Musings: How do your high-school aged children learn good study habits?

[Michelle in MO]

There's an interesting thread on the Afterschooling board regarding homework. I've read the discussion but haven't participated in it yet.

 

I'm finding that our older two girls regularly have 2-3 hours of homework per night. We've tried to send them to the best school available in our general area, although we have a 30-minute commute built in each way, every day. Overall, they are adjusting well. I've been preaching to them daily the wisdom of time management skills; for the most part they've fallen into the pattern fairly well, although they haven't yet had to tackle big research papers. Our oldest will have a 10-12 pp. research paper for her dual-enrollment U.S. History class, so I'm hoping she'll map out a reasonable schedule for herself.

 

My oldest had her first history test today and spent last evening and this morning in frantic studying for the test. It was to be an essay test (thankfully Omnibus II prepared them for those last year!). She spent several hours last night and a couple hours this morning actually writing out essay answers to every single section in the chapters! I'm not sure that that was the best use of her time---I thought she would have been better served by carefully reading and studying the chapter, studying any critical thinking questions at the end of each section, and answering those questions in her mind. So---I think it was overkill. We'll see how she did on the test.

 

I'm hoping that they'll be able to learn the following over the next few years:

 

1. Time management and pacing your studying

2. Good notetaking skills! There was a lot of this :banghead: last year on the subject

3. Working efficiently without becoming perfectionistic (like oldest daughter); perfectionism can lead to wasted energy spent (or misspent) in the wrong direction.

 

We do own How To Become a Super Star Student, but I have to confess I haven't had them watch it yet! :blush:

 

How do you help your high schoolers with their study skills? Has it been a struggle for them to learn good time management? Are they working efficiently without being perfectionistic? For those of you whose kids are attending p.s., private school, or college---have they transitioned well into that environment?

 

Although I like the school, I have a few pet peeves with the way learning is taught at schools in general. There does seem to be a lot of learning to get a good grade on a test, paper, project, etc., that is rapidly forgotten later. In other words, I'm not sure how much comprehension is soaking in; this atmosphere doesn't seem to stir up any real enjoyment in the learning process.

 

Oldest dd feels like there's a lot of wasted time. She's definitely the type that simply wants the assignment and would rather work independently. That's an adjustment.

 

The high school is challenging, but I feel both girls have been well-prepared. I've been a bit disappointed in the elementary school (but I think that should improve): the spelling words seem too easy, and I prefer my youngest to write out book reports or longer narrations to books that she's read. My non-grammar oriented youngest managed to be the only one in her class who could correctly answer the question: "What is the subject of an imperative sentence?" (you) I honestly wondered if she was ever listening!

 

I'm rambling at this point, but I'm wondering how your high schoolers are learning to study, manage their time, work efficiently, etc. Anyone else care to share their story?

 

P.S. One of the things that's been difficult is fitting in the extra-curriculars: piano, voice and karate lessons are suffering. How to balance with it all?

[Michelle in AL]

I don't have any words of experienced wisdom, but here's what I've found with my 2 this yr. The oldest has 2 pretty demanding subjects this yr: Biology w/scholars online and Human Odyssey World history with Omnibus. They waited until the night before their 1st history test to study and then freaked out a little when they were confronted with the length of material (The chapter was longer than materials they've used before). I decided I'd have to model or assign good study habits hoping that they will become ingrained and become natural or at least not foreign to them. So, this week I've scheduled mid chapter study sessions for both subjects. Would that work with yours? Maybe sit down with them at the beginning of a chapter and plan when to study along the way and remind them occasionally?

 

It's good to hear they're doing well! It's also really a plus that they get to figure this out at home before they go off to college where it really counts.

[choirfarm]

We do own How To Become a Super Star Student, but I have to confess I haven't had them watch it yet! :blush:

 

?

 

 

YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS!!!!! Many of your questions are addressed by this guy. He is WONDERFUL. My th grader and i checked it out from the library and watched about 1/2 of it before we had to return it. He has fabulous suggestions about how to read and take notes. One thing he talked about that I never considered was having your child read the math chapter the night before the teacher lectures on it and trying to do the sample problems. They take notes as they read and then can really LISTEN to the teacher lecture and just add to the notes they already had. Anyway, lots of great tips and how to divide tasks up and such. So get it out and watch it this weekend.

