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Tutoring

Tutors can’t do your work for you, but they can help you formulate study approaches that work best for you, enabling you to engage with the content more fully. In doing so, they may read your work for accuracy, help you to use technology more effectively and show you how to use the materials you already have—books, notes, handouts—to excel in your work. The ultimate goal of tutoring is to help you be more independent in your studies.
 

“I knew how challenging organic chemistry is, so I wanted to help my peers learn the subject and hopefully help them appreciate the subject as much as I did.”
Arshiyan Laaj ’23

Meet Your Tutors

The Spinelli Center has over 70 dedicated peer tutors ready to help you with homework, labs, and more. Here are just a few! Complete tutor bios can be found in the discipline tabs below.

Ada Fiala ’27

Ada (she/her) is a sophomore chemistry major and study of women, gender, and sexuality minor. She has taken CHM 111 and CHM 222. She loves chemistry and is excited to help you with it in any way she can!

Ally Tutay ’25

Ally (she/her) is the ECO 250 tutor and also an intern at the Conway Center. She is a senior studying quantitative economics with a minor in government and concentration in global finance. You can email her at atutay@smith.edu!

Andy Esseln ’25

(he/they) I am a senior physics major and a religion minor. I have taken PHY 119, 210, 211, 215, 240, 242, 317, 318, 327, and 360gr, and have been a physics Learning Assistant. I am very comfortable with Python and decent with Mathematica.

Anna Ferronato Pimentel ’25

Anna (she/her) is a senior BCH major and is the BIO 200 tutor. She has taken A&P I and II at her previous college, BIO 200, BIO 202, BCH 252, and NCS 300 (neurophysiology). She can help with anything physiology related :)

Arisha Faiyas ’26

Arisha (she/her) is a junior engineering major and landscape studies minor with a passion for urban planning. She can help with any of the core engineering requirements including MTH 111, 112, 212; and EGR 220, 270, 290. Show up for a chat, she loves to meet new people.

Cecily Kolko ’25

Cecily is a senior math major. She's taken MTH 111, 112, 153, 211, 212, 238, 280, and 281, and can help with those classes. She can also help with Overleaf/LaTeX, knows some R and Python, and is happy to try to help with any math or math-adjacent problem!

Julia Steinberg ’27

Julia (she/her) is a sophomore double majoring in math and dance. She has taken MTH 111, 112, and 211 and is currently taking 212 and 153. She’s most comfortable with MTH 111 and 211, but is happy to try anything!

Karenna Collins-Thompson ’26

(she/her) I am a junior biochemistry major with a love for molecular biology and organic chemistry. I’ve taken CHM 111/222/223/224, BCH 252, and all of the associated labs. I am excited to help with any of your organic chemistry questions (and also share photos of my cat Mars)!

Leila Cowan ’26

I am a mathematics and physics major. I have taken MTH 111, 112, 153, 211, 212, and 233. I can help with homework material from those classes during open tutor hours through the Spinelli Center.

Lucy Glueck ’25

(she/her) I am a senior biochem major and pre-med student. I tutor BCH 252 but I have taken and can help with BIO 202 and 230, CHM 111/118, 222, 223, 224, and BCH 352, 336. I can help with class content and lab reports. Ask me about research at Smith if you are interested!

Sofia Zasiebida ’27

Sofia (she/her) is a sophomore engineering major and landscape studies minor. She is a QM tutor and has taken MTH 111 and 112 and is most comfortable helping out with those classes. She can also help with introductory engineering classes and Python.

Una Gogstetter ’27

Una is a sophomore SDS major. They’re most comfortable helping with MTH 111 and 153, SDS 192, 291, and 100, introductory stat, and coding in R. They may also be able to help with LaTeX/Overleaf, econometrics, introductory econ, and GIS.

Zihan Lyu ’25

(she/her) I am a senior computer science and neuroscience double major. I have taken CSC 110/120/210/231/250/256; STAT 515, and COMPSCI 389 Machine Learning from UMass. I can help with coding (Python, PyTorch, Java, MATLAB, R, C, Swift), GitHub, scientific writing, and class content.

