why smart kids need smart study skills

5 REASONS WHY SMART KIDS

NEED SMART STUDY SKILLS

© The StudyPro 2016

“My son never had any issues. He would do his homework and had strong grades. Then as he got in to tougher classes, doing the homework wasn’t good enough because in addition to the homework he had to do higher levelplanning and thinking. His grades suffered and so did his confidence. He resisted going to the study skills program, but once he did, he immediately bought in, and by the end of 10th grade he was back where his grades represented his potential and I’m out of it. He does it all on his own.”

Even the smartest kids may be missing key organizational skills - eitherbecause they haven’t been taught them or they haven’t yet naturallydeveloped. Having a high IQ doesn't guarantee you have well-developedorganizational and planning skills, and in fact, there are manystudents in the top 5% of the intellectual population who haven’t acquired theskills they need to get their work done without distress. The continuum forbrain maturation is natural and appropriate, but not forgiving to the studentwho has not internalized the necessary skills to meet the demands of their school curriculum.

All parents want their children to become confident and effectivelearners. What is required is a mastery of both “content” (aka math facts,science facts, writing skills, etc.) and “process” (aka organization and planningskills, time management, etc.). While mastering content alone may help boostacademic performance in the short run, helping students to internalize apersonalized process for learning is something they will carry with them forever.

SOME KIDS JUST NEED TO LEARN HOW TO LEARN.

WHY SMART STUDENTS NEED SMART STUDY SKILLS.

(Parent of an 11th grade StudyPro student)


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Think back. When your 2nd grader was asked to do their first “project” and to create a “presentation”, did they immediately know where to start? Could theydo it on their own? Did they inherently know the logical order of the steps orhow to arrange the presentation flow?

When your 4th grader was assigned their first real “research” paper, could they do it without significant parental support? Did they know how to identify the main points, create order out of all the information they gathered or how topace the work over time?

As each year of schooling progresses, a deeper level of “process” skills arerequired to support growing academic demands; but where do students learnthe skills they need to be prepared for these increasingly complex requirements? And as more and more competing assignments come from increasingly challenging classes, how do they manage the combination of it all?

To better understand the difference between “content” and “process”,consider these examples:

When your student is studying for a science mid-term, do they know how to:

STUDY SKILLS. WHY BOTHER?

• Write a thesis statement, develop a paragraph and use effective transitions?• Find and analyze their evidence?• Have the patience to write, edit and re-write, if necessary?

• Review their class and book notes to identify the most important points?• Combine their class notes and book notes to create an effective study guide? • Analyze their mistakes on previous tests to ensure they have learned what they previously didn’t know? • Create a study plan so they don’t become overwhelmed the day before the test?

When your student is assigned an English paper, do they know how to:


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Many students don’t have issues with individual assignments, aka “the

content". It is the pace and the complexity of the totality of the work that they

have yet to master, aka “the process”. While learning to manage work and

time efficiently are the keys to consistent academic performance, the

expectation from most schools is that “if you are smart enough, you will just

figure it out”. Yet lack of these skills impacts performance, confidence and

self-esteem.

Can we really leave “the process” to chance?

• Create a study plan that combines, organizes and breaks down the work across their available time?• Keep pace with their nightly homework while managing the totality of the work?• Manage all of it without becoming overwhelmed and shutting down?

When your student is working on a multi-step history project, do they know how to:

• Recognize which steps to take to get started?• Break down the project into even “chunks” to avoid being overwhelmed the day before the due date?• Understand how to turn notes into a draft that doesn’t plagiarize?

Now consider that they have that science test, English paper AND a history

project all on their plate. Are they able to:


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SO HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Over the years, there has been increased pressure to get more and more advanced subject matter into the curriculum of our schools - and earlier and earlier in our schooling career. Foreign language is being taught earlier, math “paths” have gotten more aggressive, and more honors and AP classes are “required” to get in to the most competitive colleges.

In order to add all of this “rich” content to our student’s schedules, it has necessitated that we remove the time previously used to teach executive skills. These were the skills that taught students how to organize study schedules, prioritize work, integrate nightly homework with long-term homework, effectively study for tests, and to learn from mistakes. In other words, this was the time that was dedicated to helping students “learn how to learn”, but is no longer available during the school day. And while, students may be intellectually prepared for this content, their maturational readiness often is not as advanced.

Many teachers do provide guidance on aspects of executive skills:

• “My English teacher gives us a study guide”.• “My history teacher helps me break things down”.• “My math teacher makes me write things in my agenda”.

The challenge is that most students aren’t able to naturally integrate theseindividual tactics to create a complete structure for success. Children see these as isolated instructions tied to a specific teacher (not even a specific subject) as opposed to elements of a combined model that should be used across all subjects. There is no “class” to help them understand how to master overall skills - only bits and pieces of the complete process.

