Differentiating and Improving Study Skills
You may have heard that there are two parts to smart: knowledge and cognitive skills. The latter, which includes foundational brain skills such as visual and auditory processing, memory, logic & reasoning, attention, and processing speed, are essential for strong study skills.
Regardless of your student’s age, study skills create more confident and independent learners. They can also help reduce anxiety, decrease the time needed to study, and increase the chances of performing well academically. By mastering study skills, students can become more effective and efficient learners at any age. And because many of these skills can be carried over into adulthood and applied to higher education, work and life in general, the investment you spend improving study skills now can pay off for a lifetime!
Here are some of the top study skills to focus on with your student:
1. Organization
What it is: Creating structure and order of materials, desk space, notes or priorities
School-related applications: Using down-time in or between classes to review notes or reread material; maintain papers and binders; bringing home all necessary materials; filing; maintaining stocked school supplies and keeping them within arm’s reach of your study area
How to strengthen it at home: Work on skills like sorting, filing, identifying important and time-sensitive tasks, and maintaining a workspace that is clean and functional
2. Note Taking
What it is: Recording information through written records in a way that’s organized, detailed and helpful
School-related applications: Copying notes from the blackboard; highlighting vital class materials; taking abbreviated notes; paraphrasing; noticing verbal cues regarding importance
How to strengthen it at home: Practice taking handwritten notes, identifying key words and phrases, and using highlighter pens to showcase important pieces of information; encourage your student to create outlines and visual aids, such as sketches or diagrams, based on their notes
3. Time Management
What it is: Organizing and planning how to spend time on different activities
School-related applications: Prioritizing and scheduling tasks; using a calendar, planner and/or timer; making prioritized to-do lists; regularly setting aside study time or class work hours
How to strengthen it at home: Teach your student to plan from each class syllabus. Prioritize tasks based on deadlines. Break larger projects into smaller tasks to avoid procrastination. Encourage your student to take frequent breaks when tasks are.
4. Memorization
What it is: Committing something to memory and being able to recall it when needed
School-related applications: Memorizing and recalling facts and formulas; remembering to bring home important books, papers, supplies and materials; remembering instructions; recalling information studied for quizzes and tests
How to strengthen it at home: Create or use mnemonics; quiz from flashcards; gamify memorization of vocabulary words, definitions, formulas and dates
5. Reading Comprehension
What it is: Processing and understanding text before integrating with existing knowledge and experiences
School-related applications: Understanding and remembering what has been read the first time; reading and understanding captions, graphs, charts and figures; paying attention to and understanding key concepts and end-of-chapter reviews
How to strengthen it at home: Quiz your student on what they’ve just read; practice using visual clues to try to determine what a passage might say; skim the table of contents before reading
6. Planning
What it is: Thinking about future actions and mentally anticipating the correct way to perform a task
School-related applications: Foreseeing scheduling conflicts for homework and extracurricular activities; recognizing the need to break a larger long-term project down into smaller tasks; designating time to study or sleep before standardized tests or other quizzes
How to strengthen it at home: Encourage students to break down large tasks into smaller tasks with designated deadlines; use calendars, apps or planners to serve as reminders for deadlines
7. Goal Setting
What it is: Determining what you want to achieve through clearly stated objectives and actionable steps
School-related applications: Memorizing all vocabulary words; learning times tables; reading books in a set amount of time; studying to perform well on a test
How to strengthen it at home: Goals should be S.M.A.R.T.: specific, measurable, achievable, results-oriented and time-based. Teach student to reward themselves upon the completion of larger projects and papers.
8. Stress Management
What it is: Controlling stress levels for the purpose of improving function
School-related applications: Committing to get the recommended amount of sleep or eating healthy “brain foods”; practicing calming techniques and practices such as meditation, yoga or mindfulness; avoiding procrastination; limiting unnecessary stressors; getting regular exercise and time in nature
How to strengthen it at home: Encourage discussion surrounding feeling of stress and anxiety; teach stress management techniques based on your student’s comfort and interest; practice calming breathing techniques; enforce bedtimes and maintain routines
9. Active Listening
What it is: Paying attention, observing verbal and nonverbal communication and understanding what is said
School-related applications: Focusing on what the teacher is saying; removing or ignoring distractions; reading facial cues and body language when someone is speaking; making eye contact; paying attention to auditory instructions from a video
How to strengthen it at home: Practice communicating non-verbally to encourage your student to read body language and facial cues; teach your student to make eye contact; ask your student to repeat a story or instructions back to you after you verbalize them
10. Test Taking
What it is: A combination of skills that include attention, memorization, time management, reading comprehension, thoroughness and, if applicable, listening to directions
School-related applications: Making flashcards; re-reading, re-writing and organizing notes into categories; answering all questions; following directions; ruling out incorrect answers to improve your chances of answering correctly; taking advantage of extra credit
How to strengthen it at home: Utilize practice exams; spread out study time over multiple sessions; break studying into chunks of materials; encourage your student to make visual associations when studying material; teach the process of elimination
In addition to helping your student hone these study skills at home, you may want to consider investing in a study skills training program. Beyond tutoring, which is focused on teaching or redelivering information that was missed the first time, effective study skills training programs can boost the foundational learning skills that can help your child or teen excel throughout their years in school, college, work and life in general.
