Tutor Development Conference – Spring 2022

Join us from 12 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 30th, for the Spring 2022 UW–Madison Tutor Development Conference.

The UW–Madison Tutor Development Conference is held each semester as a free professional development event open to tutors and mentors from participating campus tutoring centers.

The goal of the conference is to provide training and support in topics relating to tutoring, student support and well-being, and creating inclusive educational environments.

The spring 2022 conference will be held online as a virtual conference due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Tutors and staff from participating centers received invitations to register by email. Contact ACTS staff if you did not receive an invitation to register.

Contact ACTS staff with accessibility questions or accommodation requests.

Graphic for the Tutor Development Conference with campus imagery inside geometric shapes and details included below.

Keynote Address

Headshot of Laura HeibingLaura Hiebing, MSW, will provide the keynote address at the spring 2022 tutoring conference. Hiebing is the Indigenous Student Services Coordinator in Academic Coaching and Tutoring Services, where she provides direct academic and general support to students of Indigenous identity across campus and advocates to ensure the well-being of Indigenous students.

In her keynote, Hiebing will share insight into why all members of the UW–Madison community should consider their relationship with Native Nations, and how to create a campus environment that is more respectful and inclusive of Indigenous students, staff, community members, and Native Nations.

Learn more about the keynote address in the agenda below.

Conference Agenda

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12:00 – 12:30: Interactive Discussion Session

In this interactive session, tutors will have the opportunity to meet tutors from different programs, share experiences, ask questions, and give each other feedback. The session will be facilitated by members of the Physics Learning Center Team.

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Eric Hooper
Eric Hooper is a research astronomer (basically physics applied to “up there”) with interests in the supermassive black holes in the centers of distant galaxies. He likes to ski, travel, write, photograph, and is fascinated by dinosaurs and volcanoes.
Amihan Huesmann
Amihan Huesmann returns to the PLC after stints as a professor at Gustavus Adolphus College and an academic advisor for science and pre-health students at the University of Minnesota.
Chris Moore
Chris Moore has been at the PLC since January of 2014. Previously he was the Outreach Coordinator for the Synchrotron Radiation Center, a national science lab that provided infrared, visible, ultraviolet, and x-ray light for scientific research.
Susan Nossal
Susan Nossal is director of the Physics Learning Center. She started the PLC about 10 years ago, modeled after the Chemistry Learning Center. Susan also conducts atmospheric physics research.
Akiré Trestrailhas
Akiré Trestrailhas been affiliated with the PLC since 2011. He first became a tutor in 2001, which culminated in him teaching physics at a community college in Northern California before moving to Wisconsin to pursue his PhD in Medical Physics at the University of Wisconsin.

12:30 – 12:35: Welcome

Eve Williams, assistant director of the Undergraduate Learning Center in the College of Engineering, will welcome tutors and kick off of the spring Tutoring Development Conference.

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12:35 – 12:45: Land Acknowledgement

James Flores wearing a blue suit with a patterned red tie and pocket square against a yellow backgroundJames Flores (Yot^halahkwatasé) is a tribal member of the Oneida Nation, Turtle Clan, and a first-generation college graduate from Milwaukee. He works as an admissions counselor for Native American outreach and recruitment in the UW–Madison Office of Admissions and Recruitment.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in American Indian Studies from UW–Milwaukee in 2017 as a nontraditional student while raising his 8-year-old son. While earning his degree, he studied Native American history, anthropology, archeology, and ethnobotany, and worked at the Milwaukee Public Museum, where he helped curate Native American exhibits, engaged with the community, and worked with tribal liaisons to repatriate cultural and ceremonial items under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

Prior to working as UW–Madison, Flores served in a tribal government position as a scholarship coordinator for the Forest County Potawatomi Foundation. From his professional experience and as a citizen of the Oneida Nation, he has participated in various processes conducted in tribal government. As a guest lecturer at UWM and a presenter at various conferences and community events, he hopes to broaden the understanding of Native American culture and history to a diverse group of people.

“Being a first-generation college student from a moderate-income family, I’m well aware of the hurdles students like me can face and the resilience one must have in adversity. However, besides the challenges that come with college there is also opportunity such as internships, connections with professors and peers, student involvement, and once your degree is completed a meaningful and fulfilling career. On, Wisconsin!”

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12:45 – 1:20: Keynote Address

In the spring conference keynote address, Laura Hiebing will share insight into why all members of the UW–Madison community should consider their relationship with Native Nations. She will discuss how to create a campus environment that is more respectful and inclusive of Indigenous students, staff, community members, which begins by examining our institutional and personal relationships with and recognition of the 12 inherently sovereign Native Nations in Wisconsin.

Following in the theme of the opening land acknowledgement, the keynote will encourage participants to reflect on UW’s history with Indigenous Nations of Wisconsin. As a land-grant university, every member of the UW–Madison community is part of a history shaped by colonization and owns a responsibility in shifting this relationship to one in which we share a future of collaboration and innovation.

An ongoing commitment to better understand our University’s history in relation to Native Nations, and to acknowledge our place as guests in Teejop, is only the first step. UW students represent many of the more than 574 Native Nations in the U.S. alone, each with their own unique history, government or political status, culture, and community. Another critical step in making our university a welcoming place for all is to recognize the diversity of Indigenous students, in relation to the Nations communities they are a part of as well as individuals.

Headshot of Laura HeibingLaura Hiebing, MSW, is the Indigenous Student Services Coordinator in Academic Coaching and Tutoring Services, where she provides direct academic and general support to students of Indigenous identity across campus and advocates to ensure the well-being of Indigenous students. She is also a Lecturer in the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work in partnership with American Indian Studies, where she has taught a course on the Indian Child Welfare Act since 2017.

