<p>I have a son who is wrapping up his freshman year in high school. A/B student, works hard, good kid (IMO!) Spends hours studying but doesn't study effectively or have success picking out what is important to learn. Studies in a quiet area, no signs of ADD. Struggles with tests for obvious reasons. He reviews what he missed/asks for help from the teachers. I have tried to help but, sighhhh, I am just his mom. Are there any books/courses (Sylvan for example) that people have used to help develop study skills/testing skills with any success?</p>
<p>One tip: read the material for the class before the class. For bonus points, do some of the exercises.</p>
<p>Use an electronic calendar and mark out due dates for assignments along with milestone dates as soon as assignments are received.</p>
<p>Use an electronic organizer (like OneNote or Growly Notes) to keep notes, research, projects organized.</p>
<p>Get enough sleep. Get enough exercise. Maintain a good diet.</p>
<p>^ and put a limit on study time. Some kids don’t study enough. It sounds like the OP’s S studies too long. In college he’ll be expected to learn three times as much material. That will be impossible unless he reorganizes his study methods.</p>
<p>No ADD, but what about a processing issue? Pop by the school and talk with the guidance counselor, school psychologist, and/or resource teacher.</p>
<p>About 2 months ago my HS sophomore D and I worked together to draw a flowchart for how to prepare for a test. We started with determining what would be on the test and collecting the materials together, then planning her study time around other obligations coming up. Then a few strategies for during the test in areas where she has trouble (copying each step correctly on math tests, checking her work, telling everything she knows, etc.) And a feedback step where she evaluates the test afterwards to see what she missed and which of the steps she fell short on so she can focus on it the next time. She has this generic flowchart sitting next to where she studies, and I remind her occasionally (not a lot) of the steps.</p>
<p>She has been following it, and miraculously… she has gotten an A on every single test or quiz since we did this. I honestly think she had never thought through the steps before. Her test grades were rarely solid As before this. (Full disclosure: she does not have her foreign language this quarter, and I don’t think there is ANY strategy that will get her to As there…). But this is pretty good.</p>
<p>intparent about hit it on the nose. You have to be organized and plan your studies. I would add that for regular homework, re-reading and understanding the assignment is critical. You need to complete the assignment (or the test) completely but not go the other way and go beyond what is required. You spend too much time on it that way and may not get to other critical items.</p>
<p>If your son is still having problems with his studies, you may have to dig deeper. My son was spending a lot of time with his homework, too much time. We got a tutor and she noted the same thing. It took a bit of detective work but we finally figured out that he had a vision tracking problem and couldn’t get his reading speed up to the required level. That was corrected (by about 6 months of vision therapy) and he was good.</p>
<p>When I was in high school I did some formal tutoring thru the school. One kid was struggling with math. I finally figured out that he had poor arithmetic skills (he would count on his hands sometimes). I had him go back to the basics and really learn the basics. From there, it was just a matter of catching up as he really did understand the material. It was just taking him too long to complete his homework and tests.</p>
<p>So, if the problem persists, try to find the root cause. It may not be easy but it will be worth it.</p>
<p>intparent; like the idea of a flowchart…wanna share??..what was on it?</p>
<p>Truly appreciate the input. Has anyone tried a Sylvan type of course for an issue like this? Are there any other similar programs out there? I have tried working with him but he gets frustrated quickly when we try to work together and he seems amendable to working with someone else. Just curious if the Sylvan program or similar programs are worth the costs? 36-46 $ per hour for groups of 3 or 70$ for one student. $100-180 for initial testing for learning style etc. No commitment to X number of meetings. However, they will make a suggestion of the number. </p>
<p>new hope: I am with ya. Spent 8 years there and worry what is coming. </p>
<p>Hpuck…done the organizational/planning thing. Do worry with a different issue that I don’t see. </p>
<p>happymom…have an e-mail into GC counselor. busy time of year for her…giving her time to get out under the pile and will contact her personally next week.</p>
<p>Well, hard to do in text, Rodney. But something like this (a box for each of the capitalized items with these bullets in it, with arrows going to the next box – and arrow from FEEDBACK box goes back to all of the boxes before it):</p>
<p>PLANNING
- Do you know exactly what is going to be covered on the test?
- Do you have all the materials to study from (books, notes, presentations, etc.)?
- Do you know when the test is?
- What time slots do you have between now and the test to use to study (think about other subjects you have to study for and EC activities)? When will you study? About how long do you think it will take?</p>
<p>STUDYING:
- This depends on the subject, of course. Most of her teachers give review packets, and she goes back over notes, reading, and problem sets. Make sure you have memorized as much as possible, and can do all the hardest problems in math.</p>
<p>TAKING THE TEST (I make her repeat these to me before she gets out of the car on test days):
- Put your name on it (dumb, but she still forgets…)
- Put down everything you know (again, dumb, but she doesn’t always…)
- Be sure you actually answered the question that was asked
- Check for any copying errors on math tests. Check answers where possible on math</p>
<p>FEEDBACK:
- When the test comes back, what did you miss? Be sure you understand them if you need to for building to next unit of material or for final exam.
