At Southwestern Michigan College “TGIF” stands for Thank Gail It’s Friday.

Gail Shirey devotes Friday lunchtimes to leading free hour workshops where participants learn studying strategies over pizza and pop.

“I enjoy interacting with students,” Shirey said. “Faculty enjoy helping students. We want them to have an easier road than we did.”

Since September, she completed biology (27 attended), mathematics (49), psychology (62) and nursing (38) workshops, with English and education upcoming.

A curriculum revision three years ago reclassified Reading 100 to Critical Thinking Analytical Reading — CRIT for short.

“They already know how to read,” she said. “(CRIT) is higher-level reading, evaluating text, questioning and applying it to prior knowledge. It’s very different from pleasure reading because you need to keep it in long-term memory to use not just next semester but through your career.”

“Friday is the only day that does not interfere with class schedules,” Shirey said. “A lot of students don’t have classes on Fridays or they’re in the morning. Strategies I teach dovetail to specific courses. Before exams, I’m going to do a workshop on enhancing test-taking ability.”

“I did a workshop for math students because how you process and test for math is tactile, writing out problems, and different than (psychology) because the brain works differently. The psych text is content heavy with lots of vocabulary and medical jargon. They usually know math vocabulary, but struggle with the process.”

“Another reason workshops started is (CRIT) is not required. They can test out through SAT or ACT scores, but the strategies are great for every student to make study time more effective.”

“A lot of students don’t know how to study,” Shirey said. “They think they’re studying when they read and reread without realizing they’re not encoding information into long-term memory. Not every student needs a whole semester of support. Instructors say it’s very beneficial. I give the faculty a lot of credit because that’s how word gets out. Instructors tell students, ‘I think this will benefit you in my class.’ I’m not marketing it with fliers. Students come up and say, ‘That really helped.’”

Thirty years ago when the Kent City native earned her 1986 bachelor’s degree from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids (she also has a Western Michigan University master’s degree), “You made it through college by trial and error or flunked. I tell my students my first semester at college was not pretty. I struggled in math and had to hire a tutor. Here, there’s no cost to students.”

Workshops are rooted in brain research, “which took off in the last
10 years.”

Shirey taught elementary students and administered during 20 years with Battle Creek Christian School, August 1990-July 2010, before joining SMC six years ago.

“K-12 teachers are oriented toward test scores,” said Shirey. “College flips it around. You have to own your learning. Once they realize stuff in high school isn’t working anymore, they’re open to new ways to understand information.”

“I’m a people person who always knew I wanted to be a teacher,” said Shirey, of Texas Charter Township in Kalamazoo. “I like helping and see teaching as helping. I’ve always thought SMC was a great place to go to college because it’s so student-oriented. A lot of colleges aren’t.”

“I was a waitress, but didn’t like when people were crabby at me or being on my feet all day. I also worked as a title clerk for a car dealership, processing paperwork. Filing, alphabetizing and filling out forms convinced me I never wanted an office career. I like teaching’s variety. Every day is different.”

She especially enjoys teaching in the new Foster W. Daugherty Building. “It’s such a treat,” she said.

Her office, lined with colorful quilts her late mother made, faces the commons.

Students wander in for a rainbow of Tootsie Rolls from a jar perched on her desk corner.

“The more casual interactions, the more connections you make with students,” Shirey said. “The better the bond, the more likely they are to come see me when they get stuck.”

Southwestern Michigan College is a public, residential and commuter, community college, founded in 1964. The college averages in the top 10 percent nationally for student academic success based upon the National Community College Benchmark Project. Southwestern Michigan College strives to be the college of first choice, to provide the programs and services to meet the needs of students, and to serve our community. The college is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the American Association of Community Colleges.