Learning Resources

If you find you are struggling in any of your courses at Caltech, we have resources for you. First, please be assured that is perfectly NORMAL and EXPECTED for you to find the work at Caltech to be some of the most challenging you have faced. Review the resources below to quickly find strategies you can explore and try out for yourself:

• What's the Difference? Office Hours vs. Recitation Sections vs. Peer Academic Coaching
• How to create a concept map - a great technique to help you construct your knowledge and find connections in course material.
• Assess your quiz or exam - use this tool to identify why you missed points on an exam or quiz.
• Learning Strategies for Students (based on "Teach Students How to Learn" by Saundra Yancy McGuire, Stylus Publishing (2021)):
  • Metacognition
  • Growth Mindset
  • The Learning Cycle
  • Focused Study Sessions
  • Active Reading
  • Treat Homework as Assessment
  • Effective Groupwork
  • The Power of Teaching (where YOU are the teacher)
• Learn to Be a Better Learner - Six Strategies for Effective Learning (LearningScientists.org)
  • Spaced Practice
  • Retrieval Practice
  • Dual Coding
  • Interleaving
  • Concrete Examples
  • Elaboration