Robbie Do ’26

Robbie (she/her) is a junior CSC and SDS double major. She has taken SDS 100/192/220/291/293 and MTH 153/211. She is currently enrolled in SDS 235 this semester. Robbie is happy to help with class content and coding with Python and R.

Where and When Is My Tutoring Session?

Counselors

Max can help with MTH 102 through MTH 212 and some upper-level courses. Max is a Ph.D. student in economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, studying the causes and effects of wealth and income inequality. Prior to coming to UMass, he completed his undergraduate degree at Cornell University, double majoring in mathematics and economics. In his free time, he enjoys learning languages and playing chess.
 
His drop-in hours are:
Day Time(s) Location
Monday 3–5:30 p.m.   Seelye 207e
Tuesday 3–4:30 p.m. Seelye 207e
Wednesday 1–3 p.m.  Seelye 207e
Thursday 4:30–6 p.m. Seelye 207e
In addition to drop-in tutoring, he is available for individual appointments. 

Cameron can help with statistics courses, in particular with SDS 192, 201, 220, and with the software R, Stata, and Excel. He can also help with econometrics, ECO 220 and ECO 240, as well as with the introductory economics courses ECO 150 and 153.

Stop in during his drop-in hours or make an appointment.

Day Time(s) Location
Monday 1–3 p.m.  Seelye 207-D
Tuesday 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Seelye 207-D
Wednesday 1–3 p.m. Seelye 207-D
Thursday 9–11 a.m.  Seelye 207-D

Schedule an Appointment with Cameron

Please bear with us while we update the schedule for the spring semester. The updated schedule should be available soon.

Disciplines

BIO 132 | Riko

Professors Derr 
Riko will hold drop-in hours in McConnell 102.

(On Feb 3 only) Monday 7-9 p.m.
Tuesday 6-8 p.m.(from Feb 11th onward)

BIO 230 | Wanying

Professors Williams and Doherty
Wanying will hold drop-in hours in Sabin-Reed 224.

Sunday 6-7 p.m.
Wednesday 6-7 p.m.

BCH 252 | Anna and Lucy

Professor Scordilis
The tutors will hold drop-in hours in McConnell 104.

Sunday 7:30-9:30 p.m. Anna
Tuesday 7-9 p.m. Lucy

Students can email Lucy for appointments!

NSC 210 | Haoran and Anika

Professors Rosen and Robles
The tutors will hold drop-in hours in McConnell 102.

Sunday 6-8 p.m. Anika
Monday 7-9 p.m. Haoran
Tuesday 6-8 p.m. Anika
Thursday 7-9 p.m. Haoran

 

CHM 222 |  Ada, Beatrice, Chu, Hadley, Karen, Karenna, Ona

Professors Buck and Shea
The tutors will hold drop-in hours in Seelye 106 (to be confirmed)

Sunday 7-9 p.m. Ada, Bea, Hadley, Karenna
Monday 7-8 p.m. Chu, Ona
Tuesday 7-9 p.m. Ada, Chu, Karen, Ona
Wednesday 7-8 p.m. Bea, Ona
Thursday 7-9 p.m. Bea, Hadley, Karen, Karenna

CHM 224 | Cece, Lily, Sylvia

Professor Giddings
The tutors will hold drop-in hours in Seelye 206 with overflow into Seelye 202.

Sunday 7-9 p.m. Lily and Sylvia
Tuesday 7-9 p.m. Cece
Thursday 7-9 p.m. Maeve and Michelle

CHM Lab Writing Support

Lab Report Appointment Guidelines:

  1. Use the links below to make an appointment with the lab writing tutor at least 24 hours ahead of the anticipated need for feedback.

  2. Send the draft of your lab report at the time you make the appointment—at least 24 hours ahead so they have enough time to read it.

  3. Allow 24 hours notice if you need to cancel so another student may have your slot.

Appointment Sign-Up:
  • CHM 222 Lab: Email Molly for lab writing tutoring. 

  • CHM 224 Lab: Sign up on Jingyi’s appointment calendar for lab writing tutoring

CS TAs are available to help with CSC courses. To see who can help with what course, see their descriptions below the schedule.

