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College can be a shock to high school students. The new sense of freedom alone can be overwhelming, which is why strong study habits are best learned now. Without reinforcement, it’s easy to botch time management and amplify poor study habits through the age-old adage of “idle hands.”
In college your son or daughter will have much more freedom over where and how they study. The decision to go to college should not be taken lightly either. With tuition prices rising, it’s important to reinforce the behaviors that will lead to a bright future. Following are some study tips for students:
Identify Learning Goals
Look objectively with your teen at a report card and identify areas that need improvement. It can be difficult to keep patience with an “F” on a report card. That stress is only amplified on your son or daughter. Instead, ask them how they feel about those subjects and get them to understand that getting help is not a bad thing.
Discuss college majors to get a feel for what your child wants to do in school. Review job placements and form a realistic picture of the future. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is a great place to search for potential careers, with data on expected growth and potential earnings per year.
Gamify Study Methods
Create achievable goals with realistic rewards. Reward an hour of study with a walk outside, or points toward something larger. Divide study sessions into “checkpoints” where students must read for a certain amount of time before taking small breaks.
Games are great about rewarding the player for doing something right, so create rewards that help them along the way. Buying books from iBooks, Kindle or Nook is like feeding candy to the brain. Reward students with high quality notebooks for hitting goals. Use these rewards to create a sense of pride in your teen’s accomplishments.
Seek Outside Tutoring
Reinforce high aptitude with advanced tutoring, or help your teen better grasp topics they find challenging. Look for one-on-one tutoring with college preparatory instructors like Huntington learning tutors; sessions are often conducted in a distraction free environment outside of school or home. Sessions like these can help prepare for specific college testing, or personal essay writing and general college applications.
Tutoring also reinforces strong study habits and can help students move from a “B” to an “A.” Teaching good research habits is another benefit that you might not get in school. Learning where and how to acquire information dramatically cuts down on study time and allows a student to retain more valuable knowledge.