Improve Study Skills and Help Your Teen Succeed.

Study skills aren’t always taught in school—but they’re a critical part of your learner’s education. While it’s easy to think that these abilities are innate, the reality is that they must be developed, practiced, and encouraged. If you know this is a tough area for your teen, what can you do to help? 

First, let’s talk about what these skills are. Fundamentally, study skills allow a student to absorb concepts, brush up on material in preparation for a test, and otherwise learn independently. Some common examples include: 

• Note-taking 
• Time management
• Goal setting 
• Organization and prioritization

Unsurprisingly, these aren’t just skills with an application in the classroom. They’re incredibly versatile, with uses at home, in social environments, and in the workplace, too. Cultivating these abilities can benefit your teenager in countless ways throughout the years—and building good study habits early on can give them a solid foundation for learning and thinking. 

With that in mind, let’s examine how to encourage good study habits! 

A 101 Primer for Improving Study Skills 

3 Ways To Approach Study Skills  

Some study habits may seem universally beneficial—but others don’t work for everyone. It’s good to approach skills with a trial-and-error system, to see what’s most effective for your teenager. Let’s take a look at a few ways to approach study skills: 

• Organization. Staying organized can be one of the trickiest aspects of studying—from organizing time to organizing information. Does your learner find it useful to have a planner? Does it help to have a dedicated time for studying every day?  
• Motivation. Different things can motivate learners to buckle down and get to work. Does your learner benefit from having a study partner—someone who is working nearby? Do small rewards or breaks help them put in the time to study? 
• Studying space. Being in the right headspace can be critical for effective studying. Does your teen have a space that’s solely meant for studying? Is it free of distractions such as loud noises, clutter, or devices? 

3 Study Habits to Avoid 

We’ve talked about how to explore and encourage study skills—but it’s also important to avoid unhealthy study habits! For teens, the appeal of hanging out with friends, spending time on devices, or other priorities can make it easy to pick up poor study habits. Here’s a few to keep in mind: 

• Procrastination. Many students delay studying and homework until the last minute. It can create a heightened atmosphere of stress and panic, making it harder to focus deeply and learn meaningfully. 
• Frequent distractions. It’s good to take breaks during the studying process, but some breaks can be more distracting than others. It’s a good idea to put devices away during a study period, and to keep breaks short and sweet. 
• Irregular study times. Consistency can be key to building good study skills. It’s worthwhile to create a dedicated study time every day. It can also make it easier for students to get into a learning mindset.  

For many learners, it can be incredibly difficult to build strong study skills without dedicated support. That’s why we recommend one-on-one brain training—a great way to work on improving skills related to studying, thinking, and learning! 

How Brain Training Can Build Good Study Habits

At LearningRx, we offer dynamic support to learners of all ages through our brain training programs. These programs are not just limited to subject-specific options, like MathRx^®. We also help kids, teens, and adults work on improving skills for studying, test-taking, and more! 

For teens who struggle with studying, our study help programs are perfect for practicing cognitive skills related to studying. But that’s not all. In addition to targeting specific study skills, students can also pick up vital strategies for effective note-taking, time management, organization, and more! 

If your teen could benefit from working on their study skills, why not explore one-on-one brain training? Call LearningRx Cedar Rapids today at 319-393-0067 and request $50 OFF a cognitive skills assessment.