A lot of parents tell me how their child finds a million excuses not to do their homework, study for exams, or put away their phone.
After a while, you actually get tired of hearing yourself say the same thing over and over again.
Well, we definitely hear your frustration, and we get it. While academic success can mean different things for every student and family, there’s no doubt higher school marks mean higher ATAR scores and better university prospects for your child. At the end of the day, you just want to set your child up for a bright future and help them reach their full potential.
You may not feel like it, but congratulations is still in order!
Why?
Because you’re reading this, looking for ways to help your child! At a time when so many parents have already given up and written off helping their child into the ‘too hard’ basket – here you are still looking, persevering.
You are still in the game. And that is worth celebrating.
Changing study habits in the second half of the term just before exams start might seem like too little too late, but it’s not a reason to back down from a challenge.
The first step towards effective study habits is simpler than you think: shift their mindset and behaviour towards learning. The key is to make learning fun and proactive, finding the easiest path to build momentum that carries them through the year.
That’s how your child gets more marks, with less time, effort and stress.
So, how can we improve our teenagers’ study habits when the constant reminders, nagging and checking just isn’t working?
As you probably already know being a parent yourself, teenagers will only give up what they’re enjoying for something they enjoy even more. And that’s usually not homework.
But there are ways to inspire that change and at Kalibrate-Ed, we’ve got plenty of strategies to make that happen.
With over 15 years of mentoring youth, I’ve seen firsthand how these three game-changing strategies can transform a student’s approach to studying.
Strategy #1: Create a personalised program unique to your child’s learning style
Just like one shoe size doesn’t fit everyone, education needs to be personalised to each child’s learning style. When you use learning methodologies that don’t fit their unique profile, studying becomes uncomfortable, painful, and limiting. To uncover their unique learning profile (ULP), the first thing we need to do is listen, which sounds easier than it is if we’re used to the traditional approach. If you need help finding out your child’s ULP, give us a call.
Strategy #2: Cultivate skills and techniques that boost efficiency
These skills help consolidate learning, so your child excels during exams. It can range from effective notetaking, strategic time allocation, to comprehensive exam preparation techniques.
Just as athletes follow a personalised exercise routine, students must find study skills and techniques that boost their learning potential. If these techniques don’t align with their preferences and strengths, it’s harder to get things done, resulting to frustration and procrastination. However, if these align with their ULP, students produce better results with less time and effort.
Strategy #3: Create an Assessment Battle Plan
Exams, assessments, homework, extra-curricular activities, and a thriving social life – it’s not just adults who have a lot on their plate!
Many of us can relate to feeling overwhelmed back in high school – especially when studying for high stakes exams. An assessment battle plan is an indispensable tool to reduce feelings of overwhelm, procrastination, and low confidence. It breaks large tasks (i.e. exams, assignments) into manageable parts so they can organize multiple activities across subjects. It also identifies different resources needed for each task as well as outcomes desired. Creating the right assessment battle plan for your child promotes mental well-being, confidence, and proactiveness. Like the first two strategies, your child needs to be an active participant in creating the plan because it needs to fit his unique situation, strengths, and styles. The goal is to make the assessment process as stress-free as possible for both the student and the family.
These strategies are our ultimate weapon against poor study habits and academic performance. The common thread in all of them? We focus on HOW students learn, not just WHAT they learn. We don’t aim for the cookie-cutter approach, where personal preferences are separate from learning methodologies. If anything, their learning styles should guide their methodologies. When they own their system, they don’t need a push from an outside source. Even better, they perform and feel at their best — both in school and at home.
If you’re ready to help your child build effective study habits and accelerate their success, a personalised program might be exactly what you need.
Book a free discovery session with our Education Strategist today to learn how we can help create a tailored success strategy for your child.