Course Tutors who can help
CSC 110 All tutors in Room 342 can help with this.
CSC 120 All tutors can help with this.
CSC 210

Ashley, Elaine C., Jade Lili, Jessica, Lan, Quinn and Zhirou can help during evening drop-in hours!

Additionally, there will be an extra coding session:

  • Tuesday 9-10 am in McConnell 104
CSC 231 Elaine D., Jessica, and Jade Lili are happy to help.
CSC 230 See in-class Pedagogical partner Sian.
CSC 250 Jade Lili and  Elaine D. may be able to help.
CSC 262 Ashley may be able to help (Mondays in 342)

Room 241

   Sunday  Monday  Tuesday  Wednesday    Thursday
1–3 p.m.   Elaine D., Zihan        
7–9 p.m.  

Jade, Lili,Zihan

Jade,
Lili,
Sophia D.

Lan,
Zhirou, ZIhan

Chris,
Elaine C.,Zhirou

Elaine D.,
Jade, Lili

Room 342 (primarily CSC 110 help )

   Sunday  Monday  Tuesday  Wednesday    Thursday
1–3 p.m.            
7–9 p.m.  

Chris, Jessica

Ashley, Chris

Chris,
Emma

Nafisa,
Quinn

Nafisa,
Lan

CSC Tutors

  • Ashley (she/her) is a junior CS major. She has taken CSC 120/210/231/249/250/251/252/262 and can help with related in-class material and things related to data development. 

  • Casey (they/them) is a senior CSC and SDS double major. They have taken CSC 111, CSC 212, CSC 231, CSC 240, CSC 249, CSC 250, and CSC 252, as well as MTH 153. They can help with coding in Python, Java, C, and Git.

  • Chris (she/her) is a junior CSC and EGR double major. She has taken CSC 120, CSC 210, CSC 231, CSC 250 and CSC 252. She can help with CSC 110, CSC 120, and CSC 210, as well as Python, Java, and Git.

  • Elaine C. (she/her) is a junior CSC and MTH major. She has taken CSC 110, 120, 210, 220, 231, 249, and 250. She can assist with Java, Python, and C.

  • Quinn (she/they) is a senior PSY and CSC major. She has taken CSC120, 210, 231, 250, 220, 249. She can help with Java, C, Python and git.
  • Elaine D. (she/her) is a senior computer science and mathematics double major. She has taken CSC 212 (now CSC 110, 120, and 210), CSC 223, CSC 231, CSC 249, CSC 250, CSC 251, CSC 256, and CSC 274 and can help with most of these courses. She can also assist with Python, Java, and Github.

  • Emma (she/her) is a senior CSC major and an SDS minor. She has taken CSC 111 and 212 (now 110, 120, and 210), and CSC 231. She can help with Python, Java, C, x86 Assembly and GitHub.

  • Jade Lili (she) is a junior CSC major. She has taken CSC 210, 231, and 250. She can help with x86 Assembly, C, C++, C#, git, and Java.

  • Jessica (she/her) is a junior CSC and music double major. She has taken all of the core CSC courses (110/120/210/231/250) and CSC 252 and 256. She can help with class content, GitHub, and coding in Python and Java.

  • Lan is  a junior double major in computer science and studio art. She can help with CSC 110, 120, 210. She can also help with Python, Javascript, Java, Git. 

  • Larissa (she/her) is a senior CSC and THE double major. She can help with CSC 110, 120, 210, 231, 240, 249, and 250 . She also can assist with Java, Python (including pandas), Javascript, C, C++, C#, and some assembly. Java is her best language! She can also assist with GitHub, setting up IDEs, graphics, and more! 

  • Skye (they) is a senior CSC major. They have taken the intro classes, 151, 231, 240, 250, 251, 252, and 262. They can help with any of those classes, but truly enjoy helping with 250 and 252. They also enjoy robotics, pedagogy, and documenting their code. Skye supported CSC 252 in the fall. 

  • Sophia D. (she/her) is a senior SDS and CS double major. She has taken SDS 192, SDS 291, CSC 111, CSC 212, CSC 250, CSC 231, CSC 240, CSC 252. She can help with class content as well as R and GitHub.

