Helping Your Child Study Smarter

We all likely know the phrase, “Work smarter, not harder.” Is it any different to apply this concept to the work of a student? In this series of three articles, I want to explore with you specific steps you can take to help your children study smarter, not harder.

As a lifelong educator and strategic planning consultant, I have been blessed to help thousands of wonderful families and businesses set and reach their goals. What fun it has been!

You can do the same with your students. In this first article, let’s explore the first step toward helping your students study smarter.

Reaching goals involves three steps: understanding the current reality, clarifying the mission, and developing a strategy to achieve the mission. Presidents of the United States have expressed clear and motivational visions in inspiring phrases like “We will have a man on the moon” or “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!”

But as successful as those beautifully articulated missions were, these statements were not the first step in accomplishing them. Likewise, articulating the goal you or your student has is not the first step toward reaching it.

Before we articulate a vision or set a goal, we first must understand our current reality by answering the question, “Where am I now?” Both tearing down the wall and putting a man on the moon began with an understanding that something was not right with the present and that something needed to be changed.

Thus it is with our students. Future dreams are fulfilled only when dissatisfaction is felt with the present reality. A striving for something better or different is the first step, and the motivation comes when the current reality, the “where am I now” question, is answered. And it must be answered honestly: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

To help students develop effective study skills, we must first identify their current skills and be honest in that evaluation. Does the student know how to read and comprehend? Does the student do homework regularly? Does the student know how to listen effectively? Does he know how to take notes he can use?

How do you know the answers to these questions? What data do you have?

Ask yourself what you observe as you work with your student. What do you notice are his or her strengths and weaknesses? What is missing?

Do you know how your child learns best? Is she primarily an auditory learner? Does she need to move around when studying? Search the web for ways to identify your child’s learning strength.

Begin a list in a journal of the things you observe. Like the doctor getting information on a patient, you are assessing the current situation. It helps the doctor to ask questions, such as where the patient hurts. You can ask your student to tell you or have him write down his strengths and weaknesses. You can ask her what helps her learn best.

Your only goal in this phase of the journey is to understand where your student is. In the next article, we will move into Step Two: Where do I want to be?