Study Skills

Helping Your Child to Be Academically Successful

Learning Preferences

Every person — child and adult alike — has a preference in how he/she learns.  Some people respond better to visual or graphic presentations in order to frame their understanding.  Some are most comfortable with an auditory presentation including hearing concepts communicated through speech and re-framing their understanding through talking themselves.  Some prefer to read or write in order to organize their thoughts (i.e., using lists books, dictionaries, multiple readings, etc.).  Others enjoy kinesthetic strategies to learning by using their senses, real-life examples, case studies, and use of trial and error.  Many prefer a combination of the previous preferences resulting in a multi-modal approach to learning.

Understanding one’s learning preference will help to know how to best gain knowledge, develop skills, study, and apply what is learned.  An excellent free assessment to provide a better understanding of self is located at the VARK: A Guide to Learning Styles website. The 16 question survey will help you understand your preferences and give you a description of the best strategies you can employ to learn more effectively.  This applies to both children and adults. 

Notetaking

No matter how much technology advances, there will always be a need for students to take notes on new information.  Good notetaking is a skill that is learned and improved over time.  Instead of trying to improve your skills by trial and error, consider these great suggestions from Chegg.com.

Homework

Homework is intended to be just that… homework.  Homework can have several purposes depending on the course.  In order to fully grasp some concepts, develop proficiency in some skills, and/or to become informed about some content, students need to have protected time at home to practice and prepare for their classes.  This gives parents the opportunity to know what their children are studying and to understand how their students learn.  

Despite a parent’s level of comfort or expertise with a given subject, learning to become part of the process of a child’s learning is invaluable to a parent’s understanding of his/her child.  In addition, the student’s realization of the parent’s investment in him/her strengthens the bond in the parent/child relationship.  This is much bigger than “getting good grades” or “getting right answers” for the child!

Common Mistakes of High School Freshmen

Every student has the opportunity to make both good and poor choices when it comes to academics.  One of the best articles about common mistakes students make in their first year of high school is found on the Campus Explorer website.  The article is called 10 Most Common High School Freshman Mistakes.  It is definitely worth the read!