On any given Monday CAB, relaxing study music and the sound of chip bags emanate from room 183. During the twice-weekly Cram Jam sessions, this space is filled with students of all grades receiving personalized study advice from the multiple teachers in attendance. Laptops are found open as students view their assignments for the week and mark the dates of assessments on the provided templates to plan their time.
Cram Jam, designed primarily by Upper School (US) Learning Specialist Cayes Jarda, is a study group focused on helping US students develop effective study habits. The sessions take place during CAB on Mondays and Wednesdays and are run by Mx. Jarda and Education Fellow Benjamin Rogak.
“One of the main goals of Cram Jam is to help learn efficiently and in a way that information received in class actually sticks to your brain,” Mr. Rogak said.
According to Mr. Rogak, Cram Jam exposes students to multiple exam preparation strategies.
“On Mondays, during our organization day, we go through different tools that can be used to structure your time,” Mr. Rogak said. “We go through the school calendar and plan out the week. On Wednesdays we offer the Summary of Understanding learning method and the SOU Survival Guide which is a template to organize and break down your studying.”
Mr. Rogak said Cram Jam makes the drudgery of studying bearable.
“By having a lively environment with the music and the snacks, it doesn’t feel like much of a chore, but you are still getting the benefits of studying,” he said.
Ara Surati ’29, a frequent Cram Jam participant, said the meetings add structure to her studying.
“Mx. Jarda always has some sort of plan and a focus on what we’re supposed to be doing. One of the weeks was making a study guide and what to think about and other weeks have a lot of different study strategies.”
covered different study skills in each session. (Katy Varadi)
Cram Jam offers personalized attention, Ara said.
“The ratio of adults to students is not a large amount so it’s focused on you and what you need … I feel a lot more organized by talking with Mx. Jarda, they help me understand what I’m actually doing when I’m studying,” she said.
Vivian Zhang ’29 said she highly recommends attending Cram Jam sessions.
“It’s super helpful, and organization is the main point if that is something you need to work on. As we go over our school work and learn how to organize them I have learned what to study,” she said.
