current Schedule
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