Learn Smart: Success Strategies for First-Year Students

Students' success in the first year of university is often believed to depend only on understanding course content. However, studies (Misra, R. and McKean, M. Am. J. Health Stud. 2000, 16, 41-51; Britton, B.K. and Tesser, A. J. Educ. Psychol. 1991, 83, 405; Macan, T. H. et al. J. Educ. Psychol. 1990, 82, 760-768) reveal that students' success is also strongly correlated with their ability to efficiently manage their study habits, employ strong time management skills, and think critically about their approach to studying. A survey of incoming new-to-UBC students shows 56% were not confident they could balance academic and non-academic schedules in their first year, and 58% state stress has the biggest impact on their studies. The Learn Smart program was developed as a direct response to these success factors. The program introduces first-year students to skills and attitudes necessary to manage academic stress, thus better preparing them to achieve academic success. Learn Smart consists of a lecture or laboratory embedded workshop within the first week of class, in which effective time management tools and both academic and wellness resources on campus are introduced. After the first midterm, a learning intervention is organized to demonstrate skills and techniques useful to becoming better critical thinkers and problem solvers. The effectiveness of Learn Smart is being studied with both quantitative and qualitative measures. "Pulse Point" surveys measure behavioral, knowledge, and affective changes concerning time management, critical thinking skills, and resources on campus. Personal feedback is collected during semi-structured "Empathy Interviews". In this chapter, we provide details for embedding the workshop, conducting midterm interventions, and moving across disciplines. Preliminary results from our effectiveness measurements convey positive gains in student learning skills and behavior. The evaluation of these results is promising and on-going, and has helped assure the future of Learn Smart at the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus. © 2019 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.