Study habits are more important than ever before. My own children will be learning remotely this fall. I organized a study area for each of them and am almost done organizing materials they might need. Now is a good time to think about what we can do to teach and encourage good study habits.
What are Study Habits?
Study habits are habits that a person has developed towards completing and understanding school work. Good habits can be taught and enforced. Students need time commitment, organization, and perseverance.
Effective Study Habits
When it comes to being effective, students need an appropriate study environment, organization skills, and time management. You can help guide them on what it looks like, sounds like, and feels like.
Study Environment
Students need to find a study area that has enough room for them to work comfortably. Good lighting as well as appropriate noise level contribute to student success.
Organization
It takes planning to develop good study habits. Students need to list their assignments. Making “to do” lists is a great place to start.
Scheduling
Students will need a daily and / or weekly planner to start planning when they will complete their “to do” list. First, they should schedule class meetings in their planner. Attendance is critical to learning. Next, students need to schedule homework time for each class they have. Students will also need to schedule breaks. It is a “must” to schedule those appropriately. We all need brain breaks as well as snack breaks.
Planning
Students need to strategically plan out their day. It is a good idea for a student to start with a subject that he or she struggles in. Having a study partner would be a good idea. Students can call or FaceTime a study partner to get some help. This also may need to be scheduled with the study partner so that they are available during that time.
Time-Management
Students need to be efficient with their time. Students need to be able to be productive beginning with the end in mind. For example, if a project is due at the end of the week, students need to have a good overview on the complexity of the project and be committed to meeting the deadline. Students will need to be able to break the project into small chunks and spend time each day working on the project. Students need to reflect on how things are going and make adjustments. For example, if an assignment took more time than needed, the student needs to reconsider his or her schedule for next time.
Commitment
Students need to stick to the schedule. Good work habits form over time. Students will need to persevere through their struggles and temptations. We are asking students to learn remotely which is unprecedented. Their success is heavily dependent on their study habits. Typically, study habits aren’t learned until late high school or college.
You may also be interested in reading, 7 Strategies for having Meaningful Academic Conversations or 7 Habits of Highly Successful Teens.
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