Zeidman-Karpinski, Annie

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The Mathlete Program at the University of Oregon Libraries
(ABC-CLIO, 2017) Zeidman-Karpinski, Annie; Schaak, Genevieve
This chapter examines the University of Oregon’s math homework help program, which is entirely staffed by students working for the Libraries. These student employees, called Mathletes, provide drop-in homework help for all underclass mathematics courses in the reading room of the Math Library. The program has proved successful, with patron participation far exceeding initial projections. However, the real success of the program has been what the Mathletes themselves have gained as peer to peer instructors, through meaningful work experience and a supportive community. We will describe our training process, which emphasizes leadership, mentoring and problem solving throughout. In order to ascertain the benefits of peer-assisted learning on the Mathletes, we conducted a qualitative and quantitative survey assessment of our program. Results of this assessment reveal that the work has meaning above and beyond the amount that students earn as an hourly wage. Finally, providing this program has been a wonderful way to connect to both an academic department that can be difficult to serve and the greater UO community.