What You Need to Know in Fall 2024: Learning Support and Libraries

Raise your hand if you already feel behind in one of your classes. Or if you’ve woefully underestimated how much time you’ll need to spend on required reading for another. Or if the thought of plucking a study partner out of your orgo classmates stresses you out as much as watching your phone battery dwindle on a night out.

The Teaching and Learning Transformation Center at the University of Maryland this fall has expanded its efforts to support students, adding to its popular guided study sessions and drop-in Math Success Program.

“We’re here for all UMD students, undergrad and grad, and we strongly believe that our services help people whether they are striving or thriving,” said Associate Director Tami Smith, who leads TLTC’s learning success team that served more than 6,000 students last year. “We all have habits and things we want to improve.”

Combine that with the resources of University Libraries, including dedicated study spaces and free course materials, UMD students are well-equipped with the tools they need to succeed.

Check out some of the newest offerings from TLTC and UMD Libraries:

Academic Coaching
Pump up your potential with a 30-minute academic coaching session offered by the TLTC’s Learning Success Team. The free, personalized, one-on-one support can help students refine their study habits and learning strategies or more effectively manage their time. The coaching program was launched last fall and students who used it said they’d recommend it to a friend. Book an appointment with the team.

Study Groups
“Oftentimes, students believe or are told, ‘You need to do everything on your own, without help, especially once you get to college,’” said Smith. “But the research shows that learning and belonging are improved when working with others.”

TLTC Learning Specialist Jayna Resman piloted the study group program in MATH113 and MATH120 this spring, and is now expanding to MATH115 this fall. The goal is to help students connect with classmates, form regular study groups, and learn and practice how to study for STEM lecture courses. Resman is creating a Study Group Starter Pack with information and resources to be distributed in the spring; in the meantime, students can email learn@umd.edu for tips.

A Learning “Concierge”
This year, the Learning Success team is integrating the resources on its website with the tutoring.umd.edu site previously maintained by the Office of Undergraduate Studies. It has links to many departmental and subject-focused sources of help, from the Keystone Center in the A. James Clark School of Engineering to the Department of English’s Writing Center. The goal is to make the website a one-stop shop for students to find the right tutoring service, LinkedIn Learning module or YouTube video to fit their need. Until then, Smith urges students to email learn@umd.edu if they need help navigating the sites. “We can be the concierge service, helping them make connections,” she said. “Even if we’re not the right place, we can help them find the right place.”

Top Textbooks Expansion to STEM Library
Giant engineering textbooks weighing down your backpack—and leaving your wallet feeling too light? Try University Libraries’ Top Textbooks program, which covers about 150 of the most popular courses on campus and is now expanding from McKeldin to the STEM Library in Kirwan Hall. Students can check out textbooks for four hours at a time, as many times as they need to, throughout the semester.

Communications coordinator Julia Laughlin noted that the STEM textbooks in the program cost an average of $170. “Textbooks are a big extra expense, so we want to help make course materials affordable.”