Getting what you need from your courses can sometimes be overwhelming, but having some good strategies in your tool kit can make it more manageable. Some may find this a case of stating the obvious, but often a review of the basics provides reminders and opportunities for additional insight. On this page, you can find a curated collection of skills and strategies that you can adopt to maximize your learning effectiveness and efficiency.
General Academic Success
- Start-of-Semester (AU17) Study Advice to Students(webpage)
- 10 Learning Strategies for Rotations and Courses (webpage): A set of 10 strategies from the CVM Office of Teaching and Learning for gathering information and applying prior knowledge in more unstructured instructional situations such as rotations. Many of the strategies can also be applied to labs and other classroom-based courses as well.
- Academic Success Strategies (PDF): In this document, you will find information on how to develop or refine a time management approach specific to professional program demands, how to identify which learning strategies from your undergraduate years work and which ones actually hurt your progress, and how to outline study techniques that complement your preferred ways of learning.
- Learning Journals (PDF): This resource from University of Worcester (Aug. 2013) outlines what a Learning Journal is and does for the student, how to create one, what to write about and provides sources for further information.
- Study Skills for Vet Students by Vet Students (PDF): This document from the University of Nottingham is a collection of advice collected from vet students under different headings and topics specific to the study of veterinary medicine. Topics covered include, organization, note taking, how to get the most important points of a lecture, collaborative note taking, note revisions and self-care.
Note Taking
- Cornell System of Note Taking (PDF): This worksheet provides a template and directions for using the Cornell system for note taking. This can be used in electronic or pencil/paper format.
- Notes on Note Taking (PDF): This paper by Michael C. Friedman (Harvard University, Harvard Initiative for Learning and Teaching) goes into detail about what notes do for us as students, a discussion of electronic vs. paper note taking methods, giving suggestions for both students and instructors, and offering speculation on the future of note taking.
Time Management
- Getting Through Finals: Try Time Management That Works Because You Commit to It (webpage)
- Time Management for Health Professions Students (PDF): This document, prepared by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (California) Healthcare Workforce Development Division, is a workbook to help students plan and implement a time management program to help them get with academic success and personal life satisfaction.