 

Christine

[Michelle in MO]

YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS!!!!! Many of your questions are addressed by this guy. He is WONDERFUL. My th grader and i checked it out from the library and watched about 1/2 of it before we had to return it. He has fabulous suggestions about how to read and take notes. One thing he talked about that I never considered was having your child read the math chapter the night before the teacher lectures on it and trying to do the sample problems. They take notes as they read and then can really LISTEN to the teacher lecture and just add to the notes they already had. Anyway, lots of great tips and how to divide tasks up and such. So get it out and watch it this weekend.

 

Christine

 

Overall, I think they've both developed fairly good study habits, but I can tell with my oldest that her perfectionism (i.e., writing down all essay questions before a test when it's not necessary to do that until the test) is a time waster. I tried to convince her of that, but she wanted to do things her own way.

 

Yes, I'm going to have them start watching the DVD's! Thanks for the reminder!

 

This whole experience with school reminds me of one of the things I most appreciate about homeschooling: I do think that it's much more efficient. It bothers me that their extracurricular activities are suffering---piano and voice practice, karate practice, etc. Yet, I'm trying to help them learn to balance with the homework load, so I've been cutting them some slack in the other areas.

[Gwen in VA]

Study habits? Ummmmm.......it depends on the kid.

 

Dd1 has great sudy habits, but she was born organized. Teaching her how to study was easy -- I told her and she did it! She also approaches her schoolwork like I used to, so we could relate.

 

Then there is ds1. He HATES outlining with a passion. He hates notecards. He doesn't do flashcards. I still don't know how he actually studies -- so study habits were a VERY :ack2:sore topic between us. By the end of 8th grade there was a LOT of friction between us about school and studying. :ack2:

 

HOWEVER, there is a bright side to ds1's story. When we signed him up for onlince classes (many through SO and PAH), I said that one of the joys of online classes was that I did NOT have to do the monitoring. He was just expected to do well -- and he did! He rose to the occasion....but how?

 

I still don't know how he studies, but he is a fabulous student.....He doesn't take notes from a text, he doesn't summarize with an outline, he doesn't drill.....! :confused:

 

So I focus on the results with him and ignore that fact that his study habits are a complete black box -- material goes in (somehow) and knowledge/understanding/good grades flow out. WEIRD! :confused:

 

So great study skills are not necessary for ALL students -- some kids just have their own bizarre ways of doing things!

[Quiver0f10]

YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS!!!!! Many of your questions are addressed by this guy. He is WONDERFUL. My th grader and i checked it out from the library and watched about 1/2 of it before we had to return it. He has fabulous suggestions about how to read and take notes. One thing he talked about that I never considered was having your child read the math chapter the night before the teacher lectures on it and trying to do the sample problems. They take notes as they read and then can really LISTEN to the teacher lecture and just add to the notes they already had. Anyway, lots of great tips and how to divide tasks up and such. So get it out and watch it this weekend.

 

Christine

 

:iagree: I had always wondered how to teach them to study and these lectures were perfect!

[Zanyan]

My son just started high school at a small public charter high school as a freshman. He did not have good study habits going in, and it was like pulling teeth for me to get him to do school work at home, unless he could see that it could apply to whatever his definition of "real life" is. :glare: He's only been in high school two weeks, but so far he's doing all the homework and studying for tests, with only a little nagging from me (relative to what I was doing in prior years to get him to study). So, he's learning good study habits as he needs them because it's important to him, and he sees studying for high school classes as "real life." He didn't see studying for homeschool in the same way. I don't want you to get the wrong impression - he's a great kid, and we get along well most of the time. He just has funny ideas, and it is very difficult to move him off certain ideas he has.

 

We have the Teaching Company DVDs "How to Become a Super Star Student" and we started to watch them last year, during my son's 2nd semester of homeschooled 8th grade, but he just couldn't relate the suggestions to himself. Now that he's in school, he's seeing the relevance of what the DVD instructor suggested. After he settles in a bit, we'll watch them again.

