Gina Monks

Gina Monks
Associate Teaching Professor of Mathematics, Mathematics
Math Dimension Coordinator, Academic Affairs
Lofstrom Library, 012
Penn State Hazleton
76 University Drive
Hazleton, PA 18202-8025

Coordinator of Math Tutoring Center (Math Dimension)
Associate Teaching Professor in Mathematics
Master's in Education in Secondary Ed. Math
Bachelor's in Mathematics

Learning Assistant Program and other areas of teaching effectiveness with the goal of helping students to be academically successful.

MS, Secondary Education Mathematics, University of Scranton

BS, Mathematics, University of Scranton

March 21, 2022

Panels
Belonging/Grit/Growth Mindset
Retention Town Hall and Roundtable
Virtual via Zoom

Collaborators: Frantisek Marko, Panel Member; Justin Nordstrom, Panel Member; Beatriz Glick, Panel Member; Lori Ann Yeager, Panel Member; Joseph Ranalli, Panel Member; William Yourey, Panel Member; Thomas Smialek, Panel Member; Lori Reno, Moderator; Amie Yenser, Moderator

Focusing on the ideas of Belonging, Growth Mindset, and Grit as they can help with retention, the panel shared their ideas that could be easily incorporated as appropriate to classes and expanded on intuitive in-classroom student success tactics to purposeful ones.

October 24, 2021

Panels
Two-year LA Program contexts/partnerships
International Learning Assistant Alliance Conference
Virtual Conference

Collaborator: Carolyn Schick, Panel Member

The panel discussed how they implemented a Learning Assistant Program at their, essentially, 2+2, campuses and the challenges and successes they had along the way.
Since it was held remotely, they also invited their own Learning Assistants to attend and share their experiences.

August 11, 2021

Oral Presentations
Embedded Tutors/Learning Assistants
Commonwealth Connections: Instructor Days
Virtual Conference

Collaborator: Timothy McNichols, Co-Presenter

We have been using an embedded tutor/ Learning Assistant enabled class room. These methods have helped students with their work and fostered an increase in the use of the tutoring center.

May 13, 2021

Oral Presentations
WorkDay Updates
2021 Annual Penn State Learning Centers Conference
Zoom

Collaborators: Christine Brown; Ruth Pflueger, Author and Presenter; Eileen Giovagnoli, Author and Presenter

Learning Center directors have been dealing with an increasingly cumbersome method to hire part-time student tutors since having to go through WorkDay. In this presentation, we detail the process from when the student applies to when they are finally hired in an effort to help our fellow directors when hiring part-time student tutors.

May 10, 2021

Panels
Discussing Adult Learners’ Perspectives and Experiences with Peer Educators
Hendrick Best Practices for Adult Learners Conferece
Virtual Conference

Collaborators: Timothy McNichols, Co-Presenter; Jennelle Malcos, Co-Presenter; Jo Ann Durdan, Panel Member; Nicole Fisher, Panel Member; Brittany Keenan, Panel Member

Adult learners have access to the general resources provided by instructors or programs including peer education opportunities. Embedded tutors and learning assistants (LAs) are two examples of peer educators utilized in many STEM courses across our campuses to facilitate learning. What is an adult learner’s perspective of participating in these opportunities? How do they affect learning or the overall education experience for adult learners? During this panel we will hear from several students directly about their experiences with peer educators, including the perspective of themselves becoming a peer educator. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and share their experiences as well.

February 17, 2021

Oral Presentations
Mock Group Study Session for Tutors
Shared Tutor Training Sessions
Zoom

Collaborators: Jason Zingaretti, Panel Member; David Simmons, Panel Member; Madison Phillips, Panel Member; Zachery Baran, Panel Member

Four math peer tutors and I presented Session 4: Mock Group Study Session for Tutors. A number of scenarios were acted out by the math peer tutors in order to demonstrate how to act or not to act when tutoring. Audience members were asked to point out any behaviors that were "good" or "not so good" and why.

