Book For DD15 to improve learning skills?

[thowell]

Dd15 has really struggled this year in 9th grade. I have realized that even though she is a very smart girl, she lacks the solid skills on how to learn or how to study. I am working with her on a few things but could really use a good guide for me and her. Any suggestions?

[Chrysalis Academy]

I would highly recommend the Coursera class Learning How to Learn, paired with the book A Mind for Numbers.  It made a big impact here.

 

https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn/home/info

 

http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Numbers-Science-Flunked-Algebra/dp/039916524X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1437227535&sr=1-1&keywords=a+mind+for+numbers

 

Another good book on the mindset to bring to learning - less on specific guidelines of how to study - is the short book The Five Elements of Effective Thinking by Berger & Starbird.

 

http://www.amazon.com/5-Elements-Effective-Thinking/dp/0691156662/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1437227563&sr=1-1&keywords=the+five+elements+of+effective+thinking+edward+b.+burger+michael+starbird

[yvonne]

Cal Newport's books, How to be a High School Superstar, How to Win at College (useful strategies one can use in high school, too), and How to Become a Straight A Student, have some down to earth, practical, immediately usable ideas. The books are also an easy read.  I'd start with the Straight A Student one.

[Colleen in NS]

Study is Hard Work by William H. Armstrong 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Study-Hard-Work-Accessible-Available/dp/156792025X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437234492&sr=8-1&keywords=study+is+hard+work

[raristy]

This series of 5 youtube videos, How to Get the Most Out of Studying by Samford University, really helped my kids:

 

http://www.samford.edu/departments/academic-success-center/how-to-study/

 

The corresponding Teacher's Guide (at bottom of site above listed) is really helpful. Also Khan Academy put out a good overview of the growth mindset into a brief teacher's guide https://s3.amazonaws.com/KA-share/Toolkit-photos/FINAL%20Growth%20Mindset%20Lesson%20Plan%20(April%202015).pdf. I highly recommend these. While these are not books, it's a good way to get started on the topic and follow up with the books recommended above.

 

Rosa

[yvonne]

How about the Study Skills class being offered by The Well Trained Mind Academy? The syllabus looks really good.

 

I'm thinking about that one for my rising 8th grader. What I like about it is that it doesn't look like there's a bunch of busywork.  From the syllabus, it looks like they hand in a weekly log about what they've done/are doing for their actual core subjects. Study skills directly & immediately applied to the courses they're actually doing!  No abstract, "If you're studying this type of subject, use this list of skills/strategies" to be used, maybe, in some future course/s. 

 

So, I'm hoping that, instead of being yet another bunch of assignments she has to do, it will simply spell out and support her in effectively studying for the classes she's taking.  It will at least force her to plan and think about how she's studying instead of her current wait-until-an-hour-before-class-to-do-the-assignment approach.