It’s easy to say that study skills are important, but it’s less easy to identify what study skills actually are.
Maybe that’s because study skills—the techniques students use when learning in class, doing homework at home, or preparing for a test—are very rarely taught in school, which is why homework and studying can be so stressful for students.
Develop Stronger Study Skills This School Year!
Study Skills are a collection of learning techniques used together to make preparing for a test easier. When used regularly as part of an overall learning strategy, they help students become more organized in all areas of their education.
Whether learning in class or studying for a test, each study skill plays a role in helping to make learning easier, tests less stressful, and grades higher.
Top Nine Study Skills to Use This School Year:
- Create Handwritten Study Notes—Writing notes by hand when studying activates many different areas of the brain, which helps boost retention and memory.
- Paraphrasing—paraphrasing simply means putting it in your own words. Expressing a concept or idea by using their own words, helps students grasp concepts or ideas better. Read more.
- Manage Time Effectively—Whether in an agenda or on an app, following a study schedule helps students use the time wisely, avoid procrastination and cramming, and meet deadlines.
- Create a Study Studio—Keep all homework and learning supplies materials in one area of the house to make getting into the homework groove easier.
- Color Code and Highlight—the brain is better able to remember information that is different than the rest. Highlighting can be helpful to draw attention to information to focus on. Read More.
- Use An Agenda—There’s a lot to think about in a day and memory is imperfect. That’s why writing assignments down in an agenda is so important!
- Quiz Yourself—Whether it’s writing out questions and trying to answer them, or reading something, covering it up, and trying to recite it back, self-testing boosts comprehension and confidence on test day. Read More.
- Pick the Right Time To Study—night or day, students can set themselves up for study success by studying during the time of day when they are the most alert. Read more.
- Break it down—large, multi-day assignments can daunting. Breaking large projects into smaller tasks and scheduling the tasks in an agenda makes something big feel much more manageable. Read more.
Practice Makes Perfect
Think of study skills as a tool you use to get a job done as efficiently as possible. If you were sweeping the floor, you wouldn’t just drag the broom along behind you—sweeping is more effective when you use the proper back-and-forth sweeping technique. Performing a task using the right skills just makes it easier.
The good news is that like any skill, whether it’s riding a bike, flying a kite or even sweeping the floor, study skills become easier with practice. The more students use them, the more second nature study skills become.
Give your child the tools they need to thrive—check out the guide today.