November 15, 2020

Panels
Two-year LA Program contexts/partnerships
International Learning Assistant Alliance Conference
Virtual Conference

Collaborators: Kristy Gomez, Panel Member; Carolyn Schick, Panel Member

The panel discussed how they implemented a Learning Assistant Program at their 2+2 campuses. They also discussed the challenges and successes they had along the way.

October 30, 2020

Workshops
The Learning Assistant Conversation
Virtual via Zoom

Collaborator: Jennelle Malcos, Co-Presenter

Workshop to discuss how faculty began Learning Assistant programs at their campus and who was involved. Then dig in to the highlights or challenges involved.

January 18, 2020

Oral Presentations
Establishing Learning Assistant Programs at Branch Campuses
Joint Mathematical Meetings
Devner, CO

Over the past two years we successfully implemented the first Learning Assistant Program at our small two-year branch campus of Penn State University. In this talk we discuss the unique challenges we faced and how we overcame them. We will also explain how our initial successes have led to the participation in the program of several additional faculty members at our own campus, and how networking with others through an NSF grant has led to the formation of Learning Assistant Programs at other branch campuses of Penn State as well.

October 20, 2019

Panels
Two-year LA Program contexts/partnerships
Learning Assistant Alliance Conference
Boulder, CO

Collaborators: Kristy Gomez, Panel Member; Carolyn Schick, Panel Member; Anthony Escuadro, Panel Member

The panel discussed how they implemented a Learning Assistant Program at their, essentially, 2+2 campus. They also discussed the challenges and successes they had along the way.

April 11, 2019

Seminars
Lecture Less...Do More. Top 10 Tips for Successfully Using LAs
Mathematics Teaching Seminar
University Park

Collaborator: Jennelle Malcos, Co-Presenter

This presentation discusses ways to effectively use Learning Assistants and how they can help you engage your students in ways to improve learning. For the first part of the presentation we will be introducing what learning assistants are and their main role in student learning. For the second half we will be exploring ways to be effective with your LAs including: the relationship between learning assistants and instructors, why it is an essential part of the program, and examples of how they are used in math.

March 30, 2019

Oral Presentations
Starting a Learning Assistant Program Update
Math Division Meeting
University Park

This talk reviews what a Learning Assistant Program is and discusses its implementation at a small branch campus, the initial challenges, and the impact on the students and Learning Assistants.

March 29, 2019

Workshops
Engaging Mathematics: From Brainstorming to Blackboard...and Beyond!
University Park

Collaborators: Andrew Belmonte, Author and Presenter; Jennelle Malcos, Author and Presenter; Andrew Baxter; Amine Benkiran, Author and Presenter; Eric Simring, Author and Presenter; Jennifer Sciple, Author and Presenter; Katie Amaral, Author and Presenter; Victor Brunsden, Author and Presenter

In our second workshop, we will focus on how to go from big ideas to developing workable solutions with experience as our guide. The conversation continues as we share our successes and failures from our classroom experiences. We also discuss the important instructor concerns brought forward from our first workshop.

March 8, 2019

Oral Presentations
The Learning Assistant Pedagogy Course
Western Regional Learning Assistant Workshop
Boulder, CO

Collaborators: Betsy McIntosh, Co-Presenter; Bud Talbot, Co-Presenter

Different models for running a Learning Assistant pedagogy course.

March 1, 2019

Oral Presentations
Starting a Learning Assistant Program
Program Director Meeting
Penn State Hazleton

This talk reviews what a Learning Assistant Program is and discusses its implementation at a small branch campus, and the impact on the students and Learning Assistants.

December 4, 2018

Workshops
Engaging Mathematics with Community, Context, and Active Learning
University Park

Collaborators: Andrew Belmonte, Author and Presenter; Jennelle Malcos, Author and Presenter; Andrew Baxter; Amine Benkiran, Author and Presenter; Eric Simring, Author and Presenter; Jennifer Sciple, Author and Presenter; Katie Amaral, Author and Presenter; Victor Brunsden, Author and Presenter

In our first workshop, we will focus on how several Penn State campuses (Berks, Hazleton, Altoona, and University Park) are working to contextualize curriculum and incorporate evidence-based pedagogical practices, including the introduction of active learning techniques and Learning Assistants (LAs).

