At first we were concerned with October exhaustion, now, it’s time to use self-reflection to measure your academic success! Importantly, as a diligent student, you must ask yourself questions through self-reflection in critical moments. Over time, these reflective questions will build an understanding of how you best approach education, and contribute to your success as a lifelong learner. How are you doing? Have you reflected lately on your educational process? Additionally, have you taken stock of your school work and learning, noting where you did well and didn’t? Students, teachers and all in the education space may react differently to questions of self-reflection. So, it’s no wonder that reflection is important! With November coming upon us, now is the best time to take stock of your progress and for students to check in with themselves while learning. In order to make sure you getting the most out of your educational process as it continues to build over time, here are some questions to consider: What have I learned? When was a time when I struggled with learning a new concept? Where do I learn best? What are the characteristics of these places? How do I learn best? What are the tools I’m using? Who do I learn best from? With? What are their characteristics? Which subjects are the most interesting to me? Reflection drive direction Asking self-reflective questions like those above during this fall season will help you perform better as a student. Studies suggest that self-reflection helps with a “growth mindset” attributed to Carol Dweck, psychology professor of Stanford University. Those individuals who exhibit a mindset that they are able to grow and learn through their failures and challenges are able to achieve more of their goals. Self-reflection such as asking these questions, or even any others you think of, is the cornerstone to measure your academic success to ensure continuous improvement. As Shakespeare once said, “know thyself”.
Most students juggle a full course load in addition to extracurricular activities. Often, this mix of textbooks, athletic wear, and club fundraiser materials can be jumbled together. We have compiled eight fantastic organization solutions guaranteed to make Marie Kondo proud. 1. Label all of your files and folders With digital note-taking, online textbooks and virtual classrooms increasing in popularity, it can be to overlook your laptop’s organization. Create files for each course, and store all related materials accordingly. 2. Assign every item a place Within each folder, be sure to label all of your assignments and to keep track of draft numbers. There’s no panic like submitting your essay at the last-minute, only to realize you cannot locate the file. 3. Consolidate your binders into one Instead of lugging around multiple binders per class, consolidate your materials into one. Then, choose dividers with labels in order to differentiate classes. You can also use folders to store loose paper, just be sure to make each folder class-specific. 4. Maximize storage space. Use zip files to compartmentalize large pdf files. Take advantage of Sunday evenings to clean out superfluous paper and trash. Utilize double sided printing and take notes using the front and back sides of your paper. By making the most of every item and space, you will increase your sense of order and cleanliness. 5.Use a calendar or planner Write down all upcoming deadlines, events, and appointments in a planner. Make sure to include times, addresses and relevant notes to help jog your memory. If hard copy calendars aren’t your style, try Google calendar and sync the data with our email and smart devices. You’ll never be late or miss a due date again!
Reading is fundamental. This old adage has been around since the dawn of education. And it is true. While the emphasis on reading remains constant in classrooms, many teachers have a narrow definition of quality reading time. But not all students feel equally passionate about launching into a novel. There is room to expand that definition to include new forms of reading. Here are four alternative ways to incorporate reading into your life, regardless of your free time or genre preferences. 1. Utilize Digital Reading Tools Hate carrying around heavy books? Download the Kindle app on your smartphone device. You can purchase books and keep them on hand to read whenever the urge strikes. You can also purchase an e-reader like the Kindle or Nook. These devices allow you to carry multiple books with you, without the heavy burden. Particularly for high school and college students with ample textbooks, this method lightens their book bag and makes reading more convenient. 2. Find an Aggregated news Source Not into fiction? Get your nonfiction fix by using an aggregated news source. Combine all your major news subscriptions into one place with tools like the Apple News app, Inoreader etc. No more toggling between the New York Times application and BuzzFeed News. Enjoy having reputable, credible nonfiction in one single location. Skip the clickbait headlines and build a reading log you can rely upon. 3. Podcasts and Audiobooks Let’s face it–reading can be arduous or inaccessible. Whether the issue is that you’re often driving or even that you suffer from dyslexia, sometimes life simply does not afford us the luxury of staring at pages for hours on end. Audiobooks and podcasts provide quality alternatives. The amount of material available is truly astonishing. There is no decrease in selection or cost, either. Many podcasts are available free of charge, and can be streamed via bluetooth or downloaded on the go. If you’re craving a way to read more books in your spare time, but cannot get on board with visual reading, definitely give this a try! 4. Blogs Can’t find a book that interests you? Tired of reading long-form pieces? The caliber of blog content is unparalleled nowadays. You can read about virtually any topic, with just the click of a button. Find a few bloggers who create quality, regular content and subscribe. Swap chapters of book reading for swiping through engaging posts. Just be sure to find blogs that have valuable production quality and strong language skills to ensure that you continue to grow.
