The Triad of Academic Success
A three-pronged strategy to navigating the university and your pathways to your academic goals is one way to approach academic success. These three strategies are: academic skills development; social support networking; and resource utilization.
Academic Skills
To develop academic skills, ask yourself:
- How do I learn best? What specific learning strategies do I use (see interleaving and spaced studying for examples)?
- What is my approach to task management and organization? What systems do I use that keep me organized?
- What is my relationship with procrastination? What do I rely on when motivation runs low and I need to complete academic tasks?
Social Support Networking
To improve your social network skills, ask yourself:
- Who is available to help me in my social network?
- How healthy are my relationships with my family, peers, roommates, etc?
- How am I actively existing as part of a community?
Resource Utilization
To utilize resources, ask yourself:
- What resources am I using and actively seeking out to help me?
- What resource can I try that I have not tried and how will they help me?
- What can I do to familiarize myself with resources I may not know are available?
As you continue to develop academic skills; grow your social support network; and try campus resources, keep note of what strategies are specifically working for you and ask yourself how those strategies relate to your strengths and longer-term goals.