From the Sidelines

For a student to study effectively away from the classroom, they need a designated study space at home. However, lots of students often fall into the trap of studying in places that their body is used to relaxing in. Here's a look into how you can create the best and most effective space for your child to study.
 

Children may say that they work better when they are listening to music, or have the tv on in the background, but if we want to do the very best we can on a task, then we need to give it 100% focus. We need silence if we want to think deeply.

Even if your child has their phone on silent, there is still the burning temptation to constantly check it for any notifications or messages if it’s within arms reach. In this episode, we dive in to the useful ways in which you can help prevent this and ultimately improve your child's study!

Making sure that your child gets adequate rest and sleep every night is essential for not only a healthy lifestyle, but it also plays a major part in the learning process. As parents, we need to start thinking about our child’s body like an athlete does in the build up to a competition or event.

The last thing that anyone wants to do is to have to get up to get something when they have been deep in concentration. This results in the same situation as a distraction from a mobile phone notification - a loss in concentration, rhythm and study flow.

The best way to ensure that your child is studying for an optimum amount of time, is to use the well known Pomodoro technique. This technique for studying splits a study period up into 25 minute segments, followed by a 5 minute break.

The more often we recall information, the easier it is to recall it in the future. Each successful retrieval lets you retrieve it at a longer delay.

Flashcards are the easiest and most effective way to recall information so that it sticks in your long-term memory. Let’s look at how to create them, use them and organise them in the best way possible…

The science behind how our children learn best can often be a little overwhelming, but sometimes the simplest ways are the best. Let’s take a look at one of the best and easiest ways for your child to quiz themselves on something they have already learned...

In this episode, we explore a technique that works in a similar way to a ‘brain dump’ or ‘blurting’, but this time it doesn’t have to be something your child learned in the past, it can be used very effectively to see how much they have just taken in and understood, from something they have just read.