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Academic Tools

COMMUNICATION RESOURCES - Here are some tips to consider when communicating with faculty in an academic setting

  • How to Talk to Your Professor: this tool encourages students to think about how to best communicate with faculty, especially in the context of classrooms (in-person and/or virtual), office hours, etc.  
  • Office Hours 101: this tool encourages students to think about how to best approach office hours, what types of questions to ask, and how to best be prepared. Keeping these suggestions in mind will help you have more efficient, and productive, conversations with your professors. Each guide is designed to assist you through various parts of the semester, however, information in each guide can be applied at universally and at any point during the school year. 

 

GENERAL LEARNING RESOURCES - Helpful tools in any learning environment! 

  • Learning Strategies: this guide will briefly discuss how memory works and introduce strategies for retaining knowledge based on how you want to store information. 
  • Taking Notes: this guide will introduce some tips for taking notes as well as identify strategies for "note taking" vs. "note-making."
  • Creating a Study Plan: this guide outlines 6 steps to consider when creating a study plan and will introduce the importance of organizing information during this process.
  • Transitioning to Online Instruction: this guide will address some fundamental skills and mindsets needed as we all make the shift to online instruction. Keep these tips in mind as you begin to think about online learning, and how you continue to achieve success in your academic journey. 
  • Time Management Tools:  

Semester at a Glance Calendar: this tool is helpful for planning out those big due dates for the entire semester. This way, you can begin to understand which weeks in the semester will be busier than others and when you should allocate time/resources to work on upcoming assignments. Create this at the beginning of the semester using your syllabi and post a copy on your bulletin board or carry it in your binder/notebook! Tip: When you are filling in your due dates, consider using different colors to represent your courses so that you can visually see when things are due for which course. 

Download the Spring 2024_Semester-At-A-Glance-Calendar

Weekly Calendar: this tool is helpful for identifying your weekly commitments and visualizing what a typical week looks like for you. This way, you can better identify times/days where you are free to study, hang out with friends, see your professors in office hours, eat, etc. Weekly commitments could include classes, jobs, clubs/organizations, gym, meals, etc. Although your schedule may fluctuate slightly each week, it's always good to have an idea of what your "free time" looks like on a weekly basis.

Download the Weekly Calendar Template

  • Additional Note Taking, Reading, Test Taking, Time Management, and Writing: Please visit the Katz Family Academic Skills Program's website here to view and download helpful tools in these areas.