Pre-college camps help incoming students learn how to learn

Deborah Ziff:

The fall semester hasn't officially started yet, but this week a group of incoming Madison Area Technical College students gathered on campus to study in groups, submit homework, and take notes on lectures.

They won't be tested. They're just practicing.

Programs like this one at MATC -- called Learning to Learn Camp -- are increasingly common at colleges and universities as educators try to prepare students for the academic rigor and social stresses of college.

The courses tend to provide basic study skills such as note-taking and time management, as well as information on decidedly squishier topics, such as how to stay motivated or take personal responsibility.

"It all sounds very elementary, but particularly for community college and technical college students who often don't have a college frame of reference, or somebody in their family who went to college, it's really useful information," said Melinda Mechur Karp, a senior research associate at the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at August 15, 2011 1:58 AM
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