MathsBase & MSc Base

MathsBase & MSc Base

MathsBase and Maths Hub

• MathsBase is our drop-in help and study centre for all students taking a first-year course run by the School of Mathematics. When in-person it is located KB House, Room 1.45. Students can go there to work individually or in groups, with staff on hand throughout the day.
• MScBase is a similar drop-in help aimed at the different suites of courses that make up our MSc programmes. It is intended for MSc students on any programme and is usually located in the MScHub on the 6th floor of JCMB. 
• The MathsHub is a suite of rooms (JCMB 5310-5312) for undergraduate Mathematicians, providing both social and study space.

Helping in MathsBase

If you are tutoring on one of the first-year courses, you may also be allocated an hour or two a week at MathsBase. No preparation is required for MathsBase, just turn up and make yourself available to help the students if they require it. As it is also a study room, they may just be there to work and do not have any questions for you.

Although you will be assigned to MathsBase for either the 'specialist' or 'non-specialist' courses, you could be asked questions from any of the courses. Some tutors worry that they will be asked questions that they do not know the answers to. Please don't be afraid of this! Remember that it is far more useful for the students’ learning for you to assist them to discover the solution themselves, so it is often a good thing that you do not know how the solution immediately. Often, a simple suggestion such as 'Let's look up this definition in the textbook' can be a great help to them.

When you arrive in MathsBase, you should make it clear to any students already in the room that you are available to help when they need it. Some students complain that it is not always clear to them who is the tutor, so make yourself known by wearing a badge and walking around or sitting somewhere central in the room. Make sure students know that they can approach you at any time. It is also OK to sit down and talk to students even if they are not asking you questions - they may find talking about what they are working on helpful.

At busy times, try to balance your time so that everyone who wants to ask a question gets an opportunity. Even when it is not busy, try not to assist a student through from initial question to the completed solution. Often students will want you to sit next to them for every line of the problem, with you checking each is correct. Try to give them a suggestion of the next step, then say "Have a think about that and ask me again in five minutes if you are still stuck".

Many of the suggestions made above in the workshop advice section are also valid in MathsBase, such as the 'hands-off' approach.

Helping in the MScBase

Although MScBase is similar in drop-in style to the undergraduate MathsBase the sessions there are arranged to cover a group of related courses (OR or Statistics say), since the courses are more specialised some more familiarity with the subject area is necessary. In general the same sort of advice around drop-in work above applies, and again nobody is expecting you to know all the answers to questions across these more advanced courses, but it is helpful for you to try and assist students to discover solutions themselves. So asking students 'where is this covered in the notes/book?', 'what technique have you learnt to apply to this?' can be useful to get them thinking through how to tackle a problem.