GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR STRATEGIST - Steve Vogel Learning Strategist

This is the time of year I look back on the academic year, summarize, learn, and begin planning and revising for September. I’ve shared some student successes with you in earlier blogs, and as I review more of them, some common themes come up.

How did these students get the best from our work together? What did they do to get the best bang for their buck?

When they were hesitant about change (we all are to some extent), they took the risk instead of sticking with the familiar patterns that hadn’t been working.
They were willing to revisit abandoned techniques using new approaches.
They prioritized adapting and using the time management tools, tips, and techniques that we adapted to fit what worked for them.
They applied the tools consistently–not perfectly.
They focussed on working smarter rather than harder, which meant different challenges for different students. The midlife welder, the applicant to grad school, the parent of young children, the very bright freshman–different challenges indeed!
They made use of a variety of supports–strategy and check-in sessions with me, co-operation from roommates or family, clinical work with counselors where appropriate, peer and individual subject matter tutors . . .
They took the long view: Was the extra $ for working extra hours a priority over time for assignments? Sometimes it is, but not always–what are some alternatives?
Again, they took the long view: A low grade on a single assignment wasn’t the grade for the course. An F in a course wasn’t a predestined career killer. Can it be fixed? How? If not, what alternatives?
They made choices, rather than responding to events by default. The results of those choices influenced future choices in a practical way.
They came to sessions, even when not everything got done and the week hadn’t gone well. They especially came to sessions then.
They did the work. Not all the time, not every time, but more and more as we worked together. Life happened. Motivation flagged. But we picked it up and carried on.
They provided feedback to their strategist–what went well, what didn’t go well, what just didn’t fit. They look on their strategist not as a parent, teacher, or boss, but as an objective, nonjudgmental consultant with expertise in maximizing academic success. A coach. A trainer.

Those are the main ingredients for getting the most from an academic strategist, based on the success of my students. Did every successful student practice every point? Of course not. But there is not one point that was practiced that was not later valued as a Good Thing To Have Done.

Is there one single point that was absolutely critical and adopted by each successful student? If you’ve been following my blogs, you know what it is!

If students can read the list and do it on their own, they may not need an academic strategist: Read the books. Check out resources online and on campus. Go directly to a 4.0. But sometimes that is not enough–sometimes becoming academically successful is a little like learning a musical instrument, or changing it up to the next level of a sport. Coaches make the difference.

My job is to provide the techniques and tools that students can use to make it happen–and to provide the environment of trust and feedback that optimizes the transfer of self-management academic strategies.

Do you have any tips that have aided in your academic growth and success? Connect with me to share your own challenges and successes, or to book for the coming terms if you’re ready to kick it up a notch: [email protected]

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS PLEASE DIAL 911.