Mary B. O’Neill, director of the Quantitative & Symbolic Reasoning (QSR) Center, was a member of a panel titled “Quantitative Support Centers: Common Themes” at the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) on Jan. 4 in Boston. The panel brought together directors of Quantitative Support Centers (QSCs) from a variety of institutions including St. Lawrence University, Bates College, Smith College and the University of Connecticut.
Discussion centered on issues that often arise when leading a QSC. O’Neill presented information about Hamilton’s QSR requirement, the services offered by the QSR Center, collaboration with faculty and departments and the role of the peer tutor.
According to O’Neill, many QSCs have arisen in the past 20 or 30 years and nearly every academic institution has some form of mathematics help or tutoring. Each QSC has some characteristics that are specific to its particular institution, but there are some commonalities. She said some QSCs simply provide drop-in help, while others play specific roles in support of quantitative initiatives on their campuses.
The JMM features the annual meetings of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and the American Mathematical Society (AMS). According to the JMM website it is the largest annual mathematics meeting in the world.
