Academic Strategies Workshop Descriptions
All workshops times are Eastern Standard and held virtually.
The join Zoom link will be emailed 24 hours before the workshop to registered participants.
Feel Confident for Midterms: Test Prep and Learning Strategies
(Oct 2)
Ready for your midterms? In this workshop you will learn proven methods for anticipating and preparing for the kind of problems and questions you will be expected to answer on exams., selecting and prioritizing the most important information in your courses, synthesizing and reducing large amounts of information from multiple sources into manageable formats, and organizing your knowledge in ways that promote deep learning, retention, and efficient recall.
Make the Most of the Second Half of the Semester: Understanding & Overcoming Procrastination
(Oct 14 )
Is procrastination an obstacle to maintaining balance and achieving academic success? If so, you are not alone. Up to 80% of college students report that procrastination has been a significant issue. Procrastination is not a matter of mere “laziness” and the solution is not simply “better time management”. In order to overcome procrastination, it is vital that you understand its root causes and motivational dynamics. It is also vital to learn an array of (sometimes counter-intuitive) strategies and techniques for dealing with it.
"focusing is such a challenge" Doing Deep Work
(Oct 15 )
Do you find yourself struggling even more nowadays to focus and engage in your learning at home? Is it increasingly difficult to balance the use of technology to enhance and aid learning without it becoming a distraction? Perhaps practicing skills to sustain longer periods of work and encourage deeper concentration become even more valuable. Join us for an online workshop on how you can harness the tool of doing deep work to continue to do your best learning in this tough period.
"That Looked Nothing Like the Homework": How Princeton Exams are Different and How to Prepare for Them
(Oct 16 )
Many students find adjusting to the examination styles of each new course to be challenging, and it is usually around midterm time that this realization sets in. Turn the "shock" of midterms into a successful learning experience by reflecting, evaluating, and strategizing for the future. Join us for this Midterms Reflection Workshop. Together we will reflect on the midterm experience: what you learned, how you felt, what you would like to work on, discuss ways to adjust your mindset and approach to the course, learn how to evaluate your test results in a practical and constructive manner for future success, and develop strategies for academic success in the remainder of the semester.
MCAT Prep Strategies 101
(Oct 16 )
Develop a study plan for the MCAT with Nathan Suek ’17, a current Columbia Medical Student who has developed and taught an MCAT prep course for over three years.
"I completed my P-set, but I don’t understand the material”: Strategies for learning FROM P-sets
(Oct 21 )
In high school most students focused on completing their math and other problem-solving assignments, and didn’t emphasize learning FROM these problems. Learning how to solve problems happened in class, from exercises, study guides, and exam reviews—and much more practice. At Princeton many of these opportunities to learn are not available, so students must make the most of their p-sets to build mastery and fluency in using techniques for specific problem types.
Time Management for Balance and Success
(Oct 23 )
Try out proven practical techniques and tools. Develop course-specific weekly learning cycles so that you can manage time, allocate tasks and learn efficiently. Find out about fundamental principles of time management and self-management that allow you to adapt to new, unexpected situations. Prevent procrastination before it prevents you from getting things done!
What’s Working, What’s Not: Adapting to Succeed in Princeton Courses
(Oct 28)
No matter how your midterm week went, this workshop is designed to help you learn from your experience so as to finish the semester strong. Reflect on and analyze what’s working—and not— for you in your courses. Midterms and papers provide useful feedback on how to read, learn and study. Build on what’s been effective and get new ideas for how to adapt your approach to achieve your goals on future assignments and finals. Leave with new strategies and a new approach to strategizing.
why am I so bored (remotely)?
(Nov 10)Tapping into our motivations in order to deal with the challenges of virtual learning during these turbulent times is an issue for almost ALL students. We’ll explore new ways of finding and channeling our motivations that will be useful now but also when facing challenging times in the future. Join Nic Voge for an informal conversation.
Supportive Conversation: Finding and Maintaining Motivation to Finish the Semester Strong
(Nov 13)
Tapping into our motivations in order to deal with the challenges of virtual learning during these turbulent times is an issue for almost ALL students. We’ll explore new ways of finding and channeling our motivations that will be useful now but also when facing challenging times in the future. Join Nic Voge for an informal conversation.
