Is there a student in the classroom or in the family who seems to be struggling with study skills? Does the child seem to be very bright, but comes home with less-than-satisfactory report cards? The best way an adult can help this child is to have a sit-down discussion and come up with a plan and make sure the student follows through. Otherwise, the disorganization and lack of good time management is going to follow the child through grade school, and perhaps, into college and the workplace. Here are some tips to suggest to the child to push towards better study habits and improved organizational skills.
The Importance of Having a Designated Homework Area
The first thing one should do as a parent or teacher is to make sure an easily distractible student has a consistent place to work. In the classroom, if the student seems to mentally wander more if he or she is close to a window or a noisy group of student, accommodations if at all possible should be made for the student to be relocated to a better spot in the classroom, perhaps up to a front row desk.
At home, similar accommodations should be made. If the student cannot focus with a television or stereo on, either remove it, or suggest the student study at the dining room or kitchen table. If the opposite is the case, and one's son or daughter does well with sounds, make sure to let them work where there is some noise. If they tend to fall asleep on their bed when sent to their bedroom to do homework, avoid doing so if possible.
The main thing ultimately is that a designated homework area promotes good study skills and consistency for students to work. Excuses about noise levels or not having anywhere to work no longer can continue if there is a spot reserved exclusively for homework. It also allows for workstations to be arranged, particularly for younger students with papers and markers, or a home computer. A good desk or table with a chair are important too to keep the child comfortable and more likely to focus than laying on a sofa or bed.
Organization of Homework and Notes
Along with a good work area, there is a need for a place reserved for homework assignments, permission slips, and school notes. Color coding folders works well for some; others just need central locations to put notes and worksheets. Having a folder for papers to have parents fill out, and a folder for homework to do might be things to include with a child's school supplies.
If the student lacks any organizational skills, set aside some time on a weekly basis to put loose leaf paper in the proper location and clean out backpacks and bookbags. These organizational skills will help prevent lost or wrinkled or wet worksheets and will help save time otherwise wasted trying to find things in a bookbag.
Use of an Agenda Book
Likewise, it is much easier to determine which classes have homework to be completed for and which books need to come home from school each night if a student is taught how to use an agenda book or calendar and is provided with one.
Too often, agenda books are supplied, but the student is unmotivated to use it. Show the student how keeping track of deadlines, to do lists, and appointments is something even adults have to do and how to best write these events and tasks down. Model good habits and periodically check the student's agenda book for thoroughness and accuracy.
Teaching Time Management
Sometimes, it is useful to take this agenda book and show a student how an hourly schedule could look. Take a piece of paper and have the student block out the hours he or she is unable to do homework like the hours in school, hours sleeping, and hours at extracurricular activities such as sports or band practice.
This ought to show the student that there is more time available to study and do homework than he or she may realize. Then, have the student figure out the best time to focus on the work for each class. If he or she thinks best in the morning, determine a time in the morning when math or reading homework can be done. This way too, the student can set aside time each week to have available for large-scale or long-term research or group projects.
Good time management will help the student juggle more coursework in the future and will help him prepare for the workforce where good time management skills are highly desired.
If the student has difficulty guessing how long an activity would take, one could arrange for the student to do an activity timed so there is a gauge in the student so he or she does not take on more work than is manageable in a short time frame, or conversely, wastes time that could be allocated to other tasks and procrastinating.
In summary, things to focus on when teaching good study skills habits and practices include discussing good study environments, time management and planning, and organization of materials. These areas are areas all can improve upon throughout the course of a lifetime, but are essential to nurture in the young student populations so they may later be successful in college and the workplace.
Alison Diefenderfer - Hold a B.A. (anthropology) and an M.S. degree (social science) Work experience in higher education environments *I have gone ...
