Ryan Norwood, academic resource coordinator, has his hands full with running the Supplemental Instuction Program and the Tutoring Program at IU Southeast.
Since he started in 2004, he has seen some changes.
The SI Program is designed for students to gain extra help in a certain class. A student instructor attends the class again and holds learning sessions outside the class. By attending the class again, the SI instructor becomes more familiar with the material and the students can get to know them better.
A high rate of the grades D, F and withdrawal help determine which classes are in the SI Program. If that rate is higher than 30 percent, it would be beneficial to have an SI instructor.
“We find that students that attend SI sessions earn at least a half to almost a full-letter grade better,” Norwood said.
Norwood said SI instructors are those students who have previously excelled in the class and faculty recommend them to be
instructors.
“I work with the very best students we have,” Norwood said.
The instructors have to attend a training class that will explain their duties and some challenges they may face.
Since 2004, the SI program has seen its biggest change with the increased from 12 sessions to 40. Norwood said this increase is due to the awareness the program has brought to students, faculty and the administration.
“[They] started to see the value in it,” Norwood said. “The awareness of the program is great.”
Because of the many SI sessions, Norwood can’t monitor all of them. He has an SI coach every semester who helps him. The coach is someone who has performed very well as an SI instructor.
There is also a student that works for Norwood in the Student Development Center. Sabrina Goedeker, business management and marketing senior, has been working for Norwood since she was a sophomore. She said she likes working with Norwood.
“It’s not a problem working for Ryan,” Goedeker said.
Besides the SI Program, Norwood also coordinates the Tutoring Program.
Tutoring is offered in most 100- and 200-level classes. Norwood said the biggest requests for tutors are in math, languages and natural sciences.
Last semester, an online tutoring request form was implemented to make it easier for students to
request a tutor.
Tutors are recommended by faculty, and Norwood said there is a need for them. Tutoring is offered based on the tutors’ schedule and is always by appointment.
The fee is $5 an hour and there is a limit on how many hours you can be tutored. That limit is based on the number of credit hours that course is.
Norwood is familiar with tutoring because he tutored when he went to college at IU Southeast. “It was always nice to help a student understand the material,” Norwood said.
Norwood later received a degree in Spanish and economics. He sold insurance at his family’s insurance company, but he said it wasn’t his thing.
By keeping in touch with IUS faculty, he was able to receive the job here.
He said he ended up working at IU Southeast by fate.
“It was one of those mysterious paths that life leads you,” Norwood said.
Norwood said he came back to IU Southeast because of the culture and environment.
When Norwood finds the time to let loose and the weather is nice, he rides his Yamaha Cruiser, which he has had for 10 years.
“It’s been a part of life for so long now,” Norwood said.
Norwood is married and has a 4-month-old daughter, Samantha. He also mentors at IU Southeast.
By AMANDA FRENCH
Staff Writer
aafrench@imail.iu.edu