Start early. Start well in advance to avoid cramming. This way, you are prepared the night before an exam. Your score will be much better as a result. Build a master to-do list and a schedule for the remaining days in the semester. Break cumulative exams into smaller study units. Studying increments prevents you from feeling overwhelmed. It can also aid in monitoring your progress. Study for the style of exam. Ask about the test format, then study accordingly. Multiple choice exams mean you should know definitions and concepts. Written exams focus on your synthesis of the concepts, so study with examples in mind. Build a custom study guide. Some teachers provide study guides. But creating your own study guide can help you process the material more efficiently. Outline the important information you need to learn and to refer to it frequently while you study. Explain concepts aloud. Pretend to teach the material to someone. Use your own words to assess your comprehension. This will aid your memory and help identify growth areas. Use your friends and family as guinea pigs to teach. Use focus tools. For example, music can help you focus. Listen to music you already know all the words to, but don’t feel compelled to sing along. If it becomes a distraction, try a different focus tool. Find a study buddy. You and your friends should make a study guide for the final exam separately. Then review the topics together. But do not split the work. You do not want to miss something. Quiz yourself. Think about and create mock exam questions. You will become more familiar with what you need to study. Also, making questions helps familiarize yourself with the type of language used on the exam. You will be able to set expectations of what you need to focus on by doing so. Promote relaxation. One example is listening to calming music. You can also stretch, breathe deeply, or meditate. De-stressing can release negative thoughts and boost your confidence. Go to bed early the night before. Sleep is crucial. “All-nighters,” aka staying up throughout the night to study, are harmful. Studies indicate that late night studying without sleep will actually hurt your performance. So get a good night’s sleep before your test.
Summer vacation is a magical time for children all across America. No schoolwork, no early mornings and no responsibility. Amid all the fun in the sun, however, summer break can also pose risks to your child’s education. According to The Brookings Institution for research, there are three major drawbacks of summer vacation with regard to a student’s education: “on average, students’ achievement scores declined over summer vacation by one month’s worth of school-year learning, declines were sharper for math than for reading, and the extent of loss was larger at higher grade levels.” Bearing this in mind, what is a parent to do in order to counteract the uglier aspects of this “summer slide” phenomenon? Summer Reading Programs One of the most effective methods for maximizing learning opportunities during the summer is to have your child participate in a summer reading program. Nearly all public libraries in the nation program summer reading into their calendars, and some even offer incentives and prizes for successful completion of the program. Similarly, bookstores like Barnes and Noble organize summer reading programs in tandem with their children’s books departments. Activities like story time sessions and interactive reading games help to bolster excitement around reading for younger children. Summer School There is a slight stigma regarding summer school that those who attend are lagging in their studies. On the contrary, summer school can be an opportunity to get ahead as well. Before the spring term ends, reach out to your child’s school counselors to get additional information regarding curriculum, cost and enrollment. Math Prep In addition to reading, math abilities are at a risk of taking a nosedive during your child’s summer months of recreation. Fortunately, there are many possibilities for practicing math in between trips to the pool, and not all of them need to be costly. Mathnasium offers summertime math programs online for all grade levels. Most local colleges and universities offer math camps and courses for a few weeks out of the summer as well. If you do a bit of digging, you are sure to find a practical math practice regimen that suits your student’s needs. No matter how you decide to tackle the “summer side,” we hope you and your child make the most of the break by boosting their academics. Good luck!
