5 Study Habits Your Child Needs to Succeed
Every new season, the zest of starting off with an A-game is on point but as the days wear off, students start to get comfortable and give up easily on their academic goals. Homeworks and lessons begin to get tougher and the initial zest that had them on their toes, stops showing at all. Under such circumstances, staying ahead of the game is an added challenge.
As a parent, you may wonder, “What’s the secret behind getting straight As?” Even though having effective study skills may be overlooked in one’s academic cycle, we believe that students with good study habits are much more likely to become great students because of their ability to efficiently manage and deal with many distractions.
Here are some tips on how you can develop good study habits for your children so that they get more productive days at school:
Organise and plan
Between schoolwork, homework, phone calls and note-taking, there’s a lot of information to keep track of in the classroom. A planner can help your child stay organised. They should write down assignments, appointments and task lists and revisit them at the end of each day to make sure they’re staying on track.
Mark the territory for studying
By all means, study at any cafe that tickles your fancy, but your child will learn better without all the chatter going on or constant interruptions. And, trust us, even you might find it frustrating if you’re trying to concentrate on something while someone’s always tapping away at their cell phone or even simply watching TV. In terms of your own home-space, try creating a quiet area that is well-lit with very little noise and creates a peaceful environment for reading and learning; this will help you decipher the words easier. You can also cut down the difficulty of concentrating by refraining from using any distractions such as your laptop, television etc. before getting work done.
Plan what to study
First things first: students must be aware as to when and what test will take place and what’s on the syllabus so they are aware of the topics that will be assessed. If your child creates a schedule and breaks it down by day for each week leading up to an exam with ample time to work through coursework, it’ll allow much room for effective learning with trials and errors. Letting them know that one must not forget about relaxation as it is important not to be overworked as well shows support and encourages a proper balance! Setting goals for each study session will help them stay focused and work systematically towards success.
Encourage positive thinking
A positive mental approach to studying is a very important part in preparing for an exam. For example, when faced with time constraints or a limited amount of information that needs to be digested in order to pass an exam, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and adopt a negative POV. As a parent, you can take the stress out of the pressure they may experience along their journey by reminding them of your own work habits and how you positively get through them. Encourage your child to think positively about studying and overcoming challenges because in life there will always be hurdles – but it’s important to not let it hinder them from improving or thinking outside of the box.
Reading is irreplaceable
Reading is highly beneficial, especially for students. However, the more important thing is to read right. It’s much too easy for students to totally ignore their assigned readings and then not know the main points of what they just read. Help your child to be more engaged by asking him or her to note the main idea of each passage, look up unfamiliar words and concepts and create an outline of each chapter before starting on the next. For example, you might make a flowchart that captures the concept at hand or engage in some other form of diagramming. After each section, have them write a summary of what was well-understood and come up with possible exam questions.
At MS Dhoni Global School, we implement well-thought and innovative strategies to help students learn effectively and study productively.
