The Academic Support Center is pleased to announce that time management, stud-, and test-preparation skills coaching is available. Mel Stauffer (mstauffe@carleton.edu) will work with students interested in improving their time management and academic skills.

The goal of coaching time management, study, and test-preparation skills is to heighten each student's awareness of his/her personal strengths and skills. By offering one-to-one conferences, large-group workshops, and an array of handouts and web links, we hope to assist students who want to develop new or more productive ways of meeting their academic goals.

Mel Stauffer can coach you on a number of academic skills:

• scheduling time for term-long assignments, such as research papers or labs
• organizing busy schedules that include homework, work study, and extracurricular activities
• improving in-class note taking and participation
• improving study skills outside the class, including review of in-class notes and preparation for class
• developing effective test preparation strategies

Beyond one-to-one coaching, Mel Stauffer is available to plan and conduct workshops and presentations for campus organizations and classes.

Useful Resources

A new website, which offers students stress reduction tools, is: MyStudentBody.com. Students need to use the password KNIGHTS.

The Cornell Method is a system and a format that builds on what is known as the 5R's of note taking. Record, Reduce, Recite, Reflect and Review. This useful website explains why and how to use the Cornell Method. Also, create your own customized Cornell notepaper. Go to the bottom of the page to insert your name, the name of the class, and the date of the class on your notepaper. You can also choose from ruled, graph paper, or blank (we suggest ruled), and whether or not you want it to include places for three-ring binder holes!

The University of Texas at Austin's Learning Center offers an impressive array of online handouts, covering everything from study strategies and related issues (motivation, time management, overcoming procrastination, how to read a textbook, improving concentration, effective listening and note taking, test taking, and overcoming test anxiety) to taking tests in the sciences, reducing stress, and final-exam survival techniques.

Muskingum College: Provides a comprehensive array of materials on attention and learning, memory, motivation, notetaking, reading comprehension, time management, text preparation, test taking, and more.

Dartmouth College: Learn proven techniques and strategies for improving academic learning. These four videotapes will help college and university students get the most out of their academic experience. Developed by learning professionals in the Academic Skills Center at Dartmouth College, and produced by the College's Instructional Services video staff, the videos cover time management, notetaking, stress management, reading improvement, and strategic learning.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Time Management and Organization online learning modules.

Perfectionism: a Double-Edged Sword.

University of Minnesota: Hints on planning a better study schedule.

Utah State University: The Academic Resource Center has developed a variety of self-help alternatives for students or faculty desiring learning strategies information. The Online Learning Center provides access to effective and useful information developed by other university learning centers and educational organizations.

VARK: The online questionnaire alerts people to the variety of different approaches to learning. It also supports those who have been having difficulties with their learning. Teachers, trainers and coaches who would like to develop additional learning strategies can also benefit from using VARK.