 

My son just had open heart surgery 4 weeks ago (his 4th open heart surgery, but the last one was when he was five years old), and he has so much on his plate with recovering from surgery (he's still moving so slowly :( ), and starting high school after 6 years of homeschooling that I don't want to pile on too much. He's doing well so far, but truth be told, the teachers are going easy on the freshman right now, and I can see some issues like note taking being a bear for him in the not too distant future. To add insult to injury, he's also dysgraphic!

 

I did remember the suggestion the TC instructor made to read the math chapter the night before the lecture, and thought it was a great one. But there are too many students in Ds class this year, so the teacher didn't have enough textbooks. She asked for students to volunteer having the current chapter sections they are working with copied and handed to them to carry around, rather than a textbook. On the one hand, this is great for my son, since he's not even supposed to be carrying a backpack right now (had to fudge on that post-surgery precaution). But now he doesn't have a textbook for studying ahead. Ah well....

[Michelle in MO]

We have the Teaching Company DVDs "How to Become a Super Star Student" and we started to watch them last year, during my son's 2nd semester of homeschooled 8th grade, but he just couldn't relate the suggestions to himself. Now that he's in school, he's seeing the relevance of what the DVD instructor suggested. After he settles in a bit, we'll watch them again.

 

and I honestly don't know why we haven't watched it before! Overall, I'd say my older two have fairly good study habits; I think they need more "tweaking" in the time management area, plus my oldest spends too much time studying in a manner that's not really that productive, IMO. I will have them watch these, though.

 

My son just had open heart surgery 4 weeks ago (his 4th open heart surgery, but the last one was when he was five years old), and he has so much on his plate with recovering from surgery (he's still moving so slowly :( ), and starting high school after 6 years of homeschooling that I don't want to pile on too much. He's doing well so far, but truth be told, the teachers are going easy on the freshman right now, and I can see some issues like note taking being a bear for him in the not too distant future. To add insult to injury, he's also dysgraphic!

 

That's a lot to deal with! It sounds like your son is working very hard, despite entering high school after major surgery and struggling with dysgraphia! One other family that commutes with us has a ds who is dyslexic; it's taking him a while to get used to the homework load, too. The school fortunately has a resources teacher, who is there to help students with these special needs.

 

One thing that does bother me a little bit about the school is that the civics teacher piles on too much homework, and she seems to have a really haphazard manner about it! Last week the kids had no homework; yesterday the teacher gave them three sections of one chapter to cover; the sections and the chapters are long, plus the questions require longer answers. She assigned this yesterday, and the homework was due today. My oldest has her for both dual-enrollment U.S. History and civics! My middle dd has her just for civics.

 

This is where I wish h.s. teachers would function a little more like college instructors. In college I remember getting a syllabus at the beginning of the quarter or semester. Every assignment was printed on the syllabus, plus the due dates. You were expected to be an adult and turn things in on time. It doesn't seem quite fair to assign a large chunk of homework and expect the kids to turn it in the next day. It would seem reasonable to at least tell them at the beginning of the week, "Class, you have three sections to complete in the book this week; I'll give you until Friday to get it done."

 

However, I realize that part of this can be a learning experience in simply being human; teachers are not always organized or fair. I think she's a good teacher---I just wish she was a little more organized!

 

I hope your son makes a good recovery! I agree about not carrying around the heavy backpack!

[djkapp]

I agree with Christine. Superstar Student is an excellent resource. My daughter (hs junior) is quite self-disciplined to begin with, but she used the course this summer and felt it was very beneficial -- especially in the dual-credit classes she is taking at our local university this fall.

[FloridaLisa]

Study habits? Ummmmm.......it depends on the kid.

 

My experience has been much like that of Gwen. First came my eldest ds, who I had to teach to outline and teach to take notes from the text and teach to drill for the test! He was so used to reading it, understanding it and being able to test well. We also had some friction but I see him grow each year as his course load gets more difficult.

 

My dd, on the other hand, has natural study skills! She organizes, takes notes, makes flashcards. ::sigh:: Nature v. nuture -- you can only do so much!

