Essential Study Tips for Kids and Teens

If your child spends hours the day before a test scrambling to pull together notes, only to walk away from study sessions feeling foggy, frustrated, and not at all confident, it may be time to introduce some new study skills. Studying is an art. If your child has the skills to study, they will feel more capable and prepared as each test arises—and more confident in their future ability to succeed!

Here are 7 essential study tips to try with your kids or teens:

#1: Don’t multitask

Kids are typically not good multitaskers (and let’s be honest, neither are adults). Multitasking requires you to quickly jump back and forth between tasks, but usually the result is lower-level performance on all the tasks. The reality is it takes between 5-20 minutes to refocus when you switch tasks, so this eats up a lot of precious time while studying!

#2: Take brain breaks

Working in 15-20 minute spurts followed by a 3-5 minute break can be an effective way to stay on task for longer. If your brain knows that this is work time and a break is coming, you are more likely to fully engage the task at hand. For your kids, set timers and help them gradually push their “work” time longer and longer as their focus improves.

#3: Tune out distractions

This is so hard for many kids and teens! When you’re studying, make sure the TV is off, their phones are put away, and they have a dedicated workspace where other distractions aren’t going to pull them away. 

(Note: if your child seems to get distracted by literally everything around them, it could be a sign of weak selective attention. This is a crucial skill for many parts of learning, so strengthening it is important.)

#4: Use spaced repetition

Repetition is helpful. But spaced repetition is even more helpful. This is the practice of coming back to the same information over and over, but increasing the length between rounds. This practice moves information from short term memory into long term memory so they are more likely to be able to recall it on test day! Check out the Anki app for a free spaced repetition guide.

#5: Stop cramming

Sleep helps you form long-term memories. So if your child is up all night studying or waiting until the day-of to prepare for a test, they are losing a valuable natural tool that helps make learning easier! Studying is most effective when you work ahead, take frequent breaks, and get good sleep. Of all the study tips, this may be the most important!

#6: Test your recall, not your recognition

It’s easy to confuse these 2 skills. Maybe your child flips through their science textbook or their history notes and feels confident that they know the information, but when test time comes they draw a blank. This is likely because they recognize the info, but they can’t recall it. Recognition requires a trigger (the doodle on their notes, the images in the textbook, the memories of hearing a lecture, etc.) while recall is the true test of remembering (knowing the information without these triggers).

Take some time during study sessions to close notes and books and ask questions! This will show you and your child whether or not they truly know the content.

#7: Use your senses

There is a powerful connection between sensory input and learning. The smell of bread baking transports you back to your grandmother’s kitchen. If you hear a song that reminds you of your high school boyfriend, your mind goes back to prom night. Use these sensory triggers to your advantage while studying! 

Use a new scented Chapstick or put on an essential oil or a scented lotion that you don’t normally wear when you’re studying a hard concept. Then, on test day, bust it out again and benefit from the web of information that’s triggered by that particular scent.

Music also helps improve memory. When you study to classical music, particularly music from the Baroque Period, you can more easily tune out distractions, relax, focus and retain information. Or you can try setting facts to a tune to really get the information to stick!

Troubleshooting Your Child’s Study Skills

If you’ve tried all the study tips and your child still can’t seem to remember what they’ve studied or grasp new information, it may be time for a deeper dive into their cognitive skills. The learning of content in school is important. But the other side of that same coin is having a brain that is capable of paying attention, learning, and remembering.

If your child has any cognitive skill weaknesses, no matter what study skills or curriculum you try, they are still going to struggle.

We’d love to chat with you about ways strengthening cognitive skills can make learning easier! Click here to get in touch today.