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1:30 – 2:25: Breakout Session A | Supporting Native American and Indigenous Students at UW–Madison Dialogue

Join Laura Hiebing for a deeper dialogue on the subject of her keynote talk. This breakout will begin with a Kahoot game designed to establish key terminology and concepts to frame our discussion and future learning (a smart phone is required to play, but if you do not have access to one you are welcome to follow along). You will also receive additional guidance on educational resources and campus events to further engage.

Participants will have the opportunity to engage in self-reflection and awareness activities, and then look more closely at the historical and present state of our campus’ commitment to creating an inclusive campus for Indigenous students and other community members. You will have an opportunity to consider your own areas for impact and next steps, particularly in regard to your role as a tutor.

This session will be interactive, with respect to participant’s personal levels of comfort. In remembering that Indigneous Nations and experiences are diverse, it is important to note that the facilitator is not an “expert,” nor can they represent or speak to the experience of all Indigenous people, but rather offer a perspective based on their own experience and knowledge.

Please come with questions as there will be time for open dialogue, and the facilitator will do their best to provide insight, or guide you to additional resources for learning. In continuing to acknowledge that our University and broader society’s relationship with Native Nations has been rooted in colonization, we recognize that participants will come to this session with vastly different levels of knowledge — and for some, that may be little to no knowledge at all. Any questions or discussion posed from a place of good intention and building upon the frameworks for learning that have been provided today are welcomed and encouraged.

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1:30 – 2:25: Breakout Session B | Navigating Your Career Development Journey

This session will give an overview of career development and how your tutoring work fits into your next steps in your career journey.

While there is nuance to what each industry might emphasize, the most common steps in your career development journey will often include the following:

  • Exploring
  • Asking what your career interests and options are
  • Asking where you can go to get support
  • Getting involved
  • Using search tools
  • Navigating job boards
  • Developing a resume
  • Developing cover letters
  • Networking
  • Finding internships
  • Searching for a job
Matt Delaney
Matt Delaney

Matt Delaney works as the Associate Director of Career Advising & Communities/Career & Internship Specialist at Success Works in the College of Letters & Science. Part of that role includes supporting students interested in the Consulting, Finance, Management & Client Relations Career community.

Delaney’s interest in working with college students began as an undergraduate peer mentor, where he also majored in Math with a minor in Business from Adrian College. From there, he earned an master’s in Student Affairs Administration from Michigan State University. He has worked with students through roles in Residence Life, academic advising, and working with Center for Educational Opportunity scholars before his current role with Success Works.

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1:30 – 2:25: Breakout Session C | Stress Management and Wellness

A motto at the UW–Madison Center for Healthy Minds is “Well-being is a skill that can be learned.” Basic knowledge and easily acquired skills can enable us to more readily face life’s challenges. This talk will focus especially on how the ways that stress can be an obstacle to well-being and how we can respond effectively to it. We will learn about different forms of stress and how it effects the mind and body, and we will also explore some simple aspects of mindfulness that can help us to manage our stress. Our talk will also explore the role that emotions and habits play in stress and stress-relief. And we will conclude with an overview of the Healthy Minds Program, a smartphone-based program developed at the Center for Healthy minds for enhancing well-being.

John D. Dunne headshot
John D. Dunne

John Dunne, Ph.D., holds the Distinguished Chair in Contemplative Humanities at the UW–Madison Center for Healthy Minds. He also holds a co-appointment in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, where he currently serves as department Chair. Dunne’s work focuses on Buddhist philosophy and contemplative practice, especially in dialog with Cognitive Science and Psychology. His publications, including Foundations of Dharmakīrti’s Philosophy (2004) and Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics: The Mind (2020), appear in venues ranging across the Humanities and the Sciences, and they include works on Buddhist philosophy, contemplative practices, and their interpretation within scientific, philosophical, and cultural contexts. Dunne speaks in both academic and public contexts, and he occasionally teaches for Buddhist communities, most notably Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe. His broader engagements include the Mind and Life Institute, where he is a Fellow and former member of the Board of Directors, Mind and Life Europe, where he is an Association Member, and the Ranjung Yeshe Institute in Kathmandu, where he serves in an advisory role.

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1:30 – 2:25: Breakout Session D | Using the Socratic Method in Tutoring

In this session, we will learn how to use the Socratic method to improve students’ understanding of critical concepts in any class. Participants will learn practical strategies to apply the Socratic method in their tutoring sessions, and participants will practice using the Socratic method to address student misconceptions.

Bob Wiedenhoeft
Bob Wiedenhoeft

Bob Wiedenhoeft is an instructional support specialist and academic advisor in the Center for Academic Excellence in the College of Letters & Science. He is a graduate of UW’s School of Education and began his career in education as an undergraduate tutor at UW. He is a distinguished former K-12 educator who specializes in designing engaging learning experiences and authentic assessments. He taught Algebra, Geometry, Statistics, and AP Statistics at Franklin High School and coached a state championship chess team there. In 2015, he began serving as the instructional support specialist for UW’s Center for Academic Excellence.

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2:30 – 3:00: Individual Program Sessions

These optional sessions are intended for tutoring staff in the individual programs/centers.

Undergraduate Learning Center session

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University Housing session

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Conference Organizing Committee

The UW–Madison Tutor Development Conference is organized and presented by members of the Learning Support Group, which is made up of academic support professionals from the following programs:

Academic Coaching and Tutoring Services

Center for Academic Excellence

Center for the First-Year Experience

College of Engineering

Department of Chemistry

Department of Mathematics

Department of Physics

University Housing