This Principle of Community is an essential and fundamental idea. The degree to which it is perceived among a group of individuals is a strong measure of the strength of that team. When we are in a space where our opinions and ideas are valued and we feel comfortable around our colleagues, it becomes the optimum environment to foster learning. It brings the best out of us. We grow not only as individuals, but also as a group. In fact, the development of science is a collective collaboration of like-minds working with the same passion and goals – A Scientific Community.
WHAT IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AID CENTRE?
The Environmental Science Aid Centre (formerly known as the DPES Environmental Help Centre, or the Enviro Help Centre) is an initiative of the Environmental and Physical Sciences Students’ Association. The purpose of this Centre is to foster an environment that will allow students to grasp concepts in all A-level and B-level EES- coded courses, as well as select C-level EES- coded courses. Historically, students in these courses enroll in these courses thinking they are “bird courses”, but in actuality, they have seen significant pitfalls when grasping environmental science concepts, geoscience concepts, environmental studies concepts, and general science concepts that these courses cover. This is normally due to a general lack of clarity in how this material is conveyed, and/or students may only first hear about the concepts taught in university without a formal high school science experience.
The mandate of the Environmental Science Aid Centre is to provide learning assistance, guiding those requiring help in the right direction so that they can master university-level environmental science, geoscience, and environmental studies topics.
HOW DOES THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AID CENTRE OPERATE?
The Environmental Science Aid Centre is a tutoring program that is run by numerous volunteers that have excelled in the courses they are tutoring. Many of the tutors are completing programs in the environmental sciences or have taken higher year EES- courses. The volunteers have participated in training to ensure effective communication and assistance when presented with problems. Tutoring is a great way for students to pursue their passion in chemistry while gaining valuable experience in effectively communicating their ideas in a teaching scenario.
The Centre will operate in an online format through Discord (link is provided at the bottom of the page), which we have set up to give tutors and tutees the best environment for learning while ensuring all rules are followed. The tutoring program operates on a drop in system where students can join a tutor any time they’re available, schedule for tutors shown below.
Schedule