  • Zhirou (she/her) is a senior CS and Psychology double major. She has taken CSC111, CSC210, CSC230, CSC250, CSC231. She can help with Java, coding, and GitHub.

  • Zihan is a senior Computer Science and Neuroscience double major. She has taken CSC 110/120/210/231/250/256; STAT 515, and COMPSCI 389 Machine Learning from UMass. She can help with coding (Python/PyTorch/Java/MATLAB/R/C/Swift), GitHub, scientific writing, and class content.

ECO 150/153 | Evelyn, Julieta, and Sophia R.

Professors Craigie, Schmidt, Sharma, and Tsiaras
The tutors will hold drop-in hours in Neilson 108F in the Learning Commons in Neilson Library.

Sunday 7–8:30 p.m. Julieta
Monday 7–8:30 p.m.

Julieta

Tuesday 7–8:30 p.m.

Sophia

Wednesday 7–8:30 p.m. Evelyn
Thursday 7–8:30 p.m. Sophia

 

ECO 220 | Trang

Professor Zapryanova

Drop-in hours:

Sunday 7–9 p.m. Seelye 212
Tuesday 7–9 p.m. Seelye 212

Students can email Trang for appointments! 

ECO 250 | Zorina

Professor Vasquez

Drop-in hours:

Tuesday 7–9 p.m. Seelye 208
Thursday 7–9 p.m.  Seelye 208

Students can email Zorina for appointments!

ECO 253 | Kaitlyn 

Professor Brunet

Drop-in hours:

Tuesday 4-6p.m.  Seelye 211
Wednesday 7–9 p.m.  Seelye 211

Engineering Tutoring is available for many of the core courses.

Evening Hours

Drop-in hours in Ford 022/024 (Playground):

  Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday    Thursday
7–9 p.m. Arisha, 
Jiayi  

Jiayi,
Lilies

Kira,
Sylvia

Arisha,
Lilies

Jiayi,
Sylvia

 

Engineering Tutors

  • Arisha (she/her) is a junior Engineering major and Landscape Studies minor with a passion for urban planning. She can help with any of the core Engineering requirements including MTH 111, 112, 212; and EGR 110, 220, 270, 290, and 374. Show up for a chat, she loves to meet new people. 
  • Jiayi (she/her) is a senior double major in engineering science and physics. She has taken all engineering core classes and some other science classes like CSC 212, SDS 192, PHY 210, PHY 215, MTH 212, MTH 353. She could help with EGR homework and coding. 

  • Kira (she/her) is a junior EGR major and math minor. She can help with EGR 110, EGR 220, EGR 270, EGR 290, along with any R, physics, and calculus questions.

  • Lilies (they/them) Lilies  (they/them) is a junior EGR major. They can help with EGR 110, EGR 270, EGR 220, EGR 290, and are currently taking EGR 374. Lilies can also help with Calc 1, 2, and 3.

  • Sylvia is a senior CSC and EGR double major and has taken EGR 100, EGR 110, EGR 220, EGR 270, EGR 290, EGR 374, EGR 324. Sylvia can help with any in class content and coding.

Mathematics courses have drop-in hours as listed below.

In addition to the drop-in hours available, you can get help:

  • from meeting with the Calculus Counselor
  • Requesting help by sending an email to qlctutor@smith.edu. Include your course number and professor.

Open Office Hours

This linked Google calendar contains the office hours and drop-in sessions of course TAs and instructors. The instructors listed are happy to help students in the courses listed even if the students are not in their section of that particular course.

Daytime Hours 

Daytime tutoring is held in Seelye 207, the Spinelli Center. Most tutors can help with MTH 111 and MTH 112. See listing of tutors below if you’re looking for support for a particular course.

  Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
11 a.m.– noon         

Lilies, Cecily

noon–1 p.m.  Maisy Maisy Cecily

Sofia Z (not 2/20)

Lilies,
Julia (12:15-1:15)

1–2 p.m. Maisy, Kira Maisy Julia

Sofia Z (not 2/20)
Cecily

Se (2/14 onward),Lilies

2–3 p.m.

Kira

Maisy Maisy 2-2:30 p.m. Cecily Se (2/14 onward),Lilies
3–4 p.m. Calculus Counselor drop-in hour Calculus Counselor drop-in hour Lilies    
4-5 p.m.