Using Cognitive Science Research to Learn More Efficiently
(Nov 18)
Supportive Conversation: Cultivating your Mindset(s) for Mastering Academic Challenges During Quarantimes
(Nov 20)
Mindsets--our attitudes and beliefs—may seem elusive or intangible and hard to do much about or change. But we can gain awareness of them and cultivate adaptive mindsets. Our mindsets powerfully shape our learning and achievement. Intentionally cultivating your mental approach to meet your current challenges can be transformative. Join Nic Voge for an informal conversation.
"How will I get it all done?": Planning for Dean's Date & Finals
(Nov 30 and Dec 2 at 2pm RSVP)
This interactive workshop will focus on successful strategies for how to complete Dean's Date assignments efficiently and prepare for exams effectively. Come get your questions answered about managing one of Princeton's unique challenges. Discussion topics are time management, productivity, and dealing with stress.
Pulling it all Together: Strategies for Preparing for Cumulative Final Exams
(Dec 4 at 5pm RSVP)
Cumulative finals pose unique challenges for managing and studying lots of information from multiple sources, remembering what you study, and being able to access and use what we learned on demand during exams. In this workshop you will learn study strategies that help you meet all these demands to give you greater confidence going into exams.
September Workshops
Recordings of select workshops will be made available approximately one week after the workshop.
The Princeton Syllabus: How Your Professors Expect You to Use It
Did you know that a course syllabus is not just list of rules, due dates and expectations, but can be used by students to learn more efficiently? Each syllabus can be decoded by students in order to get in sync with your instructor’s expectations, read more effectively, and study more purposefully. Learn new, innovative strategies in this interactive discussion.
Learning from Virtual Teaching: Strategies for Making the Most of Instruction
Learning from instruction virtually through a screen poses challenges for our attention and engagement. Doing assignments and studying remotely can be harder without the structure of a normal campus, fellow students, and accountability. Develop new strategies and techniques for learning and studying remotely without our usual supports.
Thriving at Princeton: Mapping Your Semester for Balance & Success
Map out your semester from the very start! Balance academics with everything else Princeton has to offer. Learn about the biggest organizational and time management challenges from Princeton upperclassmen—so you can overcome them. Try out proven practical techniques and tools. Find out about fundamental principles of time management and self-management that allow you to adapt to new, unexpected situations. Prevent procrastination before it prevents you from getting things done!
"Why do I keep putting things off?": Overcoming Procrastination
Is procrastination an obstacle to maintaining balance and achieving academic success? If so, you are not alone. Up to 80% of college students report that procrastination has been a significant issue. Procrastination is not a matter of mere “laziness” and the solution is not simply “better time management”. In order to overcome procrastination, it is vital that you understand its root causes and motivational dynamics. It is also vital to learn an array of (sometimes counter-intuitive) strategies and techniques for dealing with it.
"How does my professor expect me to do all this reading?": Efficient Reading Strategies for Princeton Courses
Learn How to Maximize Your Reading Efficiency! To achieve academic success at Princeton it is crucial for students to develop superior strategies for reading and learning from text. In this workshop you will learn an approach that helps you align your learning strategies to instructor objectives, techniques for reading various kinds of academic texts, strategies for enhancing retention and recall, and methods for reading faster and more efficiently.
What to Do When Lectures Aren’t Making Sense
Feel like you could get more out of lectures? Have a class in which it is hard to follow along, keep up and take good notes to use later? Not sure about the best way to prepare for class or use the notes/slides provided by your professor before or after lecture. In this workshop you’ll learn how to get the most out of class, how to take truly useful notes, and ways to use them for p-sets, papers, exam prep, etc.
"So Much to Learn, So Little Time": Deciding What to Study and How
Looking for more effective—and efficient—study strategies? Because of the large amounts of information assigned and the compressed schedule of midterm exam week, you need to prioritize, organize and study course content as the course unfolds. Waiting until exam week to study just doesn’t work. Learn several different study methods applicable to a variety of courses so that you can read, take lecture notes, and study.
Feel Confident for Midterms: Test Prep and Learning Strategies
Ready for your midterms? In this workshop you will learn proven methods for anticipating and preparing for the kind of problems and questions you will be expected to answer on exams., selecting and prioritizing the most important information in your courses, synthesizing and reducing large amounts of information from multiple sources into manageable formats, and organizing your knowledge in ways that promote deep learning, retention, and efficient recall.