- Which of the steps above caused your issues (where did you go wrong in your prep or test taking)? How can you change your studying for the next test to avoid the same problems?</p>
<p>Could you scan your chart, intparent? It sounds interesting…</p>
<p>One thing that will help is to ban texting during study time. Many kids don’t seem to understand that how distracting this is and it totally disrupts their concentration.</p>
<p>
This tip is critical to test taking success. </p>
<p>Casey1 - Sylvan works well if you happen to “fit” with their way of doing things. It has been my experience that regardless of what they tell you, they will instruct your child based on THEIR teaching strategies not on your child’s learning style. Having said that…there is a benefit with Sylvan in that your child will have a dedicated time each week to focus on study strategies and the lessons are coming from someone other than a parent.</p>
<p>OP - It sounds like your S is getting his assignments turned in and such. That’s good - lots of boys (and some girls) struggle with executive function (organization) problems in high school. </p>
<p>If he needs subject tutoring, it seems like Sylvan could work. Not sure onstudy skills. Whatever you do, a key will be that he WANTS to improve things… without buy-in, there won’t be much progress.</p>
<p>Different people have different learning styles. Some match a specific course, some don’t. You need to figure out your son’s learning style before you enroll him in any class as the class must match his style to be any benefit.</p>
<p>For instance, my son is a visual spatial learner. Teaching him in a strict step by step scheme is like trying to teach a pig to sing. Just won’t work and it frustrates all concerned.</p>
<p>We were able to find out his learning style thru a battery of tests that the school did. We asked the school to have him evaluated (there was a performance issue with him that turned out to be vision related but was not identified when we requested the testing). At least in CA, if the parents request a learning assessment, the school must do the testing (and at their expense, so they will give you a hard time about it). Not sure if there must be an identified performance issue or not for the school to do the testing. So, if you suspect there is more going on, you may want to request (in writing) the testing.</p>
<p>If you do request the testing, I would highly recommend you discuss it with your son first. His friends will find out about the testing and he may be embarrassed about it. He may then not be a willing partner in the testing, which he must be. Approach it from the standpoint that it is to help him find out more about himself.</p>
<p>Good luck and keep plugging away at this, its worth it.</p>
<p>Slightly different discussion: I can’t study in a quiet room. Drives me nuts. I study best listening to music or a ball game on the radio. Something that doesn’t require your full attention but you can tune in and out at will. Gives ones mind a chance to wander and then get right back on task. Know other people that need the total quiet. So, figure out what works best for your son.</p>
<p>I work at Sylvan and I would say that I wouldn’t bother with their study skills program. It really relies on your child being excited about becoming organized (a lot of kids are not). It’s a lot of work on time management and goal setting and subject-specific studying. It’s not a bad program but it’s nothing a good book wouldn’t teach you.</p>
<p>BCEagle91’s idea of an electronic calendar is good, but I prefer a regular, old-fashioned, hang on the wall calendar. The visual is a good reminder for anyone. I had a teacher friend whose son was overwhelmed with all his school stuff (academics, athletics and extracurricular) purchase a big wall calendar for him. At first, he balked. Called the whole calendar idea stupid but was willing to try it for a month. He ended up loving it.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Modern calendar programs can be very sophisticated. Google Calendar
has:</p>
<ul>
<li>an optional task pane with multiple todo lists</li>
<li>ability to overlay calendars from other people. These can be
those in your dorm, those that you are doing projects with,
your family members, etc.</li>
<li>electronic reminders - you can set it to send you reminder
emails or text messages to your cell phone on events</li>
<li>access from your smartphone</li>
<li>access from your laptop when you are not in your dorm room</li>
<li>location links so that you can pull up maps to where an event
is being held</li>
<li>long-term planning - you can put in an event one year or ten
years into the future</li>
<li>repeating events - you can put in your course schedule for the
semester without having to write it in for every day of every
week.</li>
<li>You can print it out and take it with you or put a copy of your
schedule in the front of your notebook or hang it on the fridge.</li>
</ul>
<p>ellemenope, our flow chart is just hand written, we didn’t do anything fancy. I think the description covers everything on it. Honestly, I think she was just ready to make a change at the moment I proposed that we draw it out.</p>
<p>My kid has a really hard time with calendars. One thing that has worked for her is creating “stickies” (electronically, they look like a post it note) on her Mac laptop and sticking them on the desktop. She puts lists of stuff to do with dates next to them, colors the critical stuff really brightly. I have to remind her sometimes to update them (clean off stuff that is done, put on new stuff). Her school has a laptop program, so she always has it with her during the day. It isn’t perfect, but given the number of planners she has lost/left out in the rain/etc., it is better than that. We tried iCal, but she never looked at it… out of sight, out of mind.</p>