Calculus Counselor drop-in hours until 5:30

Calculus Counselor drop-in until 4:30

Lilies 4:30: Calculus Counselor drop-in hours  

Evening Hours

Evening tutoring is held in the Math Forum, Burton Hall, third floor. Most tutors can help with MTH 111 and MTH 112. See listing of tutors below if you’re looking for support for a particular course.

  Sunday Monday Tuesday   Wednesday      Thursday
7–9 p.m.

Julia,
Sophia M.,
Sarah,Juliette

Lauren,
Sabina,
Sofia Z.

Sarah,
Arisha (8-9 p.m.)
Sofia Z.Sabina

Sofia Z., Lauren,
Leila,
Cecily

Arisha,
Juliette,
Lauren,
Leila

Mathematics Tutors

  • Arisha (she/her) is a junior Engineering major and Landscape Studies minor with a passion for urban planning. She can help with any of the core Engineering requirements including MTH 111, 112, 212; and EGR 220, 270, 290. Show up for a chat, she loves to meet new people. 

  • Cecily is a senior math major. She's taken MTH 111, 112, 153, 211, 212, 238, 280, and 281, and can help with those classes. She can also help with Overleaf/LaTeX, knows some R and Python, and is happy to try to help with any math or math-adjacent problem!

  • Julia (she/her) is a sophomore double majoring in math and dance. She can help with MTH 111, 112, 153, 211 and 212 and Overleaf/LaTeX She’s most comfortable with MTH 111, 153, and 212, but is happy to try anything!
  • Juliette  (she/her) is a sophomore Engineering Major and a Mathematics Minor, and is ready to help with MTH 111 and 112 or anything earlier. She is also willing to try helping with other math or engineering courses if needed!

  • Kira (she/her) is a senior double majoring in engineering and math. She can help with MTH 111, 112, 212, and 153, along with LaTeX and engineering classes (see Engineering section above

  • Lauren  is a senior majoring in Mathematical Statistics and minoring in Economics. She has taken MTH 211, 212, 246, 264de, and 280, and she is especially comfortable with MTH 212 and MTH 246.
  • Leila is a Mathematics and Physics major. I have taken MTH 111, 112, 153, 211, 212, and 233. I can help with homework material from those classes during open tutor hours through the Spinelli Center. 

  • Lilies  (they/them) is a junior EGR major. They can help with EGR 110, EGR 270, EGR 220, and are currently taking EGR 290. Lilies can also help with Calc 1, 2, and 3. 

  • Maisy (she/her) is a senior double majoring in math and theatre. She has taken MTH 112, 153, 211, 212, 238, 255, and 281. She's most comfortable tutoring early calc and discrete maths, MTH 111, 112, 153, and 238, but is happy to try any problem!

  • Sabina (she/they) is a sophomore math and study of women, gender and sexuality major. She has taken MTH 111, 112, 212, 153, 211, and 238. She is also happy to help with introductory LaTeX or MATLAB questions! 
  • Sofia Z. (she/her) is a sophomore engineering major and landscape studies minor. She is a QM tutor and has taken MTH 111, 112, and 212 and is most comfortable helping out with those classes. She can also help with introductory engineering classes and python.

  • Sophia M. is a math major. She has taken MTH 111/112/211/212/238/280 and was a TA for math 153. 

PHY 113 | Astrid

Professor Etson
Astrid will hold drop-in hours in Sabin-Reed 305-308 (Start 2/4???)

Sunday 7-9 p.m.
Tuesday 7-9 p.m.
Thursday 7-9pm (only room 308 on Thursdays)

PHY 117 | Emma & Lucy

Professors Norsen, Kaur, Bane
Drop-in hours in Sabin-Reed 305-308

Sunday 7-9 p.m. Lucy
Monday 7-9p.m. Emma
Wednesday 7-9 p.m. Emma
Thursday 7-9 p.m.

Lucy (only room 308 on Thursdays)

PHY 118 | Zhiwen

Professor Palmer-Fortune
Drop-in hours in McConnell 304

Sunday 7-9 p.m.
Thursday 7-9 p.m.

