Tom, a tenth-grade student, approaches the end of August with a renewed focus on doing well in school. The beginning of the year offers a fresh start and the chance to work toward a strong GPA for college applications in two years. Jean, a sixth-grade student, enters middle school, excited to attend a new school and excel in all her classes. However, by the end of September, Tom was late with three assignments and did poorly on his first Science test. Jean, a star student in elementary school, was challenged with managing six different classes and six different teachers. She lost assignments and had trouble organizing her online materials. Tom and Jean approached the new school year with a growth mindset and a goal to improve their grades; however, they did not know how to implement specific strategies to help them achieve their goals.
These scenarios are not unique to Tom and Jean. Students everywhere approach the new year with lofty expectations but soon feel that they are not equipped with effective executive functioning strategies to reach their goals. In fact, all students benefit from learning study skills strategies as they progress through the grades, tackle multiple long-term assignments, take tests with an increasing number of analytical questions, or learn to become more independent with completing homework. A Hill Learning Center Study Skills Class provides students with the tools necessary to succeed, and below we’ve highlighted some of the most important takeaways.
When students find materials quickly, have supplies at hand, and identify nightly assignments immediately, it takes less time to complete homework. Specific strategies help students create an efficient workspace without distractions and allocate appropriate time to complete nightly and long-term assignments. It takes 10 minutes to complete a project plan and allows students to submit assignments on time and with quality.
Strategies help students advocate for academic and executive functioning support. Students learn to communicate with the teacher through in-person and email conversations. Self-advocacy allows students to complete assignments according to the directions, provides clarity to academic content, and makes study time more productive. Without such support, many students find themselves redoing their assignments, taking valuable time away from other assignments.
Annotating text and taking notes from a lecture increases students’ intentional focus and comprehension in class. The strategies learned in this Study Skills Class help students identify the main idea and related details, organizational methods for useful notes, and visual cues to identify the most important content. Clear, organized notes support effective active study strategies for assignments and tests.
Effective strategies help students learn new, unfamiliar information through a “study-as-you-go” method. These eight strategies help students learn to study actively, eliminating the “reread everything” method that has been proven ineffective. Study skills strategies build on each other and support a breadth of student engagement and understanding efficient ways to complete assignments and study for tests. With just two or three study skills strategies, personalized to their needs, they learn to improve attention in class, understand class content, use homework time efficiently, and improve their quality of work.
We can make a difference. Hill Learning Center is dedicated to transforming students with learning differences and attention challenges into confident, independent learners. We work closely with our family of teachers, parents, and students to promote academic success throughout our community. Contact us if you are interested in taking the next step.