Ideation
Finals season is upon us. And what does that mean? Everyone will be hunkering down to study and prep for that final stretch before winter break. Or.. at least should be … As a residence life employee, one of the most useful events you can plan during this season is Study Jams! Students always appreciate a calm ambient environment to study while knowing there are snacks to keep the brain juices flowing. This is one of the easiest events to plan and probably one of the ones with the most turnouts.
This event can be a standalone event — but know that it’s super simple and highly reproducible. And the best thing about this event is that you can also hunker down and study as well! After all, you’re a student at the end of the day.
At our University, we always had a designated study day between the end of classes and the first day of finals. We always had a Study Jam planned for that day for a couple of hours and sometimes repeated it on other days of the week, leading up to finals.
The overall list of what we needed to plan:
- Find the right location where people can come and go and keep chatting to a minimum
- Brain food type snacks – veggie trays, crackers & cheese, etc.
- Energizing beverages – juices, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc.
Preparation
Location/Venue:
Our residence hall had a separate Study Lounge and Social Lounge. The Study Lounge was always meant to be a quiet zone and while that seemed like a good place to host such an event, it is in fact still an event, and hosting in that space would be disrespectful to residents who need real silence. We would obviously expect some level of chatter, noise from food set up, etc. and so this event was planned as a group study and in the Social Lounge.
Supplies:
Nothing needed to be ordered except for the food from University Dining. Easy Peasy.
Advertising:
Fliers to be put up on every floor, in the lounges, and our usual outreach on our Facebook group typically sufficed. What’s not to love — we feed you and give you the space to study… somethings just sound too good to be true (but it’s true!)
Research/Prep Items:
Nothing here either! Remember I said this was going to be very easy and very appreciated.
Execution
We had to make sure that we arrived a bit early to let residents who were using the space that the TV and electronics would be off-limits and that we will be back shortly to set up for the study session. Also, let the residents know that they are WELCOMED to join the Jam and study! Set up the furniture how you see fit. Once you pick up and set up the food and you are all set! Now, have some fun studying with your peers!!
After the event, make sure you put away everything how it’s supposed to be and return the food equipment 🙂
Simply Prepared 