Do you still have that How To Manual that came with your student? No? Maybe I can help. This is one of the more typical issues moms have when questioning their parenting effectiveness.
An Awesome Mom’s Question
Dear Deborah,
What is your best tip for students that need to learn a large quantity of information in a short period of time?
Awesome Advice for Moms of Students Who Need to Study Effectively
Do you have a huge amount of content that you need to learn in a short period of time? How can you study effectively? Whether it’s for school, or for work, if faster is better, well then, you have to study your way.
Having said that, if you’re going to study your way, you have to know what your way is. Unfortunately, an awful lot of people don’t know what their way is.
No problem. I got you.
Go download the Learning Styles Inventory. which I adapted from the Georgia Department of Education. This “quiz” will reveal your preferred way to take in information, your most efficient way to retain it, or your Learning Style. Taking this quiz, or one like it (there are a lot of them out there), is well worth your time, because once you identify your Learning Style, you can research strategies to optimize it.
More importantly, Mom, if your Learning Style differs from your child’s, you can stop trying to help her learn the way you think she should be learning, and help her learn in the manner best suited to her actual Learning Style.
Here are a few examples of techniques for effective studying, ways to optimize your content retention when trying to learn a lot of material in a short amount of time:
Effective Study Strategies For Auditory Learners:
- Read the text aloud with a tape recorder
- Record classes, and study by listening to the playback
- Use Audiobooks for reading assignments
- Listen to recorded online lectures to supplement lessons
- Discuss/study aloud with a buddy
Effective Study Strategies For Visual Learners:
- Take detailed notes to better absorb the information
- Highlight and color code important points
- Use diagrams, illustrated textbooks, videos, flip-charts, hand-outs
- Find free printable worksheets/workbooks to supplement the topic
- Read about the topic (books, articles, etc.)
Effective Study Strategies For Kinesthetic Learners:
- Use flash cards to drill vocabulary or historical facts
- Create flowcharts, diagrams or posters of the content
- Pace while watching videos on a topic, and take breaks to review the material
- Highlight your notes with highlighter pens, or write in different color inks
- Use removable transparent sticky notes to highlight textbooks
What Is the Right Way to Learn?
(Spoiler Alert: There is no right or wrong way to learn.) The truth is, by using strategies that match your preferred learning process, you will retain facts and figures more efficiently, and have better retention over time. Even if you do things differently than your teacher (or boss), you can achieve success anyway by employing your best strategies on your own.
My final bit of advice: Don’t wait for tests or exams to come around. Take the Learning Styles Inventory now. Then, have your students take it, so they can finish the year out strong. Up that retention rate today!
Have fun with your kids!
Happily,
Deborah
Hey, Moms!
This advice applies to any and all school-age kids, including college schoolers and grad schoolers. The sooner they learn how they learn, the easier it is to succeed.
For even more Parenting Strategies, sign up for my monthly newsletter, Merry Meddling.
You can also find a lot more in-depth information on this topic in my book, How To Keep Your Daughter From Slamming the Door.
About the Author
Are you overwhelmed or frustrated with your role as a parent? Deborah Ann Davis (B.S. in Science Education, M.Ed. in Supervision, and W.I.T.S Personal Trainer Certified) is a parenting coach and strategist who can help you sort things out.
Whether you’re looking to bring more positivity into your life, or you’re ready to seek the advice of a Parenting Coach, she’s eager to help you put happiness back into parenting.
Deborah has decades of experience dealing with teenagers – as a mother, and as an educator. Over the years, she has helped hundreds of families using her expertise.
Learn how to improve your mother-daughter relationship today. Every minute you delay prolongs the isolation your child feels while disconnected from you. She’s waiting for you to figure it out, so why not skip the “trial and error” parenting route?
Don’t forget to book your free Clarity Consult.
