Become a Strategic Learner
Boost college readiness
As an LAS student, you are part of a community dedicated to helping you build confidence in college and understand academic expectations. That’s why we created the Become a Strategic Learner Program. It provides strategies for managing your time and studying effectively to boost your academic skills, along with career development content to support your career planning. You will also hear stories and advice from LAS students and faculty to guide you throughout your college experience. Although this program was designed for first-year students, all students are encouraged to use the tools and strategies it offers.
Here’s what you’ll gain:
- Grow your learning confidence by developing skills and mindsets to improve your academic performance.
- Create effective time management and study routines using proven research methods.
- Gain practical classroom performance tips and a campus resource network.
- Access resources to explore careers and support your major exploration decision-making.
Program Details:
- Select one module or view the complete series.
- Explore eight asynchronous academic skills modules and three career development modules.
- Learn through engaging interactive content and flexible, self-paced reflection exercises.
Study Routines
Professors
This module is designed to support you in overcoming academic setbacks with the help of your professor. It’s completely normal to face challenging material in the demanding environment of college. Throughout your journey, you might find specific assignments, quizzes, exams, or lectures that feel especially tough—it’s something many students experience! During these moments, especially if your performance is feeling affected, don’t hesitate to reach out to your professor. They’re there to help you get back on track and succeed.
Here’s what you’ll get out of this:
- Understand common academic setbacks and discover why it’s important to ask for help.
- Learn about the benefits of reaching out to professors during their student drop-in hours.
- Get tips on how to prepare for conversations with your professors during these times.
- Find out about even more advantages of engaging with your professors.
Peer Networks
This module will focus on creating a peer support network. As a college student, it’s essential to build your network by forming connections with those around you. The more connections you have, the better your access to knowledge, information, and resources. Your peers, including those acting as tutors or classmates, are an important part of your college network and can enhance your learning both inside and outside the classroom.
Here’s what you’ll get out of this:
- Understand why peers are an essential part of your college support network and how they can help boost your learning.
- Discover effective ways to connect with your classmates for academic support, including tips on creating and managing study groups.
- Learn strategies for engaging with your peers as coaches and through student clubs or organizations to enrich your college experience.
Time Management
Throughout this module, we’ll explore effective time management strategies for creating actionable study schedules. Why is time management so important? It plays a massive role in your course performance and overall well-being, especially since college courses demand significant hours outside of class for learning and review. When you’re juggling a full course load with other commitments like work, family, internships, or campus activities, planning is key to staying on top of your coursework.
Here’s what you’ll gaet out of this:
- Learn how managing your time and creating study schedules can really help you.
- Find out how to use time management tools and strategies to excel in your studies.
- Explore campus resources that are there to support your success and help you manage your time better.
Journal Articles
As a college student, you’ll come across a variety of texts during your courses. One popular type is scholarly journal articles. These articles are written by experts in their fields and carefully reviewed before they are published, making sure the information is trustworthy and helps advance knowledge in their areas. Since journal articles are some of the most helpful sources for learning about a subject, it’s great to introduce students to them and share helpful strategies for reading and understanding these valuable resources.
Here is what you’ll get out of this:
- Learn about scholarly journal articles.
- Strategies for reading and understanding journal articles.
Note-taking
This module will focus on note-taking techniques, specifically to help record information during lectures. Note-taking is essential to your academic performance and assists with assignment completion and exam preparation. We will discuss strategies for creating a note-taking system and identifying important information your professor shares during lectures.
Here’s what you’ll get out of this:
- Understand why taking notes during lectures can really help you learn better.
- Discover easy and effective techniques to create a note-taking system that works for you.
- Learn helpful strategies to spot the most important information your professor shares during class.
- Explore ways to use your notes to make your studying more productive and enjoyable.
Study Routines
This module is here to support you with effective retrieval practice strategies that strengthen your understanding of what we cover in class. Finding fun and manageable ways to test your knowledge regularly can make a big difference, especially since feedback from professors might vary. We’ll look at different methods to help you organize and categorize your course information, tailored to various learning styles, making your study sessions more efficient and enjoyable.
Here’s what you’ll get out of this:
- Understand why it’s so helpful to regularly test your understanding of content through retrieval practice.
- Tips for organizing and engaging with classroom information to make studying more effective and enjoyable.
Writing
As a student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, you can take courses across diverse fields including Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Interdisciplinary Studies. For example, a Biological Sciences major might also study History and Anthropology, while a Communications major could take Mathematics and Chemistry. The LAS curriculum aims to provide a well-rounded education, equipping you with skills like analytical thinking, research, and literacy. Each discipline has unique study approaches that support your success. This module will focus on the Humanities and Social Sciences, particularly how to write literature reviews and exams.
Here’s what you’ll get out of this:
- Understand what Humanities and Social Sciences are all about.
- Discover how courses in these fields can really benefit your growth and knowledge.
- Get helpful tips on how to do and write literature reviews, which are common assignments in both areas.
- Find practical strategies to prepare for your Humanities and Social Sciences exams.
Labs
As a student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS), you’ll have the exciting chance to explore a diverse array of courses across many fields. These include the Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Interdisciplinary Studies. For instance, even if your primary interest is Biological Sciences, you’ll still be able to take engaging courses in History and Anthropology. Similarly, if you’re a Communications major, you might enjoy learning about Mathematics and Chemistry as well. The LAS curriculum is thoughtfully designed to provide a comprehensive liberal arts education that not only equips you for your future career but also helps you develop vital skills like analytical thinking, research, and quantitative literacy. Since each discipline offers its own unique way of studying and learning, you’ll discover multiple paths to succeed and grow. In this module, we’ll especially highlight the Natural Sciences and share helpful tips on how to get ready for labs and STEM exams.
Here’s what you’ll get out of this:
- Understand what the Natural Sciences are all about.
- Discover how courses in the Natural Sciences can benefit you as a student.
- Get helpful strategies for preparing effectively for labs.
- Learn useful tips for acing your STEM exams.
Career Development
Majors
Internships
Careers
Thank you
The ‘Become a Strategic Learner’ Program was launched with support from a generous grant from the Chicago Community Trust. The LAS Career Development & Internships Office created the career-related modules. All modules were developed in partnership with the UIC Design Studio. Thank you to our partners!