November 9, 2018

Oral Presentations
Integrating a Learning Assistant Program with a Dedicated Math Learning Center
Penn State Learning Center Director's 2018 Fall Retreat
Hazleton, PA

This talk describes how we implemented a Learning Assistant Program at a small branch campus. In addition, it explores how we integrated the program with current student support services to best help our students succeed and what impact we found the program has on the students and the Learning Assistant.

October 16, 2018

Oral Presentations
Integrating a Learning Assistant Program with a Dedicated Math Learning Center
Brown Bag

This talk describes how we implemented a Learning Assistant Program at a small branch campus. In addition, it explores how we integrated the program with current student support services to best help our students succeed and what impact we found the program has on the students and the Learning Assistant.

August 3, 2018

Oral Presentations
Integrating a Learning Assistant Program with a Dedicated Math Learning Center
MathFest
Denver, CO

This talk describes how we implemented a Learning Assistant Program at a small branch campus. In addition, it explores how we integrated the program with current student support services to best help our students succeed and what impact we found the program has on the students and the Learning Assistant.

July 6, 2018

Panels
Career Day
Prove it! Math Academy summer program
Colorado State University in CO

Career Day is designed to advise the talented high school mathematics students about the educational opportunities that are available to them after the program and/or when they graduate from high school.

April 14, 2018

Oral Presentations
Starting a Learning Assistant Program
Math Division Meeting
University Park

This talk describes what a Learning Assistant Program is and how it was implemented at the Hazleton branch campus of Penn State.

July 28, 2017

Panels
Career Day
Prove it! Math Academy summer program
Colorado State University in CO

Career Day is designed to advise the talented high school mathematics students about the educational opportunities that are available to them after the program and/or when they graduate from high school.

October 27, 2016

Oral Presentations
Gaming in the Classroom and the Toys'N MORE program
NPCTM Fall Conference
Scranton, PA

This talk will incorporate hands on participation of games and contests. It will also describe how the integration of the mathematics tutoring center at our campus with the NSF funded Toys'n MORE program has resulted in measurable student success.

August 6, 2016

Panels
Career Day
Prove it! Math Academy summer program
Colorado State University in CO

Career Day is designed to advise the talented high school mathematics students about the educational opportunities that are available to them after the program and/or when they graduate from high school.

August 14, 2015

Panels
Career Day
Prove it! Math Academy summer program
Colorado State University in CO

Career Day is designed to advise the talented high school mathematics students about the educational opportunities that are available to them after the program and/or when they graduate from high school.

February 26, 2015

Presentations
Gaming in the Classroom
Brown Bag
Penn State Hazleton

Collaborator: Nicole Young, Co-Presenter

The presentation gave attendees specific tools for maximizing student participation in their own classrooms. The tools were explained and demonstrated. The attendees participated to fully understand how the activities worked.

January 10, 2013

Oral Presentations
Integration of a Math Tutoring Center with the Toys'n MORE Program
Joint Mathematical Meetings
San Diego, Ca.

This talk will describe how the integration of the mathematics tutoring center at our campus with the NSF funded Toys'n MORE program has resulted in measurable student success.

September 13, 2012

Oral Presentations
Integration of a Math Tutoring Center with the Toys'n MORE Program
Joint Mathematical Meetings
San Diego, Ca.

This talk will describe how the integration of the mathematics tutoring center at our campus with the NSF funded Toys'n MORE program has resulted in measurable student success.

April 17, 2012

Oral Presentations
Penn State Hazleton's Implementation of the Toys'n MORE program
Toys'n MORE math meeting at University Park
University Park

Toys'n MORE program Hazleton Campus Implementation

August 7, 2010

Oral Presentations
The Math Dimension: a centralized math tutoring center.
MathFest
Pittsburg

The Math Dimension: why it was created, how and why it has changed significantly in only two years time, the impact of the tutoring center on the students' learning, and the ways in which it has become integrated with other education initiatives of the Mathematics department.

January 09, 2009

Oral Presentations
The Math Dimension
Opening Day
Penn State Hazleton