Weingarten Center Posts

One of the most frequently asked questions at the Weingarten Center by undergraduate, doctoral, and professional students alike is: “How do I manage the ungodly amounts of reading I am

As part of Tutor Appreciation Month, Aditi shares how tutoring impacted her Penn experience. There are some events that no one prepares you for. I had one of those events

In the last installment of this series, we addressed 3 of the most common challenges that study groups face: study groups turning into study group socialsuneven distribution of workunclear expectations

If you're like me, you're always asking clarifying questions. In this case, the question is this: if study groups are supposed to be effective, why do many study groups fail

Text-to-speech is our most popular assistive technology. It is software that reads the text on screen out loud to the user. It can read any electronic text file on your

“I’ve tried studying with friends and classmates, but we wound up either socializing too much or getting into personality conflicts.”“Yeah, I always wound up doing most of the work.”“I prefer studying

During the lockdown, we've had to adapt to new virtual lifestyle. There are apps and technology that have become more important than ever for work, fitness, and fun! We asked

In January 2021, many students will return to Philadelphia or move here for the first time. In preparation, we asked our staff for their Philly favorites in hopes of inspiring

Making the adjustment to remote learning has not been easy. Even though our experiences may differ in significant ways, we all may feel a lack of motivation or loneliness at

The Moment of Truth As a sophomore at Penn, and after two unfortunate biology midterms, I knew I had to change my study habits. For other classes, like philosophy and

With the end of the Spring semester in sight for many Penn students, we’ve been hearing from a lot of you that it is hard to keep motivation high. First,

Open book exams can be illusionary. They appear easy, breezy, and create sweeping horizons because everything is at our fingertips. Read the next question, flip some pages, and pronto—there is

International students are facing some unique challenges during this period, including relocating back to their home countries and dealing with significant time zones differences. Some students are also seeing an

Treat Online Coursework Like a “Real” CourseWhen it comes to online learning, you need to have the discipline to sit down and say, “I am going to work on this,”

During a time of uncertainty, it can sometimes feel like the whole day is open, and that being on-task does not really make a difference because there is always the

As the entire campus community realizes, in a post-turkey haze, that the end of the semester is rapidly approaching, we present some of our best end-of-semester strategies for graduate students.

The Fall semester has begun, triggering an increasingly consequential question for students given the availability of technological resources for note-taking: To TYPE or HANDWRITE Academic Notes? There is no right

Maybe you are taking an alternative summer break and doing community service in a remote pacific village, and taking time in between to soak in the clear ocean air. Or

If you are a lover of historic art deco architecture and are on the hunt for a new study spot, look no further than across from the Penn Bookstore at

I remember sitting, terrified, at my college graduation. I clutched the sides of my white plastic lawn chair like it was an ejector seat that could go off at any

Many of us may have heard the term ‘lifelong learning,’ as it relates to an educational journey that may span several decades or even a lifetime. However, this term is

“Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn’t the work he’s supposed to be doing at the moment.” ~ Robert Benchley You know what’s annoying? Spell check. Let

“If I waited for perfection… I wouldn’t write a word.”            ~ Margaret Atwood I’ve been a Margaret Atwood fan for decades. I came across her work in the late

“The pursuit of perfection often impedes improvement.”         ~ George Will As we rapidly approach the end game of the semester, it seems appropriate that we take a moment or two

At Weingarten, we like to ask, "What's your favorite form of procrastination?" The question is often welcomed with puzzled enthusiasm. Students are at first taken aback by our directness, but

In the last post of this two part series, we considered why unplugging from our phones is important to destress, become more productive, and connect with the people around us.