 

They are both in my AP US Gov class. Today, as I was lecturing, I told the students to start taking notes. Dd was scribbling away. Not sure I saw ds write a thing!

 

Lisa

[Moni]

Where can I buy or rent this video?

I hear about it a lot but have never seen a source.

 

Thank you

 

:)

 

YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS!!!!! Many of your questions are addressed by this guy. He is WONDERFUL. My th grader and i checked it out from the library and watched about 1/2 of it before we had to return it. He has fabulous suggestions about how to read and take notes. One thing he talked about that I never considered was having your child read the math chapter the night before the teacher lectures on it and trying to do the sample problems. They take notes as they read and then can really LISTEN to the teacher lecture and just add to the notes they already had. Anyway, lots of great tips and how to divide tasks up and such. So get it out and watch it this weekend.

 

Christine

[Michelle in MO]

You can access their main webpage through this link.

 

The name of the series is How to Become a Super Star Student. I've been watching it for the past couple of weeks, and it is really good. If you wait until summer sometime (I think July or August) the high school courses go on sale. They might go on sale another time during the year---perhaps February? Try e-mailing TCC and see what they say.

 

HTH!

[FloridaLisa]

Where can I buy or rent this video?

I hear about it a lot but have never seen a source.

:)

 

Also check your library. Mine has several of the Teaching Company series, including this one.

 

HTH,

Lisa

[Anna]

Another vote for "How to Become a Super Star Student".

 

I also have a few tools in book format that you might want to check out at amazon:

 

Learning to Learn: Strengthening Study Skills and Brain Power, by Gloria Frender, ISBN: 0-86530-141-7

 

How to Study: And Other Skills for Success in College, by Mundsack, Deese & Deese, ISBN: 0-07-140607-7

 

What Smart Students Know, by Adam Robinson, ISBN: 0-517-88085-7

[74Heaven]

Any quick and easy to scan websites that we might look at for ideas? We have watched the Superstar Student series and it was good, and we have instituted some of the things. But I would like something a little less "overall plan" and a little more nitty gritty detail?

 

Kind of like the "90minute test prep plan" kwim? or 60min etc?

 

Anyone care to take a stab at such an idea?

 

We have always outlined here with me making sure that the test "study guide or summary" section was well covered. But out last BJU history test had a 100-question study sheet for a chapter that we spent *3* days on..... I felt like the teacher should have just said KNOW EVERYTHING.

 

Thanks for any ideas

[Michelle in MO]

Any quick and easy to scan websites that we might look at for ideas? We have watched the Superstar Student series and it was good, and we have instituted some of the things. But I would like something a little less "overall plan" and a little more nitty gritty detail?

 

Kind of like the "90minute test prep plan" kwim? or 60min etc?

 

Anyone care to take a stab at such an idea?

 

We have always outlined here with me making sure that the test "study guide or summary" section was well covered. But out last BJU history test had a 100-question study sheet for a chapter that we spent *3* days on..... I felt like the teacher should have just said KNOW EVERYTHING.

 

Thanks for any ideas

 

I found these:

 

Academictips.org

 

Adprima; Effective Study Skills

 

Study Guides and Strategies

 

I think what works for one person may not work for the next. In college, what worked for me was diligently studying at least two hours (I really did!) for each hour spent in class; sometimes more. In studying for finals, I usually re-read important (highlighted) sections of the book(s) in question, and then I did something which some may consider a waste of time, but I re-copied all of my notes, highlighted the neatly re-copied notes, and then studied them again. It worked pretty well for me; I usually had no problem with essay tests. Now, chemistry---that was a different thing altogether!

 

I had to laugh at your comment about KNOW EVERYTHING. When my middle daughter started into "harder" sciences than the grammar/logic stage stuff we'd been doing, she asked my oldest how to study for the tests. My oldest just said, "Do you see this chapter? Know it!"

[Janet in Toronto]

I recommend the book Study Smarter, Not Harder. My hs-er has been going through it a chapter at a time and incorporating ideas that work for him. DH has also been perusing it and thinking about all the work-related reading he does.

 

We borrowed a copy from our public library, but it's widely available.