You might believe that identifying when a child is struggling in school is a cinch. Surely, all a parent needs to do is review their child’s progress report or report card for scores below a “B” average, right? If that’s not enough, then obviously any attentive teacher worth his or her salt will promptly notify the parents of academic missteps from their little one. This is not a tried-and-true rule. While using grades as performance markers may seem self-explanatory in evaluating a child’s learning abilities, sometimes the challenges a student encounters in school do not always manifest via test scores or classroom conduct. Often, parents and educators must use additional indicators to take a closer look into lags of academic achievement. Consider your child’s pace when approaching their schoolwork. Does he or she complete all tasks within the recommended time allotted by teachers, or do they spend far longer on homework that should only take thirty minutes? Consider that when a concept is not well-solidified mentally, it takes longer to apply this concept to assignments. The inverse is also worth examining. Students who claim to finish a weeklong project in just shy of an hour might be avoiding academic struggles. Note that when a child misunderstands an assignment, it can cause frustration that breeds an attitude of dismissal and/or resignation. Instead of tackling the obstacle of confusion directly, some children may opt to ignore it. This leads to overwhelming amounts of late assignments, stressful cram sessions and lower scores. In either case of pacing, hiring a tutor might be useful for pinpointing specific areas for academic growth, and to create a more measured study regimen to complete homework and assignments. Aside from issues of time management and pace, students who are struggling in school may demonstrate this through changes in attitude. For instance, some children may lose confidence in class. Whereas they may have initially been raising their hands and openly participating, feeling confused about concepts can cause them to withdraw. Unsure of whether this pattern applies to your young pupil? Reach out to their instructors to discuss in-class performance. Kids may also lose enthusiasm for learning due to frustration or boredom. It is not uncommon to hear students profess to “hate school,” typically starting around the second or third grade. This is likely because the core curriculum for most public and private schools noticeably increases in difficulty when a child turns seven or eight-years-old, making some students may feel like they cannot keep up with the demand of their classes. A tutor who can transform learning into a fun and engaging experience stand to impact students who feel undermotivated or discouraged in a constructive way. Isolating the cause for your student’s underperformance in school could prove pivotal to their feelings towards school in general. Catch lags and missteps early, invite a tutor to help hone your child’s abilities, and watch them soar!
You may find yourself wondering why tutoring is important for kids or when it is needed. There are many reasons that tutoring is important for kids, more than could ever be explained in a single blog post, but we did our best collecting information on why children need tutoring and what tutoring can do for them. Every child learns in their own way. What works for one child does not always work for another. At times, it does not matter how well your child’s teacher explains the material, your child may need more time to practice the skill or understand the content. Tutoring provides an opportunity for one-on-one instruction to help a child learn in their own way. One good need for tutoring occurs when children move in the middle of the school year and the new school is at a different place than the old school. Children are to be taught certain standards every year for their grade, but how or when they are taught is up to that school district. Your child may struggle because they may have missed things they should know already for their new school. A tutor can help fill the gaps that happened as a result of the move and change of curriculum timing. There are many other reasons why a child may struggle and need a tutor. It does not mean that the parent, student, or the teacher did anything wrong. Some of it has to do with the cognitive ability to receive the information and receive it well. As you may have noticed, schools have become more sophisticated with the way subjects are taught. Through these innovations, subject matters become more integrated and developed. Because of this they are more challenging for students. Sometimes, kids may find it hard to cope with their lessons. Tutoring allows your child to cope with the material they learn in school. It provides your child with the leverage that they need in handling the subject matter. Tutoring is a personal approach that allows you to convey the information to the person you’re tutoring effectively, helping them improve in school performance. Tutoring is also important because it helps children prepare for future standard tests. This is accomplished because the tutor and your child work on mastering what they are having problems with. This will effectively allow your child to tackle tests with full preparation and confidence. Many high-profile executives and inventors struggled in school at different points in their life. Some had tutors and others did not. Albert Einstein was a great example of a genius who admittedly did terrible in school. Imagine what would have come if he had tutor to help him through the difficult times? Tutoring is an important asset to the development of your child’s performance and confidence. It helps your child learn and grow to their full potential when it comes to subjects at school. This effectively provides a sense of fulfillment and progress in their studies, as challenges are becoming more evident at school. As a result, tutoring is important if you want to help your child cope with the increasing difficulty of the school system. A tutoring service will help your child out in building that confidence and coping with school. Tutoring can be very important to kids. I am not saying that every child needs a tutor. You have to use your judgment to decide what is best for you and your child.
