La Sierra lands Edison grant to advance STEM studies

On Jan. 8, Raymond Hicks, a regional manager with Southern California Edison, stopped by the office of Melanie Jobe, director of La Sierra’s Center for Student Academic Success (OACS), with a check for $10,000 from parent company Edison International. It was the fruition of a grant application process that began last summer for money to provide tutoring services and scholarships for students studying in the STEM subject areas.

The grant funds are divided evenly with $5,000 for “Edison Scholars” and $5,000 to fund tutor stipends in the student academic center’s Collaborative Learning Center for students needing assistance in the STEM areas.

The Edison Scholars will receive their scholarships this spring. Scholarship criteria include academic achievement and financial need. Students majoring in computer science, information systems, mathematics, chemistry, physics, or environmental science are eligible to apply.

The learning center’s goals include having the STEM professors vet the learning assistants to ensure that the learning assistants understand course objectives and content in order to maintain a high quality program for students.

“We want students engaged in the material, and we want to help them learn how to study and what to study,” said Melanie Jobe, OACS director.  “Having competent and trained learning assistants is vital to the success of this program.”

The Collaborative Learning Center provides academic support through peer tutoring in a non-traditional, innovative learning environment toward the development of academic knowledge and transferable skills. Currently 17 learning assistants, typically upper classmen with experience and knowledge of the STEM subjects, provide evening tutoring Monday – Thursday to students who are divided into groups of two or three.

“We call it Supplemental Learning Sessions. We have mixed the best of tutoring practices and supplemental instruction into one,” said Rakel Engles, learning center program coordinator. During the sessions, the learning assistants divide students into subject areas, take questions, then circulate throughout the room to answer further questions and encourage group study. 

Engles encourages La Sierra students to take advantage of the opportunity to better their understanding of their subject areas and ultimately their academic performance. “Come to the supplemental learning sessions,” she says. “Come prepared with questions, homework, and whatever you need to get the work done.”