Academic Skills Centre pivots towards hybrid learning

As Dawson transitions to increased in-person activities, the Academic Skills Centre continues to demonstrate its flexibility and resilience by expanding the hybrid services that they offer. Among the first services at Dawson to adapt to online learning in March 2020, the ASC offers in-person and online professional and peer tutoring services for students through its WC Online appointment scheduling software.

Prior to the pandemic, the ASC used WC Online, a system specifically designed for writing centres, to record in-person appointments. The system was only used to keep notes and statistics. However, the staff also knew the system could allow for students to register and book appointments for themselves.

When online learning began, they quickly opened the WC Online schedule to student registration and integrated the scheduling software with Zoom. This created a seamless transition from in-person student consultations to synchronous and asynchronous academic support.

Within the space of a week, the ASC was able to continue one-on-one student consultations, ensuring students received academic support and empathetic listening during the early weeks of the pandemic. Even sheltered English labs quickly resumed online after previously being in-person.

To contribute to the success of the transition more widely, in May 2020, the ASC collaborated with English professionals throughout Québec to create the Survival Guide to Online Learning. Anna Marczewska took the lead facilitating the process and creating the final document that continues to be used across English colleges throughout the province.

As the lockdown continued, ASC staff created new online workshops for students struggling to adjust to online learning and its attendant difficulties. Too often, studying and working from home created false expectations regarding the amount of time students had to get work done. Students also began to express increasing concerns with issues of motivation and procrastination. In response to these problems, the following workshops were developed and offered during the enforced isolation : “Attention and Motivation,” “Say ‘No!’ to Procrastination,” and “Ace that Exam!: How to Prepare for and Take Exams.” The students’ response to these workshops was gratifying.

At this time, staff also realized that many students were struggling emotionally due to lack of interactions with teachers and classmates. The isolation students were experiencing was troubling and drastically affecting both their academic performance and their sense of wellbeing. Understanding that ASC staff are not therapists or counselors, Rashmini Segarajasinghe-Ernest created the L.I.S.T.E.N.S. model, enabling staff to lend students a sympathetic, empathetic, and non-judgmental ear, while also assisting them with identifying appropriate resources.

Using this model during meetings with students, the ASC staff received consistent feedback from students about how important simply being heard was in reducing their stress and isolation. Many students just needed to be listened to as a precursor to addressing their academic difficulties and pursuing their success.

The training of peer tutors in Fall 2020 was also transitioned online with new online training materials and scenarios specific to virtual tutoring. Beginning in Spring 2021, the ASC used MyDaylite as a tool to offer returning tutors follow-up training.

Professionals at the ASC also continued the much-needed revision of the centre’s handouts. Using remote work as an impetus, they updated and expanded their handouts on time management, study skills, grammar, and essay writing. The overhaul included updates to the most recent edition of the MLA and APA citation systems, including coverage of government statistical reports and new media sources such as websites, social media posts, and streaming services. Please feel free to contact Matthew Rettino, the Academic Skills Centre’s citation specialist (mrettino@dawsoncollege.qc.ca or at extension 1746), for any assistance you may need.

Over the summer of 2020, the ASC also expanded the college’s use of WC Online by sharing their system with CLÉO, creating a separate schedule for French students to book online appointments with staff. Eventually, the Journeys program also began using the scheduling system, ensuring continued support for Indigenous students.

Last Fall, the English language labs for the Remedial Activities and Writing English courses resumed, being held in-person again after being successfully offered online during the lockdown. Furthermore, to help with the transition back to in-person learning, the ASC added a new study skills workshop called “Hit the Ground Running: Planning and Organizing Your Semester.”

Today, students continue to use WC Online to book appointments with the ASC and CLÉO from home, the library, or on the go. While many students book in-person consultations, a steady number of students continue to book online appointments. Students like the convenience of choosing which type of appointment they want depending on their particular needs and time commitments.

Amid the successes, one issue presented an inconvenience: the login portal for WC Online required students to fill in their username and password each time they logged in. To address this in March, Conner Morgan and Anna Marczewska worked with IT to integrate WC Online through Omnivox to create a seamless single-sign-in system.

The schedule can now be directly accessed through Omnivox (web version), reducing the number of passwords students must remember. First time users will be brought directly to a registration page before proceeding to the schedule. (Note that the original login page at https://dawsoncollege.mywconline.com/ is no longer usable to non-administrators.)

Teachers and staff are encouraged to share this new information with students who may be in need of ASC and CLEO help. To access WC Online:

• In the web version of Omnivox, click, “WC Online” (on the main page under Student Services). It should take you directly to the ASC staff schedule.
• To access the schedules for Peer Tutors or CLÉO, click on the drop-down menu at the top of the schedule page to choose the schedule you need.

Meetings can be booked in-person or online. A Zoom meeting is created automatically when the link to enter the online meeting is chosen.

Services currently offered by the Academic Skills Centre in this hybrid environment include:

• One-on-one meetings with ASC professionals (online and in-person, 30 minutes to an hour/week depending on the student’s need)
• Drop-in hours (in-person, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday)
• French-language pedagogical assistance for students with diagnosed or undiagnosed learning difficulties (online and in-person)
• Appointments with Content Area Tutors (CATs) for a large number of courses (online and in-person, two hours/week)
• Appointments with Peer English Tutors (PETs) (online and in-person, one hour/week)
• Conversation and fluency groups (three one-hour sessions/week)
• Class workshops on academic integrity and plagiarism, research and writing skills, and study skills (in-person and online)
• Remedial English and Writing English labs (in-person)
• English Exit Exam information sessions (online and in-person)
• Study skills workshops: “Hit the Ground Running: Planning and Organizing Your Semester,” “Attention and Motivation,” “Say ‘No!’ to Procrastination,” and “Ace that Exam!: How to Prepare for and Take Exams” (in-person and online, sessions offered several times per semester)
• Handouts on time management, study skills, essay writing, grammar, and APA and MLA formatting (physical copies and pdfs on ASC website)

Much has changed at the ASC over the course of the lockdown and the transition back to in-person learning. However, the services’ commitment to facilitating student success in ways that are flexible to their needs has only grown stronger.