Crossing Locust Walk during peak hours can be a risky venture. Twice yesterday, I narrowly missed crashing into students on their way to class, their eyes too fixated by whatever

The James G. Kaskey Memorial Park is a fitting tribute to the first day of Spring, an unassuming nature oasis tucked away within Penn's urban campus. "This green space which

The ARCH building intersects Arts, Research, and Culture: The Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF)Ben Franklin ScholarsUniversity ScholarsMakuuLa Casa LatinaThe Pan Asian American Community House (PAACH)Student Performing Arts It

There's nothing like getting down to business than carving out a space at the Wharton School to get your studying done: Address: Jon M. Huntsman Hall, 3730 Walnut St, Philadelphia,

https://youtu.be/ko8v91F7pYk Have you considered how you will practice self-care and prioritize your wellness for the rest of the semester? Consider attending the Mindfulness at the Museum Series at PENN's Institute

If you enjoy urban, contemporary, modern architecture, check out the Stephen A. Levin Building as a study spot. The interdisciplinarity of the commitment its houses intersects studies of the brain

If you like a smaller, cozier and more intimate study environment that feels a bit more manageable than larger libraries, with all of the benefits of book and resources pick

We live in a modern world, which in many ways hyper-stimulates our senses through technology and high-speed connectivity. What are the wellness implications of our new norm: 24x7 data availability,

A Learning Specialist’s Reflection: What I Have Learned from Weingarten Students Returning to student life this Fall after over a decade was a humbling experience for me. Although I reveled

Are you afraid of failure? I am. At times, terrified. Have you ever felt like a failure? Countless times. More than I'd like to admit. Do we talk enough about

“Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.” ~  P.J. O’Rourke Reading lists give students heartburn. Not all reading lists, and

Oh, dear. Winter break ended. Now what? If you’re among those lucky souls who looked up their Fall grades with a sense of pride in accomplishment, an almost giddy feeling

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”      ~ Benjamin Franklin We have rapidly approached that most wonderful time of the year, when the season tickles the gizzard

“I was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics exam;  l looked into the soul of the boy sitting next to me.”      ~  Woody Allen In the

“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”      ~  Kurt Vonnegut Many years ago I stumbled onto Douwe Draaisma’s

We often get questions about preparing for exams. “But, how do I know if I have studied enough?” is a familiar refrain from students in our workshops. Unfortunately, there is

 “A lot of people resist transition and therefore never allow themselves to enjoy who they are. Embrace the change, no matter what it is; once you do, you can learn

Whether you have just graduated in May 2018, have some final courses to complete during the summer, will be a returning student in the Fall, will be going away for

How many times have you said, “I’ll get this done during Reading Days?” I know I have said it at least ten times this semester. Reading Days are a great

On Thursday, April 5, Penn students, faculty, and staff braved the unseasonably cold, windy, and chilly weather to share and listen to one another’s stories on Penn’s College Green. This

College is advertised as a place where students can learn, grow, and interact with their peers. The college setting is known for bolstering interpersonal relationships in virtually every setting, including

Looking for an easy way to upload your class notes to your computer or cloud drives? Sick of wasting paper? Want a neat and easy way to stay organized?      Then

Hello Folks! We're coming up to that time of the year again. With the end of the Spring semester in sight, we're ramping up for our last mid-terms, formalizing and

When you go to do your homework (reading & problem-set)... Start with a homework problem first, not the reading. Read only if you need to. Read only what you need.

Often, students spend all their time studying and preparing for exams before they take a test. Did you know though that some of the most important studying and preparation comes

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”      ~  William Arthur Ward Hello, Seniors. Welcome to the beginning of the

Many students come to the Office of Learning Resources (OLR) at Weingarten (WLRC) looking for strategies and tips on how to take better notes. While the jury is still out

Take-Away: For better grades and more intellectual growth, consider spending at least 6 hours across a week cracking your brain on your p-sets before the TA explains it all at

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”     ~  Andy Warhol I spend a lot of my time here at your learning center working

With finals just around the corner, it is important to set up “brain breaks” in order to increase productivity. Studying is most effective when done in relatively short chunks of

“I don’t know what I think until I’ve written about it.” ~  Various Attributions Of all the things I talk about here at your learning center, the one I always feel

Many of the students I see in the Weingarten Center come in because they feel like they are not using their time efficiently or are studying all the time. When

“Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers”   ~  Sana, Weston & Cepeda Is it even possible to run a spoiler alert before the title of an

Reflecting on, fleshing out, interrogating, and conveying your positionality relative to a research orientation is critical to ensuring the validity of your research stance. After all, no one can be 100%

January is the month of New Year’s resolutions and good intentions. Many of us strive to be a little bit better at something than we were before. Maybe we vow

