Again, Why would I need you, Steve?

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I closed the last blog with the hint that you might not need a learning strategist.

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Satisfied with your results so far?  

You do not need my service if you are satisfied with the grade you are getting for the effort you are putting in.

Tough Course? 

If you are having difficulty understanding the concepts in a course, or how to apply the concepts in problem settings, you need a subject tutor, not a strategist. Many campuses have peer tutor arrangements where subject expert students are trained to help in individual or group study sessions–check them out.

You only need a strategist as well as a tutor if, even when you are catching on to the material, you find yourself dealing with learning skills that you have never had to develop thus far. This happens to many, many accomplished high school students in their first semester at college.

Campus Learning Support Centre?

Let’s say that you want to get better grades for the effort you are putting in, that you can understand and apply core concepts or are seeing a peer tutor, and that you have identified some learning skills you want to work on.

These skills could include one or more of:

  • studying to retain what you read,
  • taking notes,
  • doing library research,
  • writing papers,
  • making presentations,
  • getting projects in on time,
  • balancing your work load, 
  • doing group work,
  • preparing for exams,
  • writing exams.

Many campus learning centres offer workshops, webinars, and other resources addressing these skills–check them out! 

You would not need your own strategist if you can readily pick up academic skills offered in group settings, and if you can answer “Yes” to the following:

  1. When the skills aren’t working for me, I know how to adapt them so that I get results.
  2. I have no problem forming new habits and maintaining these habits over time.
  3. I seldom miss deadlines, handing in the quality of work I know am capable of.
  4. I don’t fall behind, or feel overwhelmed when I hit a low spot with an exam. I don’t find it hard to keep on track when I am discouraged. 

If your answer to those four questions was “Yes,”  or “Most of the time,” then you likely do not need a strategist.

Learning Strategist?

If you answered “Not really” or “Not as much as I’d like,” to one of these questions, then we should talk, because those four questions outline how my students benefit from our work.

First and foremost, how to apply academic skills can be different for everyone. Your skills work is customized to take that into account. If you’ve found that some workshop skills just don’t work for you, we work with you adapting those skills–or substituting others. For example, time management tools may have to be tried, rejected, then different tools tried that “fit” better. Flash cards–but another blog on those!

Second, forming new habits takes weeks or months and motivation. Your strategist helps you stay on track, or get back on track, perhaps by identifying  when you need to make adjustments to your new habits.

Third, I’ve said so much so often in these blogs about time management that it should be no surprise that picking up on the skills, techniques, and practice of time management underlies all of the other academic learning skills we cover together.

Finally, a key function of the academic strategist is helping you maintain the motivation needed to stay the course. We all start with good intentions and strong motivation at the beginning of term. But we are all human, get discouraged, lose motivation and fall off the rails. Here, think coach. Olympic skaters fall, and lose competitions. That is when the coach is not so much a source of tips, skills, and techniques, but is a person who believes in them, and gets the them to believe in themselves again. The missed assignment, the C- on the midterm are not failing the course. Stopping trying is failing the course.

I make it very hard for my students to stop trying.

Why would I need you, Steve?

If you want better academic results for the effort you are putting in, and if your answer to one of those four questions was “Not as much as I’d like,” then you need me.

You need me because our work together puts my skills, knowledge and experience together with your determination so that you gain the skills and habits that you need to gain academic success.

I succeed when you do. 

Let’s talk. Email me to set up a time early in the term. [email protected]