This page contains content from the 2008–09 academic year. For current information, visit the Harvard Extension School website at www.extension.harvard.edu.
Study Skills and Tutoring
In addition to a reference library and workshops, CARC, the Harvard Bureau of Study Counsel, and the Extension School offer the following study-skills services.
Study and Academic Counseling
Christine Herot, who has a doctorate in education, offers individual counseling appointments to help you address issues related to your academic performance or progress, such as time management, procrastination, examination anxiety, or difficulties in reading strategies, concentration, attention, organization, or productivity. She does not offer subject-matter tutoring or academic advising on course selection, including degree or certificate program information. Forty-five minute appointments are available on Mondays from 1 to 5 pm, October 6 to May 18 in-person at 51 Brattle Street, Room 501; by phone; or by video chat for distance education students.
To schedule an appointment, e-mail carc@dcemail.harvard.edu. Please include your full name, date of birth (for identification purposes), and preferred Monday date and time (1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm, or 4 pm). Please specify if you are requesting an in-person, phone, or video chat appointment. You are limited to three appointments each semester (fall and spring).
Christine’s Academic Skills Tips and Handouts
- Be an active participant in your own learning. By asking yourself simple questions before you study, read, or prepare for an exam, you can be more efficient in your academic work. See: Academic Skills.
- Time management is key. Plan how to allocate your time. Create a realistic schedule that includes deadlines, start dates for papers, dates of exams, as well as self-care activities. See: Time Management.
- Procrastination can be an obstacle to your learning. Start to understand your own reasons for procrastinating and learn some tips to help overcome procrastination habits. See: Procrastination Self-Assessment and Procrastination Tips.
- Manage your test-taking anxiety. If you feel anxious before and during exams, your feelings of anxiety may be impeding your ability to recall information. Speak to a professional or an Extension School academic counselor to learn how to manage your academic anxiety.
- Check out these helpful books:
- Time-Management from the Inside Out, Second Edition, by Julie Morgenstern
- Procrastination: Why You Do It, What To Do About It by Jane Burka and Lenore M. Yuen
- The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook, Fifth Edition, by Martha Davis, Elizabeth Eshelman, and Matthew McKay
- Your Perfect Right: A Guide to Assertive Living by Robert Alberti and Michael Emmons
Becoming a Strategic Learner (BSL)
BSL, an online study-skills tutorial, provides guidelines for improving motivation, concentration, time management, and test-taking. Access to BSL is via online services.
Reading and Study Strategies
The Bureau of Study Counsel’s reading and study strategies course enables you to develop reading comprehension and speed-reading skills. The fee is $150, and a session includes 14 class meetings. For more information, including dates, see the course description on the counsel’s website or call (617) 495-2581.
The Extention School offers a noncredit study-skills course, STSK E-105 Learning Styles and Compensatory Strategies, designed to build your competence and confidence as a learner.
Tutoring
The Extension School offers the services of writing and math tutors through the Writing Center and Math Question Center. For other subjects, contact your teaching fellow or instructor.
Degree and Certificate Candidates Only
The Bureau of Study Counsel (BSC) provides academic counseling to a limited number of Harvard Extension School degree and certificate candidates on a referral basis. You can explore potential difficulties and blocks to your learning or be matched with an undergraduate peer tutor. Degree and certificate candidates: you can register for the reading and study strategies course (described above) for half price. Details about the discount will be e-mailed in September and January.
See Forms to download the referral form.