Integrated Learning Center
by Tera Martin, Ph.D., Learning Assistance Coordinator
All of us at the Integrated Learning Center (ILC) welcome you to another academic year! We are a multidisciplinary, bilingual learning center that provides instructional support, materials, and resources to all Cabrillo students, but especially to those who live in south Santa Cruz and northern Monterey counties. We are located in Room A210 on the 2nd floor of Cabrillo’s Watsonville Center.
The ILC is open Monday – Thursday 8 am – 8 pm, Fridays 8 am – 3:30 pm, and the last two Saturdays before finals week. During those hours, our team of staff instructional assistants, faculty, and student assistants offers an array of instruction, academic support, and other services. Our mission is to help students become more successful learners, and we make every effort to offer a supportive environment where students can access extra help, technology, and resource materials while they study, write, and learn.
We offer free individual, drop-in tutoring in Math, English, and ESL, provided by both instructional assistants (IAs) and student tutors, all of whom are bilingual in Spanish. English IAs Jose Gonzalez and Tanya Arnold provide one-on-one assistance to any student requesting help with writing. We work with students at any stage of the writing process and target our feedback to help students learn to edit, develop their ideas, and master the expectations of academic writing. We are currently hiring for our Math Instructional Assistant position, but our math tutoring is staffed by an amazing group of student tutors who serve other students in all levels of math, from 254 through Statistics, Finite Math, and Calculus. We additionally offer test review sessions.
At the ILC, we also offer supplemental instruction for select courses each semester: our current SI offerings are for specific sections of Chemistry 30A, Math 154, and Math 254SI. SI is a more structured kind of instructional support; an SI leader is assigned to a particular section, attends classes with the students, and then offers review groups to the students. These sessions are meant to encourage students to practice collaborative learning and problem solving. Cabrillo students Laura Madrigal, Xitlali Cabadas, Yanet Lopez, and Javier Martinez are working as SI leaders this semester.
In addition to instructional support, the ILC also offers several sections of the following co-requisite labs for credit: English 100L; Reading 106, 206, and 206SL; and Counseling and Guidance 205L. We are happy to welcome Reading instructors Inga Gonzalez and Ann Shelley to the ILC this semester as they coordinate the Reading Lab area.
The ILC further provides access to the Cabrillo Library services. Students can receive a Library card, use our collections of reference materials and circulating books, and receive support for Library 10 and any other research projects. We additionally offer reserve materials for any Watsonville Center course text that costs over $50. However, we encourage all faculty to loan us extra copies of your course texts to place on reserve. Many students who live closer to the ILC find it easier to access course materials here, even if their class is in Aptos, and for some students, course texts under $50 are still challenging to purchase. Math students can also check out scientific and graphing calculators, copies of practice exams and answer keys, and other manipulatives. Please contact Reference Librarian Stacy Mueller for any questions about library instruction in your classroom, our collections, or Watsonville Reserves.
We also provide support to students working with the Learning Skills Program and Disabled Student Services who are taking courses at the Watsonville Center or who find our location more convenient to access. We help provide needed accommodations, such as test proctoring, supplying carbon notetaking paper, and helping students with Kurzweil and other assistive technology.
The ILC is a home away from home for many students. We offer a PC computer lab with printing, a copy machine, reservable group study rooms, and a quiet study room. We have recently expanded our study tables into one of the outside hallways to provide additional space for students to work. We understand that many students do not have a quiet place at home to study, and we do our best to make the ILC a comfortable place for students to do the work they need to be successful.
Because we are open late, many of you may work with our wonderful staff of Evening Coordinators: Sharon Reeves, Cristina Intintoli, and Sherrie Hueter. All Cabrillo ESL faculty, they ensure smooth running of the ILC from 4:30 – 8 pm Monday – Thursday, as well as jump onto the tutoring floor to help students with writing.
Lastly, we offer extracurricular events and workshops every semester. In the past, these activities have included brown bag lunches with staff and faculty; art shows; poetry readings; theater performances and workshops; and collaborative Dia de los Muertos altars with student organizations. We are currently organizing a small series of Academic Success Workshops and a literary event for later this semester; keep your eyes open for future announcements.
We are very grateful for the work instructors do in the classroom, and we strive to stand with you so that students can excel in your classes and in becoming more confident learners. Feel free to stop by anytime and say hi. Check out our book collections. Meet our staff. Consider doing an office hour in the ILC. We’d love to see you.
tmartin@cabrillo.edu // (831) 786-4752
Integrated Learning Center / Tutorials Center / Reading Center / Writing Center / Math Learning Center