DACC Promoting Parent Partnerships
Study Tips & Study Skills
Study skills are learned and your high school student can always improve them. It is important as a parent to both encourage study time and reinforce that practice. There are many suggestions for improving study skills of high school students and to keep it simple, let's break them down into preparation and actual study skills tips.
Preparation:
1. Motivation to learn is the key
ingredient to developing good
study skills. We live in an era of
lifelong learning and being
motivated to learn as much as
possible is key to being successful
at work and in school.
2. Students must know how they learn.
Do they learn from listening, watching,
doing, or a combination of these?
3. Students need to attend class
regularly, be prepared for class, and
complete homework. Students need
to stay focused in class, concentrate,
listen to the teacher, and ask lots of
questions.
4. It is important for students to set
realistic goals for earning good
grades and be aware of grades at
all times.
5. Students must take good care of
themselves physically, mentally, and
spiritually. They need to get plenty of
sleep, exercise regularly, eat healthy,
and spend time relaxing.
6. Organization is critical. A planner or
student agenda is helpful. Students
must also be able to manage their
time well. Note taking in class is also
important.
Study Skills Tips:
1. Students should begin by finding a
comfortable place to study, free from
distractions. Studying should always
take place in the same location and
all materials need to be kept close
by. Students with effective study skills
know when they do their best work-
studying at night or in the morning.
2. A study partner or group is
sometimes helpful as long as time is
spent on studying and not making
plans for the weekend, etc.
3. It is recommended that students
begin by studying the hardest
subjects and the ones disliked most.
Favorite subjects should be studied
last.
4. Notes from class should be
reviewed regularly. Notes should
be reviewed before a quiz or test.
Cramming or waiting until the last
minute are not recommended.
5. Deep learning is important
when working with complex
concepts. Using an acronym
can be helpful when having to
remember lists. Breaking
materials into smaller parts is
called chunking.
6. Index cards are helpful too.
They can be made into flash
cards. For example, put the name
of the math formula on one side
and the formula itself on the other
side. Parents or friends can use
the flash cards to help prepare for
tests or the student can use them
by themselves.
7. Keep water and healthy snacks
close by. Finally, remember to
take breaks-15 minutes per hour.
Guidance counselors and special education coordinators are a great resource for improving study skills, so contact them if you need additional suggestions. Please review these tips with your high school student and encourage them to commit to do their very best to succeed in school.
If you have any suggestions for future topics or wish to comment on the column, please e-mail me at [email protected].
~ Mr. Tom Wilson
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