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Free drop-in tutoring is available for all students in CNSM courses.

There are multiple centers on campus that tutor courses offered by the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (CNSM):

• offers tutoring in chemistry and biology for CNSM pre-majors and majors.
• Lindgren Math Tutoring Center focuses on math.

Purpose of Tutoring

Tutoring is designed to help you strengthen your understanding of course materials and improve your problem-solving skills. In science and math courses, tutoring provides the opportunity to work with another individual to work through problems step by step and check your reasoning. Tutoring also helps you reinforce your knowledge by applying concepts to new situations.

The purpose of tutoring is to build problem-solving skills, deepen your confidence in course materials, and connect with other like-minded individuals who share the goal of learning.

Tutoring as the Feynman Technique

Physicist Richard Feynman believed that the best way to truly master a subject was to explain it in simple terms to someone else (this is called the ). Tutoring works in a similar way. Tutors are not meant to provide answers, but to guide students in articulating their own though process, identify gaps of understanding, and reorganizing your comprehension to provide you the opportunity to learn on your own.

By teaching concepts aloud, drawing connections, and rephrasing ideas in your own words, you move from passive learning to active mastery.

Tutoring as Metacognitive Practice

Tutoring also helps you become more aware of how you learn. This is called metacognition - thinking about your thinking. When you pause to reflect on your process ("Why did I solve it this way? What made this step confusing?), you're practicing skills that make future learning easier. Tutoring creates a structured space for these reflections, so you can leave not just with better understanding of today’s topic, but with strategies to tackle tomorrow's challenges more independently.

In summary, tutoring is not a "remedy" but an amplifier. You bring in what you know, and tutoring helps you stretch further, clarifying, applying, and solidifying your learning.