PHY 210 | Andy & Aimen

Professor Fortune
Drop-in hours in McConnell 204

Sunday 7-9 p.m. Aimen
Monday 7-9 p.m. Andy
Wednesday 7-9 p.m. Aimen
Thursday 7-9 p.m. Andy

Help is available for PSY 201, SOC 204, and GOV 203.

You can see the Data Counselor for help, or you can request help via email to qlctutor@smith.edu (include the words "SOC 204" or “GOV 203” or “PSY 201” in the subject line and allow 24 hours for us to get back to you).

SOC 203 | Kavya

Professor Gold

Contact Kavya for an appointment.

All hours are held in Sabin-Reed 301.

SDS tutors are available to help with the core SDS courses: 192, 201/220 and 291. Many of the tutors can help with other courses—see their descriptions below the schedule.

To get help:

  • During drop-in hours visit the tutors (see schedule below)
  • Post a message on your class' Slack #questions channel.
  • Email qlctutor@smith.edu with your request for help. Include your course information, e.g. SDS 220 (Hopper)
  • See the Data Research and Statistics Counselor (see above)
Course Tutors who can help
SDS 100 All of the tutors can help
SDS 192 Danyi, Patrizia, Quinn, Rya, Sarah, Una, Vanessa, Yuzhang
SDS 201 Nora, Patrizia, Sarah, Una, Vanessa
SDS 220 Amber, Danyi, Nora, Rya, Sarah, Una 
SDS 291 Danyi, Nora, Patrizia, Quinn, Sarah, Una, Yuzhang
SDS 270 Nora, Sarah.
SDS 290 Amber, Rya
SDS 293 Sarah

Schedule

Drop-in hours: 

All hours in Sabin-Reed 301

  Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
7–9 p.m.

Patrizia,
Quinn,
Rya,
Una

Patrizia,
Quinn,
Una,
Vanessa

Amber,
Nora,
Rya,
Sarah

Danyi,
Linh,
Patrizia

Amber,
Danyi,
Linh,
Vanessa

SDS Tutors

  • Amber (she/her) is a sophomore majoring in SDS and Psychology. She has taken SDS 100/192/220, CSC 110, MTH 111/153, and is currently enrolled in SDS 290 and MTH 211 this semester. She is happy to help with any of these courses, as well as questions about coding. 

  • Danyi (she/her) is a junior SDS and Quant Economics double major. She can help with any of the core SDS courses (SDS100, SDS291, SDS220, SDS291, MTH211, CSC110). She is also enrolled in SDS293 and SDS238 currently, and she is also happy to help with all the economic requirement courses.
  • Leylani (she/her) is a junior ECO and MST double major. She has taken SDS 192, SDS220, SDS270, CSC110, MTH 211, and is currently enrolled in SDS 291. She is happy to help with SDS 220, SDS 192, and SDS 270 this semester!
  • Linh (she/her) is a senior majoring in SDS with a minor in CSC. She has completed SDS 100, 192, 220, and 291, along with CSC 210 and 240, and is currently enrolled in SDS/CSC 235 and SDS 290. Linh is available to assist with class content and coding in R, Python, SQL, as well as troubleshooting GitHub issues.

  • Leylani (she/her) is a junior ECO and MST double major. She has taken SDS 192, SDS220, SDS270, CSC110, MTH 211, and is currently enrolled in SDS 291. She is happy to help with SDS 220, SDS 192, and SDS 270 this semester!

  • Linh (she/her) is a senior majoring in SDS with a minor in CSC. She has completed SDS 100, 192, 220, and 291, along with CSC 210 and 240, and is currently enrolled in SDS/CSC 235 and SDS 290. Linh is available to assist with class content and coding in R, Python, SQL, as well as troubleshooting GitHub issues.

  • Nora Z. (she/her) is a junior majoring in SDS and Psychology. She has taken SDS 100, 192, 291, 270, 290, CSC 110, and MTH 211. She is currently taking SDS 237, CSC 120, and MTH 212. She can help with these courses, as well as SDS 201/220.
  • Patrizia (she/her) is a junior PSY and SDS major. She has taken SDS 291, SDS 100, SDS 201, SDS 237, SDS 271, and SDS 192. She is also currently taking SDS 293.
  • Quinn (she/they) is a senior psy+cs double major. She has taken sds291, sds100, csc120, csc210, csc250, mth153, mth211, csc231, csc220 and sds192. She is currently taking  csc230, so she can help with class content as well as R or java programming.

