Learning Commons

Located on the first floor of the Administration Building and commonly known as The Atrium, the Learning Commons is a collaborative learning space wherein students study, work in groups, and receive assistance with a variety of academic topics and skills: writing and reading, mathematics, uses of educational technology, time management, presentation skills, studying strategies, exam preparation, and more.

Students are invited to the Learning Commons to attend workshops, discuss papers and projects with Peer Tutors, and make use of many other academic resources available at the Learning Commons, including a wide variety of print resources: such as worksheets to help with referencing, Excel, thesis statements, creating outlines, paragraph structure, and quantitative reasoning. In addition, the Learning Commons holds many different types of reference books for student use.

Students can also consult individually with a resourceful and creative member of the Learning Commons staff who are committed to helping all students become effective, confident, and independent learners. Peer tutors are available for almost every Quest course.

English as a Second Language:
ESL Conversation Hour is held in the Learning Commons for one hour each week with a Peer Tutor who specializes in ESL. The main focus of the Conversation Hour is pronunciation. However, ESL students may also receive assistance from Learning Commons staff with idioms, common expressions, cultural experiences, grammar, reading comprehension, and vocabulary. In short, the ESL resources through the Learning Commons empower ESL students not only to effectively improve their English-language abilities, but also to fully participate in the cultural, political, academic, and social activities of the University.

Workshops:
The Learning Commons holds several workshops throughout each block, usually outside of regular Learning Commons hours. For example, last block included workshops on Powerpoint, Prezzie, math, research and referencing methodology, time management, and "how to not freak out at the end of block". Learning Commons Staff are always excited to tailor-design a workshop to meet students' specific requirements - so let us know what type of workshop would be beneficial to you!

All students are encouraged to attend any and all workshops.

Hours:
Learning Commons staff are always available for drop-in Sunday to Thursday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Staff are also available for personal appointments outside of drop-in hours.

During the last two weekends of block the Learning Commons staff holds "Learning Commons Triage" whereby drop-in hours are extended to 10pm.

Contact:
If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact Kiersten Burge-Hendrix, Director of the Learning Commons:
Email:
Phone: 604.898.8037