When you’re frantically scribbling a semester’s worth of information onto a page during an exam, memory becomes very, very important. Of course the field of memory is a dedicated area of interest for scientists. What is going on in our hippocampus and how can we harness its amazing powers? That is not a question to be answered in today’s article. I would struggle with that one... But - I do have a few nifty ideas about how you can help your teen improve their information retention at home. … [Read more...]
Has Your Teen Figured Out Their Study Formula Yet?
Today I’m asking you this question, because if the answer is ‘no’, then it’s no wonder your teen is getting the grades they’re truly capable of. If you don’t what I mean by Study Formula you can find out all the gory details here and here. But the abridged version is simply this: Your teen’s Study Formula is the tried and proven process they go through every time they have to study for a test or exam. Their Study Formula should be made up of all the study methods and techniques they employ … [Read more...]
Fantastic Learning Style Flow Chart
No two people - even identical twins - are exactly the same. This is really important to think about when it comes to studying. I very much doubt that there are two people who study in the exact same way. Of course there are things every student should do when they study, such as practice problems, but for the most part, your teen should be trying to figure out what study techniques are going to benefit THEIR study the most. A great place to start can be figuring out what their … [Read more...]
The Biggest Exam-Study Mistake Your Teen Can Make
If I had to pick one thing that prevents teens from getting the grades they're capable of, it would be this. Well, maybe it's second to not actually studying... Whatever - this is really important. If your teen is putting in the effort but their grades don’t reflect it, it's probably because they're studying everything, without studying what's really important. Let's do a little math… The school year runs for 40 weeks, give or take depending on where you are in the world. Forty … [Read more...]
How A ‘Study Formula’ Guarantees Straight A’s
Studying can be overwhelming. There are so many pieces to the puzzle. Different subjects, essays to write, facts to memorise, formulas to figure out, study notes to write, slides to look over, websites to check out, books to read —your teen has to juggle all of these things at once during the school year. It is no wonder that so many teens have no idea where to start when it comes to school and studying, and no idea how they’re supposed to wade through so many different bits and pieces. … [Read more...]
The Two Biggest Reasons Why Kids Fail At School
When learning something new it can be incredibly useful to find out what works from people who are already successful in that field. Conversely, you can also learn a lot from people who haven’t done so well... Success (or not) at school is a great example of this. Not surprisingly, kids who do well at school normally have very similar attitudes towards studying and doing their schoolwork. While kids who don’t do so well also have a number of things in common. Over the years, we’ve noticed … [Read more...]
Does Death Metal Help Your Teen Study?
Should your teen be allowed to listen to music when they’re studying? Or should the iPod be banned? This is a question we get asked by a lot by parents. Chris goes nuts without music when he studies. Without it his brain wonders off and he starts to focus on everything but the books in front of him. But some students can’t stand the slightest bit of noise when they’re studying! They need complete silence before they can really focus. As it so often is when it comes to studying - whether your … [Read more...]
How Your Teen Should Use Their Learning Style To Get Straight A’s
At school I remember I spent a lot of time reading and writing stuff down in an exercise book. This was the way our teachers expected us to learn most of the time, and it still is today. This is a serious problem for many children Some students learn best by creating a picture in their mind and committing that to memory. Others are incredibly good at storing information by what they hear. Some like to feel what they are learning, by physically doing something or mentally placing … [Read more...]
Study Advice for Visual Learners
Visual learners are those who learn best through what they see. They learn best when they use graphical ways to represent what they are studying. They prefer it when information is represented in diagrams or graphs. Teaching at school is predominantly based in visual learning - a great advantage for a Visual Learner. This may be because Visual Learning is one of the most common learning styles. Is your child a Visual Learner? Here are a few characteristics common to Visual Learners. … [Read more...]
Study Advice for Read & Write Learners
Read & Write Learners make good traditional studiers. They fit in with the conventional, school-taught study method of reading textbooks and writing notes. Read & Write Learners are good at taking notes during class. They study best by reading over these notes or copying them out. Is your child a Read & Write Learner? Here are a few characteristics of Read & Write Learners. See if your child fits into this category. Read & Write learners: enjoy reading (funnily enough!). would rather … [Read more...]