STUDY SECRETS: LESSONS FROM THE EXPERTS (PART 1 of 2)

6-minute read.

Okay, parents! Today, we want to talk to you about one of our favorite topics: study skills! Organization, time management, schoolwork planning, preparing for tests – these are some of the top areas we see our students struggle in, no matter their grade or ability level. With online learning coming into play, these important skills are even more difficult to cultivate, which ultimately leaves YOU wondering what you can do to help guide your student.

The good news is, there is a wealth of information out there on this very topic and we are here to provide you with a comprehensive and concise overview. Why? Because we believe that helping your student develop strong study skills is one of the most beneficial things you can do to ensure their success not only now, but throughout their college careers and professional lives.

So, where to begin? Let’s first take it back to the basics.

What are study skills?

The term study skills falls under the umbrella of executive functioning skills, which consists of three primary brain functions:

• Working memory, or the ability to remember information in the short term,
• Cognitive flexibility, or the ability to sustain or shift attention as needed, and
• Self-control, or the ability to resist impulses and manage strong emotions.

These functions help students regulate behavior, tamp down emotions, keep organized, and complete complex tasks. You can imagine all of the study skills that depend upon these functions!

How might this relate to my young child?

When exercising these three functions, different parts of the brain are involved at the same time. Our younger children are just starting to connect or integrate those different parts of the brain, and those connections can only become stronger with repetition. 

Children do not have enough life experience or big-picture perspective to understand why school learning is important and necessary in life. As such, it is difficult for them to self-motivate and resist seemingly more fun pursuits, when they should be focusing on their work.

We don’t only see children fall into this kind of thinking, but parents too! While many of you may be under the impression that it is too early to start considering all of this, you couldn’t be farther from the truth. As early as pre-school, it is vitally important that we, as caregivers, begin to help young children lay the foundation for building good study habits.

What about my middle or high school student?

For our pre-teens and teens, these functions are affected by the fact that their frontal lobes are still developing. While high school students are certainly farther along in their brain development than middle or elementary schoolers, current research shows that the frontal lobe may not finish completely wiring up until around their mid-twenties.

The frontal lobe is responsible for regulating executive functioning skills. When this major part of the brain is not quite finished developing, it means that the more emotional part of the brain is in control. This is especially true during times of stress, which I’m sure we can all remember are frequent during middle and high school!

This is a very formative time for students, as they are beginning to gain more independence and make decisions for themselves. On top of this, they are experiencing massive hormonal shifts. What fun it is to be young!

You may notice your student is often tired or has a hard time getting up for school in the morning. This could be because they were up late finishing homework, playing video games, on social media, or out with friends. Not getting enough sleep can exacerbate some of the emotional stress that they are facing and make school work an even greater burden.

Many students struggle with staying organized during this time, as they have to juggle multiple subjects taught by different teachers who have varying expectations and teaching styles. Students may not have learned how to properly take notes at this stage and are inundated with more and more distractions. These can come in the form of technology, friends, romantic relationships, excessive extracurriculars, the list goes on!

Some students (and their parents!) may think that they don’t need to develop good study skills because they already get good grades. However, grades can be arbitrary and inconsistent, and getting straight A’s doesn’t always mean that they learned anything. Memorizing facts alone won’t cut it when they get to college. It’s crucial to learn how to develop connections and meanings between important information.

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Tune in next month for Part 2 of our Study Secrets blog, in which we will offer some simple tactics that you can implement at home to promote high executive functioning and positive study habits in your student, no matter their age.

In the meantime, feel free to contact our center to learn more about how we can help your student mitigate some of the pitfalls mentioned above that they will undoubtedly face as they progress through elementary, middle, and high school.

Tutoring Club of McLean provides students of all ages and skill levels with the resources and opportunity to become confident, self motivated learners for life. We take executive functions very seriously and provide customized training that pin points each students’ unique strengths and weaknesses and ultimately guides them towards academic success.

Michelle Scott
Owner/Director
Tutoring Club of McLean
703.237.TUTOR (8886)
Email:McLeanVA@tutoringclub.com