Learning Styles Assessments

Memory and How It Works Presentation

Learning Styles Presentation

Tutoring Program

Office of Disability Services

Learning Skills Specialist

The Learning Skills Specialist provides FREE programs and services designed to help students sharpen the skills necessary to succeed in college.  The Specialist provides learning and study skills assessments and student consultations on an individual or group basis.  These meetings provide opportunities for students to understand their individual learning styles and find learning strategies that will make them more efficient, effective learners.  The Specialist also conducts workshops and makes classroom presentations.

Learning Skills Program

The "job" of being a good college student requires many skills.  Besides the necessity for good reading, writing and calculating abilities, the successful student needs to learn how to take good notes (lecture and texts), manage his/her time, appropriately "read" a textbook, prepare for and take college-level exams, and much more.  A lot of what happens in the Learning Skills Specialist's office focuses on the development of these competencies.

Designing personal study strategies is the most frequently requested assistance.  In one-to-one consultations, the specialist helps the student assess his/her study strengths and learning style.  Based on these findings, strategies are selected or developed which will match the student's current course needs and time available.  Practices need to be created which build on a student's strengths and compensate for weaker areas.  These consultations are free to enrolled students.

Faculty Referrals

Faculty frequently make student referrals to the Learning Skills Specialist.  Many referrals are made because students...

• Perform poorly on tests or assignments
• Complain about their abilities to take good notes
• Say it is hard to understand the textbook
• Say they cannot find enough time to study
• Get anxious about exams
• Say they read slowly
• Generally struggle in class

Classroom Presentations

Faculty may request guest lectures from the Learning Skills Specialist.  Any number of reasons may prompt such a request including: preparing students with test-taking strategies for specific testing formats, building time management techniques for busy students, developing information-processing skills through an understanding of how the memory works, and teaching students how to write papers specific to an instructor's needs.  Each lecture is individually designed.

Study Skills Workshops

During Fall Quarter, the Learning Skills Specialist offers a series of free, 50-minute workshops covering a variety of topics students say are important to them.  Faculty often support attendance at these popular events by awarding class credit for participation. Understanding How Memory Works, Test Taking Tips, Time Management, and Learning Style Analysis are a few of the most requested topics.  Schedules are distributed to all faculty and staff, and posted on most campus bulletin boards.

On-line Workshop
• Learning Strategies Online
    Used with permission

Learning Skills Specialist
Sue Opeka
opeka.1@osu.edu
Hopewell 53B
1179 University Drive
Newark, OH 43105
(740) 366-9247/246
(740) 364-9641 (FAX)
1-800-9NEWARK