For the past several years the History Department has offered a program of Learning Skills Seminars open to students in any USA history class. The seminars are not intended as remedial classes or tutorial sessions in the conventional sense. Their aim is to help students "learn to learn" by developing strategies and study techniques relevant to history as a discipline and tailored to the teaching styles and objectives of individual instructors.

The seminars emphasize critical thinking, familiarity with the basic concepts which shape historical analysis, differences between inductive and deductive methods of presentation, the nature of the classroom lecture and its relation to collateral reading in textbooks and original documents.

Statistical analysis has shown that the seminars are of equal value to: (a) good students who wish to improve their academic performance and (b) students who are experiencing difficulty in adjusting to the intellectual demands of historical study.

The focus of the seminars is upon developing the skills and attitudes necessary for self-regulated learning. Students who attend an initial Learning Skills Seminar are eligible to participate in a subsesquent "practicum" session in which instructors provide individualized help in applying the seminar techniques to the work in a specific class.

Seminars are scheduled during the week and on weekends, throughout the day and in the evening. Please check the schedule on our website for specific days and meeting times.