Academic Strategies

Please sign up for the sessions you wish to attend by clicking on the title of the session to get to the link to sign-up for each session you would like to attend. Be sure to add this to your calendar! Bring your laptop to all of the sessions. All sessions will be held in the Banacos Academic Center in Parenzo Annex across from the Bistro unless otherwise noted!  Because of the space, each session is limited to no more than 8 attendees. 

Please feel free to invite a Banacos Peer Mentor to come to your club, hall or other space to hold a session. Write to bass@westfield.ma.edu to schedule a session. 

The sessions include:

Balancing School and Life

COMMUNICATING WITH PROFESSORS

Create Your Own Study Guide Creating Useful Notes

Quiz and Exam Preparation Reading for Remembering and Understanding Staying on Top of Your Assignments

Test Taking  Time Management

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• Sunday, November 8, 2026: 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. with Savannah

Bring your syllabi, planner and laptop.  This is a time for you to dedicate to you figuring out how to balance your time and energy between School and Life. 

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• TBA

Stand out in class and make a good impression with your professors! Learning to communicate effectively with professors is important. Professors can be used as a reference or help you make connections for internships or future jobs. You will learn how to address your professors, write an appropriate email, and prepare for office hours.  

Please bring your laptop and syllabi. 

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• Monday, November 9, 2026: 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. with Lexie
• Tuesday, November 10, 2026: 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. with Sky

Take control of your course material!  Don’t wait for the instructor to tell you what is important. They have already done that in the course syllabus and in your classes. Use this information to CREATE YOUR OWN STUDY GUIDE!  Remember that some instructors don’t even give you study guides.  During this session, you will begin a study guide that you can update each week for your studying pleasure!

Please bring course material (binders, notes, handouts, past tests) and a laptop or notebook to create your study guide.  

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• Sunday, November 8, 2026: 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. with Shaneidy
• Friday, November 13, 2026: 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. with Shaneidy

Writing notes during class and while reading helps you practice and process course information.  Think of them as more than just a recording of what happened in class. Think of them as a tool to help you study and learn information.  During this session, you will learn different ways of taking notes and how to use them.

Please bring your laptop and course material from one course and your preferred tools for taking notes (laptop/tablet, paper and pen, etc.). 

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• Tuesday, November 10, 2026: 5:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. with Alec

The most effective way of preparing for exams is to learn throughout the semester instead of cramming for exams a day or so before.  In this session, we will address ways to PROVE to yourself that you know the course material and how to space studying for better retention of course material. 

Please bring a laptop and course material for the course you want to prepare for quizzes or exams. 

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• Monday, November 9, 2026: 5:15 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. with Sky
• Tuesday, November 10, 2026: 3:45 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. with Jerren
• Friday, November 13, 2026: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. with Jerren

Have you ever read for an hour and not remembered much of what you read?  Do you read the same line or paragraph over and over again and still not understand what you just read? Reading alone is not enough for most people to process and learn information. The reading material needs to processed, summarized, and discussed to understand and remember it. Come learn some strategies and techniques to make the most of your reading time.

Please bring your laptop and some readings from class, along with tools you use to take notes. 

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• Monday, November 9, 2026: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. with Sajanie
• Thursday, November 12, 2026: 12:45 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. with Sajanie

It is challenging for most students to stay on top of their assignments. Most classes now have some online component to them and that can make it even more challenging. During this session, we will look at the various ways instructors tell you about assignments and you will create a structure for tracking what assignments are due and yet to be done.

Please bring your laptop, syllabi and your calendar/planner. 

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• Sunday, November 8, 2026: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. with Alec
• Thursday, November 12, 2026: 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. with Alec

Knowing how to take a test is a skill that can be learned and practiced. This session will help you to understand test-taking as a strategy, introduce you to various types of tests and address how to minimize anxiety and stress during exams. 

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• Sunday, November 8, 2026: 1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. with Evie
• Tuesday, November 10, 2026: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. with B
• Thursday, November 12, 2026: 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. with B

Managing work from classes is challenging enough.  Now many students are balancing much more – work, family, and, still, which room can I Zoom in!  Come learn of some basic strategies to manage all that you have to do during the week and throughout the semester.

Please bring your laptop, syllabi and your calendar/planner. 

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Below are the pieces of the Academic Strategies Planning Toolkit. Please feel free to grab a few friends, teammates, club members, or classmates, and work together to carve out a regular weekly schedule.  This schedule should be one that includes all aspects of your regularly scheduled week including classes, meals, calls home, play time, appointments, worship, laundry, checking email, taking care of business, club time, study time (which class and where!) and review time for each class. Bring color pencils or pens to color code your schedule.

Read this first: Dear Tool Kit User

Here are the handouts:

• Creating a regular weekly schedule
• How much time in a week
• Semester weekly schedule grid
• Class schedule worksheet
• Things to do worksheet

The regular weekly schedule serves as a tool for you to think through your week and how you organize it.  Please be reasonable, realistic and respectful of yourself!

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