In an effort to provide more access to our services for students, the RGASC provides face-to-face and online appointments at the RGASC delivered by a Numeracy Specialist who has a background teaching mathematics at the post-secondary level. These appointments provide opportunities for students to meet with the Numeracy Specialist one-on-one in order to explore strategies to help promote a deeper understanding of foundational material including, but not limited to, algebraic formulation, basic statistical methods, pre-calculus and advanced functions. In essence, this support targets high school mathematical skills, including data management and does not address concepts that are directly part of a university level calculus or formal statistics course.
The RGASC’s Numeracy Specialist does not take on the role of a course instructor or TA, but rather provides an informal and confidential setting for students to explore their current approach to learning course material and suggests techniques to facilitate the development of students’ quantitative reasoning skills. Instructional strategies focus on process and encourage students to justify their understanding as it applies to a particular method or application and do not dwell on specific responses to assignment questions or course material.