  • Rya  is a sophomore SDS major. She has taken SDS 100, SDS 192, SDS 220, CSC 110, and MTH 153. Currently, she is taking SDS 290, MTH 211, and CSC 120. She is happy to assist with problem sets, class content, and coding (R, Python, and Github). 

  • Sarah  (she/her) is a senior SDS major and SOC minor. She has taken SDS 100, SDS 192, SDS 220, SDS 270, SDS 290, SDS 291, and SDS 293 and can help with any class content and R questions you may have. 

  • Una  is a sophomore SDS major. They're most comfortable helping with MTH 111 and 153, SDS 192, 291, and 100, introductory stat, and coding in R. They may also be able to help with LaTeX/Overleaf, econometrics, introductory econ, and GIS.

  • Vanessa  (she/her) is a senior SDS major. She has taken SDS 100, SDS 192, SDS 201, SDS/CSC 235, SDS 237, SDS 271 (Programming for Data Science in Python), SDS 290, and SDS 291. She is happy to help with SDS 100, SDS 192, and SDS 201 but is also able to help with other course content and analytical writing. 

  • Yuzhang (she/her) is a junior majoring in SDS and Linguistics. She has taken SDS 100/192/270/271/291/293. She can help with class content, statistical writing, and coding (R, Python, Java, SQL).

“I worked as an ONEXSS coach last summer, helping incoming students with precalculus. I enjoyed the process of guiding them step by step, rather than telling them the answers.”
Lisa Li ’24

What to Expect from Tutoring

Ideally, rather than bringing just the unsolved homework problems to a tutoring session, the student should bring questions about ideas or terms occurring in the homework. (Preparation of these questions should be a central part of the student’s general preparation for a tutoring session). The tutor’s goal should be to work with the student so that the student can then finish their homework independently.

Making the Most of Tutoring

Plan ahead. If you attend drop-in hours, try to come towards the beginning of the session, and try to come on a day that allows for another visit if needed. For example, if you go to tutoring the day the assignment is given to read through the assignment, you can then talk to the tutor about your initial ideas for solving the problems.

Be prepared. Bring all of the necessary materials including your notes, the assignment, your book (if you have one), a calculator (if needed) etc. Read and attempt homework assignment problems before you ask the tutor a question. Tutors cannot do your homework with (or for) you, but they can guide you through difficult problems and help you talk through your approach and ideas.

Be flexible. Be willing to come back another time/day or make an individual appointment.

Be specific. When scheduling an individual appointment via email, the more information you can provide tutors with ahead of time (specifically, the course, topic and a list of specific questions), the more productive the meeting will be. Most individual sessions are 30 minutes.

Be understanding. Tutors cannot provide (or guarantee) correct answers to your homework problems. They can only help you with the process of completing your work, not the outcomes.

The Ethics of Tutoring

Perhaps the simplest way to begin talking about the ethics of tutoring is to discuss the implications of Smith College’s honor code.

Honor Code Statement

Students and faculty at Smith are part of an academic community defined by its commitment to scholarship, which depends on scrupulous and attentive acknowledgement of all sources of information and honest and respectful use of college resources.

Smith College expects all students to be honest and committed to the principles of academic and intellectual integrity in their preparation and submission of course work and examinations. All submitted work of any kind must be the original work of the student who must cite all the sources used in its preparation.

Tutoring-Specific Examples

Where tutoring is concerned, specific examples that violate the honor code include:

  • Correcting work that will be handed in and graded.
  • A tutor doing a student’s work, whether in part or fully.
  • A tutor answering questions directly from assigned work.

Contact Spinelli Center for Quantitative Learning

Seelye Hall 207
Smith College
Northampton, MA 01063

Phone: 413-585-3091 Email: qlctutor@smith.edu

Director: Catherine McCune, Ph.D.

Note: Please include the course and section, the instructor’s name, and the topic with which you’d like help in your email.