3 Tricks for Good Study Habits
If you’ve ever watched your child study for a test, you know the effort that goes into memorizing and remembering information, often to be regurgitated for exams and promptly forgotten. Good study habits are about more than completing homework on time and with the required components. Studying, the act of preparing for tests, familiarizing oneself with new information, and truly learning information, is one of the most important skills that students need to acquire. It is a life skill that will transfer to multiple areas of your child’s life.
3 Tricks to Master Study Habits
While you might have been encouraged as a child to stay at your desk and study for hours before a test, new research shows that the way our kids study needs an overhaul. Encourage your kids to try some new tricks to master positive and effective study habits.
- Don’t have them stay at their desk for endless hours studying their material. Your child’s comfort level will impact his studying ability. If he wants to hang out on the floor or in the tree fort – let him! Make sure that he has enough energy to study, too – provide apples, fruit juice, or water – long lasting energy boosters will help him stay alert (avoid the caffeine!).
- Don’t designate only one study area. Fascinating new research shows that when we study at different locations, are brains are taking in subtle differences about our surroundings. If our son only studies Algebra in the dining room, his brain might somehow actually relate the information he studied to the environment of the room. When he goes to take his Algebra test and the lighting is vastly different, his brain might actually have a more difficult time recalling the information.
- Don’t have your child study one subject at a time. Studies are showing more and more that the practice of interleaving, where you move back and forth between 2 or more topics, helps to reinforce and solidify the information. Students in one research study were given math equations. One group learned the new math equations and then practiced them repeatedly. Another group practiced the new, reviewed the old, practiced the new, and so on. When it came time to take the test, the students who used interleaving outperformed the others 2:1. The reasoning for this appears to be twofold. 1. There is more time in between new items, so the brain is learning and relearning gradually. 2. The new task is learned amid other information so it was integrated into the brain more effectively. When the tests asked questions that were unrelated to the new information it did not throw off the abilities of the students.
The Difference Between Homework and Studying
Studying can be difficult for children because it is foundationally different from homework. Homework refers to a prescribed goal given by a teacher, where a series of tasks need to be completed or a project pursued. Studying, on the other hand, involves a child training his own brain to retain information. It might be for a test in school, but studying is also valuable for other things like extracurricular and job scenarios. Knowing how to focus and appropriately use time is one of the most valuable skills you can teach your child.
A professor at the college my daughter attends once said that in his experience there are two kinds of students who tend to do really well in college: those who were homeschooled and those who play the piano. These types of students have learned over the years that personal dedication and independent work are needed to reach goals, and have gained the abilities to remain focused on the goals, even if a teacher isn’t telling them to do so. Perhaps there is also success because homeschooled students tend to have more flexibility with where they study – the living room sofa, desk in the bedroom, library, or even the minivan while driving to countless field trips. You don’t have to completely covert and become a homeschooler like me (although I love it!) or move a baby grand into the living room to help your child learn better study habits. Just try these 3 tricks with your child for more effective studying.
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