So our children “benefit” from a more aggressive curriculum, but at what cost?


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PROVIDING “THE COMPLETE TOOLBOX”.

If we want our children to become both successful and independent, we needto teach them a complete study system so they can become increasingly incharge of their learning over time. The right formula takes the tactics now taught in isolation and ties them together into a system to help students become efficient and effective learners.

We need to prepare them for situational demands - a jump in curriculum based on an accelerated program or school - and maturational demands - a point where the demands of the curriculum outstrip their current executive function skills.

If a child is about to enter a high demand situation, we can avoid anxiety, self-doubt and/or reduced academic performance by building a solid foundation and enforcing good habits from the start.

If a child is already struggling, and is showing signs of anxiety, avoidance, or falling grades, new skills can provide the keys to productivity that help them understand that they can truly be successful (again). It is critical that students understand that they are smart and capable and that any setback has nothing to do with their capabilities but how they are processing the work. As students start to see improvement in their academic performance, they become more confident, more willing to invest greater effort, and more capable of working independently.


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A NOTE ON THE PARENT’S ROLE.

Whether your child needs improved study skills due to situational or maturational demands, the parent’s role is to support their transition and to offer the right environment for them to succeed. Higher school demands result in higher anxiety for our students and parents can make it worse as our anxiety exacerbates their anxiety. Parents don’t help their children when they fight with them about their work, do the work for them, or critique their work.

Parents do help when they provide the right time and the right space for our children to get their work done:

• Help them manage time - by making sure there isn’t too much on their plate (extracurricular commitments, sports, sibling’ s commitments, etc.) or too many advanced classes. Be honest about what they can manage. It’ s the adults responsibility to say “there are only 24 hours in a day (and sleep matters) and where are we going to get it done?”. • Help them manage space - by designating a distraction-free space in the house to allow them to succeed. Whether they are standing or sitting, or whether they need to move from room to room, make sure that they do their homework on a hard surface (even reading requires note taking!), there is good task lighting, and there are rules (enforced) about electronics.

Children want to succeed! They want to live up to their parent’s expectations and be everything their parents say they are and can be.


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ABOUT THE STUDYPRO

A student’s success won’t come purely from how smart they are, but instead, from the actions they take toward learning. A good study skills curriculum is built to create a “process” for students to become independent learners andhelp them build new habits for success. Internalizing the fundamentals of executive function - planning, initiating, organizing, time managing and completion - gives students a formula to lean back on that will help them achieve their potential across all subject matters, and for life.

As parents and educators, we want to inspire students to work harder and challenge themselves academically, and to help them truly believe in themselves and their own abilities to produce excellent work. To do that, they need to complete toolbox, to know how to use the tools and to become the master craftsman we know that they can be.

TEACHING THE PROCESS OF BECOMING A STRONG STUDENT.

visit: www.thestudypro.com

The StudyPro is the only learning center dedicated to improving the study skillsand habits of students. Our programs provide a proven, consistent learning model

across all subjects.

Our Essential Study Skills Course is based on thirty years of experience helping students become efficient and effective learners.

We work with each student to help them self-assess their learning style and crafta personalized strategy to improve their skills, build their confidence and

inspire them to do their best.

For More Information: email: [email protected]


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http://www.thestudypro.com



WHAT PARENTS AND STUDENTS SAY.

“Her skills are so much better - It’s almost an unfair advantage for her to show up at

college compared to students that haven’t had this training..”

Parent of a now-freshman at Boston College

Parent of a 9th grader

“A distinguishing characteristic of this program is that my daughter isn’t working on the

‘subject matter’, but instead, ‘how to go about tackling the subject matter ’... the intent is

to help launch your kid into independence vs. an ongoing “homework helper”


“There is a skills transfer - learning how to plan, to organize, etc. He is learning how to

fish vs. being handed the fish.”


“When it came to homework, I thought my son was such a pain. But then I realized that

he was just in pain. He just didn’t have the skills to get the work done, so he chose to

just not do it, rather than choose to try and fail.”Parent of a 7th grader

“My daughter had some blocks keeping her for meeting her intellectual potential and

she needed to develop strategies for how to compensate for them. It is key to not make

them feel bad i.e. that this issue makes them bad. It’s about meeting them where they

are - people who are successful are the people who learn to meet issues head on and

how to compensate for whatever roadblocks they have”.


“My daughter was not struggling academically, in fact she has always gotten great

grades. It was the time management and study strategies, e.g. being able to break

things down into manageable chunks and planning in advance to get work done

without stress that was key.”

“From my perspective...its not just the grades but how he feels about learning and how

he feels about himself and his confidence. The money you’re investing is money that is

helping them with the rest of their life.”Parent of a 10th grader


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why smart kids need smart study skills

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