“And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere!             And gie’s a hand o’ thine! And we’ll tak a right gude-willie waught             For auld lang syne.” ~  Robert Burns Have

Have you ever felt "stuck" conceptualizing and fleshing out your thesis and related research question? At any point in the writing process and the academic calendar, but especially relevant during

“Cramming is not a practice.  It’s an exercise in panic.”      ~  Debra Gwartney I hate to speak ill of a practice exercise with such a long and noble history,

“The flood of print has turned reading into a process of gulping rather than savoring.”                                                                                                                            ~  Raymond Chandler Raymond Chandler, the author who gave us The Big Sleep, The

So it's that time of the semester that we all forgot about-final papers/project season. You know, because we were surviving it week by week, midterm by midterm, page by page

“If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?”                                                                                                                                               ~  Albert Einstein Welcome to the next stage of your education. Over

“All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.”      ~  Sun Tzu Confession:  I’ve never

It has been known through surveys that the population fears public speaking more than death (Croston, 2012).  How do we reconcile this when, in some cases, 15%-40% of your grade

Address: 220 S 34th St. (Just on the other side of Locust Walk from Van Pelt, adjacent to College Hall) Hours: 9am-5pm (Summer) 8:30am-12am (Starting Fall Term 2016) Noise Level:

Have you ever received a writing assignment and felt “frozen”? Have you known you need to write but gotten stuck staring at a blank screen? You’re not alone—everyone has experienced

Many students at Penn have returned to school after a break in their formal education. Some programs such as PhD, MBA, executive MBA, Dental, and Medicine have many students that

Looking for a new place to study for your final exams or write those final papers? Never fear - I’m here to help you find a location for success! 3501

Want to keep your sanity during finals week? So you have 5 classes this semester with at least 3 final exams and 2 final projects or papers. Need to accomplish

At the beginning of each semester, we often formally or informally tell ourselves that we are going to be better about our time management. Perhaps it’s the looming reminder of

Office hours: It's that thing listed underneath the professor's contact information on the syllabus, the thing we all glance at to make a note of, but rarely take advantage of.

Final examinations are here and you’ve already read books, notes, and class lecture slides. But how much did you actually retain? What other ways can you study? A great strategy

As educators, we love finding new ways to implement technology and keep things fresh for students. As technology advances, so do the demands on educators: innovative, marketed content is no

It seems like there’s never enough time. Between what we feel we have to do and what we think we should do (to say nothing of what we’d rather be

One of the more pertinent results of productive sleep is the consolidation of memories. Let’s unpack, shall we? Without delving too deeply into the specialized vocabulary and evolving hypotheses in

“If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems. And that’s a big mistake.” ~ Frank Wilczek, 2004 Nobel Prize winner in physics My Weingarten colleague, Rashmi

Wondering where you should go this weekend to do your work? I’m here on Fridays to share local study spots that you should definitely check out if you’re on the

“Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.” ~ Mark Twain Ever gotten back a midterm, peeked at the grade and stuffed it away somewhere dark, never to look at it

In this semester-long series, our expert Learning Instructor for International Students Julianne Reynolds offers tips for keeping English “switched on” in your daily life at Penn. If you’re only using

Ah… fall semester. If you’ve lived most of your life on the academic calendar year, like I have, you probably think of the new year as beginning in September. (Okay

In this semester-long series, our expert Learning Instructor for International Students Julianne Reynolds offers tips for keeping English “switched on” in your daily life at Penn. If you’re only using

In this semester-long series, our expert Learning Instructor for International Students Julianne Reynolds offers tips for keeping English "switched on" in your daily life at Penn. If you're only using

“In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” ~ Eric Hoffer I have an

In this semester-long series, our expert Learning Instructor for International Students Julianne Reynolds offers tips for keeping English "switched on" in your daily life at Penn. If you're only using

Last week, we opened our Mastering the Ivy League workshop series for undergrads new to Penn with a session called, 10 Best Study Strategies for Successful Students. Although we cannot

Last week, Penn Vet invited us to join their second-year student mentors as they prepared to welcome and support the incoming cohort of Penn Vet students. These experienced students and