We want to help you, as a USM student, maximize your academic success! Our AGILE workshops are designed to provide you with an engaging experience to enhance learning using the most efficient and effective strategies for academic success in college. Workshops are organized by topic and designed to meet the demands of academics throughout the semester, because when it comes to learning, it’s what you DO that matters! 

Workshop Schedule and Descriptions

The following workshops are run throughout each academic semster and taking place during USM’s Community Hour. Each session is 30 minutes long and held in the USM Learning Commons (2nd floor, Glickman Library, Portland) or online via Zoom.

USM Students: RSVP for upcoming workshops.

USM Faculty and Staff: Request a workshop for a class or group. 

Managing Your Time Effectively

Join us to learn about effective approaches to time management. What we’ll cover:

  • Creating a semester plan using your course syllabi
  • Establishing and maintaining a weekly study schedule
  • Resources to help you stay on track!

Active Reading & Note-Taking

Learn the best approaches to reading and note-taking. What we’ll cover:

Preparing for Exams

Come learn about active strategies to best prepare for your exams. What we’ll cover:

  • Avoiding cramming and utilizing “Spaced Practice”
  • Effective ways to study including self-testing & learning with others
  • Managing test anxiety before, during, and after an exam

The following hour-long workshops are available to faculty or staff by request. If interested, please complete our Faculty/Staff Request form.

Start Strong!

Learn how to start the semester right and with a plan! This workshop will focus on the academic habits and behaviors that increase academic success, encouraging you to proactively leverage the academic resources available to all USM students. Bring your course syllabi to this workshop to learn how to complete a syllabus review and semester plan.

As a result of this session, students will:

  • Identify fundamental academic habits and strategies essential for starting the semester prepared, organized, and with a mindset to succeed.
  • Learn about the Learning Commons, how to access its resources, and the importance of being proactive.
  • Learn effective approaches to time management, including how to map out the semester by creating a semester plan.

Become an Effective Learner

Learn how to maximize your academic time both inside and outside of the classroom. This workshop will focus on specific strategies for learning efficiently and effectively. We want to help you, as a USM student, become AGILE. 

As a result of this session, students will:

  • Learn effective approaches to the when, the where, and the how of learning.
  • Understand the differences between studying and active learning.
  • Learn engaged learning strategies to use to become AGILE learners (active reading, effective note-taking, managing the learning, self-testing, and more!).

Where Do You Stand?

It is important to be aware of where you stand academically. This workshop will assist you with understanding: grade calculations, the importance of post-exam review, and academic strategies for making the most of the last half of the semester.

As a result of this session, students will:

  • Understand what their grades mean and learn how to calculate a semester GPA.
  • Learn how to complete a post-exam review. 
  • Learn ways to incorporate active approaches to learning for improved results.
  • Learn what resources are available at this point in the semester and how to access.

Finish Strong!

The end of a semester can be a busy and stressful time, but an effective plan can not only help bring you peace of mind, but will put you in a position to finish strong! Bring your final exam schedule to this workshop, where we’ll share effective approaches to “end of the semester” preparation, and help you create a study plan that will give you the best chance for success!

As a result of this session, students will:

  • Create an end-of-the-semester plan.
  • Learn tips for beating procrastination and how to implement effective time management strategies for the end of the semester.
  • Learn effective approaches for preparing for final exams.

Please contact Brittney Smith, Academic Support Program Coordinator, at brittney.v.smith@maine.edu with questions regarding workshop offerings.