Many students struggle for various and valid reasons, but one of the main reasons students struggle in their learning environments is due to a lack of quality study skills. I would like to discuss one specific student and their struggles with learning and how building up their study skills could improve their learning greatly.
You might have a current student who fits the same characteristics of my student and thus I want to give you three recommendations that could benefit them. My student is currently a 5th grade student and is struggling in their social studies class. They forget to do about half of their homework assignments, does larger projects at the last-minute and, as a consequence, turns in careless and incomplete work. Do you have a student or students like this? Here are some helpful suggestions.
Since the student clearly has an issue with time management based on forgetting to complete or finish assignment and continues to do larger projects at the last-minute we need to focus on creating time management for the student. Let have the student take a time management schedule exercise (Time Management Exercise) to determine where all the student’s time is being directed during the day and night. Once we are able to see what the student is doing daily with all of their time–we can then start to help them map out their day and time more appropriately. Remember–this student might have learning disabilities, so they might not be playing video games all night long. They could be spending a lot of time on other homework assignments that are harder or they might have family obligations that you are not aware of.
Let’s get the student a planner or agenda. One of the great things about the last high school that I worked at was that the provided each student a planner each school year. Check for free resources at your school or district office! Start by having the student create a daily schedule that incorporates all 24 hours. Map out eating times, sleeping, class time, athletics or other extra curricular activities. Once their daily schedule is formatted then customize the schedule for each day of the week. This is a great activity to do with your students at the beginning of the year and check on their use of the planner daily. Remember they are fifth graders and the best time to teach them to be organized is early as possible!
Get the student used to creating “To-do” lists, you can do this by setting up your classroom agenda and homework list as a check off list. Here are a couple of examples of student to-do lists:
Find our more information about the value and what to include and how to create to-do lists for students (Create To-do Lists). Lastly, have the students create long-range planners that map out the entire course and when they should be working and researching on those bigger projects.
Since my students are Special Education students, one thing that I think is important to demonstrate here is that because the student might seem lazy is not only the reason for the unfinished or incomplete homework assignments. There could be an underlying issue of comprehension or reading supports that might need to be put into place to assist the student in better understanding the material and being able to demonstrate understanding at a better rate. The same could be said for writing assignments and writing abilities.
I have recently found about an evidenced-based practice that can be beneficial in assisting students with their study skills and teaching them strategies to better understand and incorporate the information into their notes, learning and studying for assessments. This strategy uses Mnemonics to enhance student learning. According to Scruggs, Mastropieri,Berkeley & Marshak (2010), a teacher in a social studies inclusive elementary class created mnemonic pictures using stick figures and line drawings. After the teacher implemented the materials, she gave a unit test. Students with learning disabilities , scored 37 % correct on the traditionally presented content and 75 % on mnemonically presented information.
The research demonstrates that students can learn more effectively with visual enhancements. So, you might be wondering what is Mnemonic strategies? Here are some examples:
- Acronyms to memorize information, songs, and highlighting can all help students with mild disabilities remember key information
- Key words and pictures to represent concepts and information in social studies lessons can be valuable memory aids and also enjoyable for students.
- A picture of the president, for example, could be used to remember executive branch, judges for the judicial branch, senators for the legislative branch, and a flow chart to illustrate the concept of checks and balances.
Marcee Steele (2005) stated that Mnemonic strategies can be used to assist students with memory, processing, and attention problems. Try out a few of these strategies with your students who might seem to be lazy, but also might have some underlying disabilities or for your whole class to see if their learning will improve. Here are some student examples of learning with visual Mnemonic strategies:
Lastly, my student might seem as unmotivated. Many teachers struggle with trying to find ways to motivate students who are just not motivated! Do you share in this struggle? I think we all have. Well, I would like to discuss a relatively new concept that was created by Dr. Carol Dweck, titled Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Her book looks at creating or changing the mindset of a person or a student in this case to create a better look out on life. This thought process challenges the standard that intelligence and personality can be developed rather than being immutably ingrained traits.
According to Maria Popova (n.d.), Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives, at the heart of what makes the “growth mindset” so winsome, Dweck found, is that it creates a passion for learning rather than a hunger for approval.
If you as a teacher can change your students’ perspectives, intelligence and even personalities by way of “shifting” their thinking or mindset–I would think that many teachers would be eager to do so. I know there are a lot teachers who want to reach their students’ hearts, souls and lives. Dr. Dweck may have found a way. Talk to your administration about having a professional development to learn more about Dr. Dweck’s research and put her method into practice. You can also find her book on the link above. Here is a info-graphic about her study and theory:
REFERENCES
Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students’ leaning with effective learing techniques: promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58. doi:10.1177/1529100612453266
Scruggs, T. E., Mastropieri, M. A., Berkeley, S. L., & Marshak, L. (2010). Mnemonic strategies: evidence-based practices and practice-based evidence. Intervention in School and Clinic, 46(79). doi:10.1177/1053451210374985
Steele, M. M. (2005). Teaching social studies to students with mild disabilities. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 17(2), 8-10.
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