What Else Does a Learning Strategist Do?

Last week I outlined some of the skills and techniques that you might gain from working with a learning strategist. Study techniques, metacognition, exam writing, reading for understanding, research, note-taking, time management, presentations: these are the tools of the trade, and you can pick them up through campus workshops, online YouTubes and webinars. Why, then, would you need a learning strategist? Maybe you don’t. If you can gain good student skills through using these resources and are satisfied with the effort-to-reward ratio, then you really do not need a learning strategist.

If, however, despite reading about SQ3R, the Pomodoro technique, chunking, and all of the many academic tools, you find yourself trying them out, but they just don’t quite work for you, or they do, but you just don’t seem to keep on with them (being human, and all), then you very likely can benefit from coaching.

This brings me to the two key benefits that learning strategists bring beyond their expertise in effective study skills. Learning strategists:

• Customize to their students’ particular learning styles and circumstances, and
• Work with their students to help them maintain motivation throughout the term.

Sometimes learning strategists are referred to as academic coaches. Every performance field has coaches for good reason. Sure, people can, and have, taught themselves to figure skate, run, play defense, or play an instrument through books, videos, and maybe the odd lesson. Top performers, however, almost always have their own individual coaches that not only pass on and spot specific skills, but customize and adapt for specific challenges. Coaches keep their athletes or musicians on track when life gets complicated, or when progress seems stalled, or a bit of backsliding starts to take hold.

Similarly, as an academic coach I help my students pick up academic skills, but beyond those skills, I help them get on track. More importantly, I help them get back on track despite a disappointing exam, quarrels on a group project, housing issues, less than perfect professors, seemingly overwhelming workloads, and seasonal blahs.

As my students stay on that track through our work, they see the results in their grades and in their increased satisfaction with their performance. 

If you think you might benefit from an academic personal trainer, let’s talk. It’s what I do. [email protected]