Old School Strategies for New Age Kids

As a case manager for high school gifted students, I often get many requests from parents. Many requests involve scheduling classes or ensuring their child is enriched beyond the regular ed curriculum. But, recently I received a request that I deemed as unique.  I was asked to add study guidance to a student’s specially designed instruction. Dumfounded, I met with my student. He sheepishly admitted that he doesn’t study. In fact, no one that he knows really does. And, he’s starting to realize he can’t keep up with his AP courses, and get the grades he desires. It obviously seemed like a given to me, that he simply needed to study. But, what do you do with a student (or students) that simply don’t know how to get started with this important skill? My answer? Go “old school.” Here are five fast ways you can get your students back on track and instill essential studying habits that prepare them for college life!

Tip 1-Pass out Calendars
The first step to studying is to know what you’re studying for! Take five minutes at the beginning of class and hand each student a calendar. You can print free blank templates for the entire school year off various sites (http://www.printablecalendar.ca/). Demonstrate how to pencil in assigned tests, quizzes, and projects. You may be rolling your eyes at this suggestion, but tweens and teens have become nearly helpless today with the abundance of technology ready and willing to do everything for them.

Tip 2-Budget Time
Relate studying to a budget. You have to plan to set aside specific amounts of time to study and prepare for assignments. Again, it may seem like a no-brainer, but post an example of an assignment due on a calendar, and visually show students how to go through the “budgeting” process by writing 15 minutes on one day of the calendar, an hour on another, and so on. Students will need to work around their work schedule, after-school activities, and plans with friends to ensure they set aside enough time to review notes and read texts.

Tip 3-Teach Multi-Tasking
The biggest complaint I get from my students is that they just don’t have enough time to make flashcards or review notes (if they bother to take them!). So, I ask them to give me a rough breakdown of their day. Trust me, after viewing what they give me they have more than enough time to study. They simply aren’t aware of multi-tasking. One of my athletes said he ices his leg for a half hour after practice each night. I suggested he read and highlight his notes, or plan to read a chapter for his lit class. Although he looked at me like I was from Mars, I explained that’s how easy it is to multi-task! After a week of adopting this method, my student informed me he “found” more open time to do “stuff” like that. Hmm, who would have thought?

Tip 4-Showcase Methods
I know it may seem like an ancient practice, but I credit a lot of my educational success to taking notes and routinely reviewing them. I taught my sophomore students how to physically jot down notes by showing him an educational, age appropriate Chemistry video clip on Youtube. I modeled what information was important and needed to be notated, and explained that he didn’t have to record the video word for word, but only to abbreviate the important points. My student looked as though the lightbulb exploded in his brain as he remarked, “Great idea.” I really blew his mind when I went on to explain how he could also study by making content meaningful. We had a lively discussion about acronyms, remembering names and dates based on poems and sayings, and I even helped him make connections between some famous philosophers and people in his life that they reminded him of. There is also an abundance of study sites that students can access on the go (like Quizlet). Again, after I showed my student how to access and utilize online flashcards, you would have thought I told him he won the lottery.

Tip 5-Role Play
Tweens and teens love to laugh. And, nothing makes better entertainment than pulling a few students out of the bunch (the ones you know will really ham it up) to role play in order to demonstrate productive study strategies, and unproductive study strategies. You could even get creative and put your class in groups, video tape them, and have a playback session for all to enjoy (and wrap up your study strategy lesson).

My point for writing this article is that we as modern educators tend to assume too much of our students. We need to take the time to walk our kids through each step and method to help them become productive students, to remain organized, to manage their time, and become successful academically. Hopefully, these five fast strategies will help you help your students and will bring back the importance of the lost art of studying!