Penn State Learning honors outstanding Guided Study Group leaders

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Learning announced the recipients of the Outstanding Guided Study Group Leader Award for the fall 2021 academic semester. The recipients are Daniel Cohen and Julius McBride. Each received a certificate of recognition and a stipend of $500. 

The purpose of the award is to recognize study group leaders’ commitment to creating and sustaining a welcoming and academically supportive learning community for their assigned course. Working closely with course instructors and routinely attending class sessions, study group leaders host drop-in study sessions online in which they review course materials and help students hone their problem-solving skills in a stimulating, challenging and collaborative learning environment. Both of this semester’s recipients exemplify the award criteria, as noted in the following comments from their nominators. 

Dan Cohen has shown exemplary skill in leading ECON 102 study groups for five semesters. He had multiple nominators for this award, and all described his willingness to go above and beyond program expectations for the students’ benefit. Brendaly Drayton, scholar in residence for learning communities at Penn State Learning, discussed Cohen’s skill at “promoting and incorporating collaborative learning skills and practices in his sessions,” and his contributions through mentoring new leaders. Cohen consistently went above and beyond his responsibilities to provide students with effective practice for their subject. Shannon Frey, program coordinator for Guided Study Groups (GSG), noted “one time in particular, (Cohen) was observing a mentee when her GSG was completely overwhelmed with students, to the point where they would not all fit in the room. He took students to the classroom next door, cast her Zoom link on the screen, and answered questions in the overflow room.” His commitment to students in his GSGs was reflected by their many positive comments about him, such as creating a space where they could “learn better and interact and ask questions freely.” Cohen is a senior double majoring in economics and security and risk analysis and is a Schreyer Honors Scholar. 

Julius McBride has led PHYS 211 study groups for three semesters, showing his dedication to helping students each semester. Daniel Costantino, professor of physics, described McBride putting “a lot of thought into the material he will be presenting to (the students).” Costantino also described McBride improving the physics lectures by making “helpful suggestions and comments to me for future classes based on what the students have had trouble with at the GSG sessions.” Neill Johnson, director of Penn State Learning, described the interest generated in Julius’s study groups as they worked through physics problems and Julius “encouraged (the students’) curiosity . . . learning physics with him had an element of excitement and passion.” Johnson also emphasized the welcoming environment McBride created, “calling on students by name and encouraging them to take risks and share their work,” while he led by example, volunteering to try to solve problems he had never seen before the study group session. McBride is a senior majoring in physics, and he is continuing to lead a physics study group this semester. 

Find additional information about the awards process and other ways to give to Penn State Learning. In addition to providing no-charge guided study groups supporting a wide range of courses, Penn State Learning also provides tutoring in mathematics, world languages, public speaking, and writing. 

Penn State Learning is a part of Penn State Undergraduate Education.