With the holiday break over, it’s time to start getting back to classes. When it comes to classes, it is always great to have a couple of apps to help keep things organized and running smoothly. Both Apple and Android have a wonderful selection of apps to help you get started. Here are the “Top 7 Apps” to get you started for college in the New Year: Dictionary.com Dictionary.com is a great vocabulary building app. It is great for helping you get ready for exams. With over 2,000,000 definitions, you are sure to find any word you are looking for. The main app is free. It does have ad banners that allow it to be free. It has search history, word origin and history, word of the day, synonyms, antonyms, a thesaurus, and much more. The IOS version and Android version are both very popular and growing apps. Quizlet Quizlet is a great study tool. Filled with millions of flashcard study sets for several topics that have already been created by both high school and college students. If you can’t find the subject that you are looking for, it’s very easy to make your own. You can also use images and audio in your flashcard sets. It is great for adding variety to your learning process. The IOS version and Android version both average a 4.2 star rating.This is a handy app that every college student should keep around. Google Drive Google Drive is a wonderful resource for taking and keeping notes, drawing diagrams, creating spreadsheets, and building presentations. The great thing about Drive is the cloud storage, which allows access any computer or mobile device that is connected to the internet. Google Drive is a collection of cloud based “Office” programs that include spreadsheets, documents, presentations, diagrams, and more. You get 15GB of free storage and you have the option to purchase more if needed. You can sign up with an email address. If you have a Google account, you automatically have an account. The IOS version has 37,190 reviews with a 4 star rating. The Android version has 1,046,549 reviews with a 4.3 star rating. Make sure to take advantage of this wonderful tool! Wi-FI Finder Between checking your grades online to checking out what is on the menu in the cafeteria, you won’t get far in college without WiFi. This app is great for finder of all the free internet hotspots in your area. Learn more about the IOS version and Android version,as this app is a great one to keep around to minimize mobile data and keep connected. Amazon Kindle The Amazon Kindle is a great app, if you like to read e-books. You can turn your smartphone into a book library. You can use this app to organize all your eBooks and read them offline. A great thing about the Amazon Kindle is that it has a built in dictionary so you easily find the meaning of a word while you are reading. Check out the IOS version and Android version with an average rating of 4.1.. Whether it is a book for a class or for pleasure, this is an app you want to keep around! Evernote Evernote is one of the top apps for taking notes. It has cool features like bookmarking, composing, clipping, and much more. It even has a to-do list to keep you on track! You can sync it to an online account. So you are taking notes on your phone you can access them later on your computer. There is both a free version and a paid version. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the many features available be sure check out this comprehensive beginner’s guide. Check out the IOS version and the Android version with an average rating of 4.6. Mathway If Math is a weak spot for you, then Mathway is a great app for you! It does all the work for you when it comes to solving the problem. The app does everything from Arithmetic to Geometry. It also does Theorems to Calculus. It helps make your math classes a little easier, with less headaches. Check out the IOS version and Android version. Now you have a few more tools to help you better succeed in 2016. Make sure to share with other students apps that you love, as this is the best way to help one another get through the tougher parts of school. Don’t forget that these apps aren’t just for college students!
What is tutoring? That is a very good question, When using the dictionary, tutoring is defined as “a person charged with the instruction and guidance of another.” A question many ask is why would you need a private tutor? The purpose of tutoring is to help students through teaching them to become independent learners who will eventually no longer need a tutor and have the tools to grow their education independently. A tutor provides expertise, experience, and encouragement but they do not provide “answers.” Instead a tutor assists in problem solving and helping you learn how to get the answers on your own.The challenge is to focus on assignments within the context that they are assigned. There are tremendous benefits to tutoring, let’s look at some of them. Benefits of Tutoring: Encourages a higher level of thinking Permits advanced students to study lower level material without embarrassment Increases ability to manage your own learning and study strategies Increases subject specific knowledge Increases related general knowledge Provides more empathy with the student Offers individualized, systematic, structured learning experience Provides greater congruence between teacher and learner Improves academic performance Improves attitude toward subject area Motivates self-directed learning Provides intensive practice Improves your self esteem Content knowledge is an essential ingredient for a tutor. However, to be truly effective, a tutor must combine content knowledge with empathy, honesty and humor. Empathy requires a tutor to “read” the emotional states, attitudes and perceptions of their students. It is also the ability to see others from their personal frame of reference, and to communicate this understanding to the person involved. In order for tutors to establish a supportive relationship with their students, tutors must be open and honest. We often find that students are reluctant to talk with a stranger about their academic problems. If a tutor is perceived as genuine with a strong desire to listen, students are often more willing to open up and discuss their problems. Surprisingly, Humor can play an important part in a tutoring session. Humor helps reduces tension and shared laughter is a powerful way to reinforce learning. If a tutor uses humor, it can set students at ease and increase rapport. Humor can also be used to compliment, to guide or to provide negative feedback in a positive manner. In addition, a successful tutor demonstrates a caring attitude. Caring consists of being organized for the tutoring session and being punctual. It also consists of establishing a learning relationship with the student, developing unique teaching strategies, and becoming familiar with the learning process. Ultimately, tutoring is sharing yourself with another student in a way that makes a positive difference in both your lives. All-in-all, tutoring is a wonderful resource for students of all ages and needs.
As parents, it is so important to help our children as they learn to read. Our job is to help them grow the skills that they are working on to lead to reading growth. At times, it can be difficult to know where to begin when helping your new reader. If you are a parent who feels lost on where to begin with your growing reader, use some of these tips below: Remember to always go slow when beginning with your new reader. When first learning to read, you can never go slow enough, at times. Always keep this in mind as you help your child. Have your child read out loud the words from the book. Reading out loud is one of the best ways a younger reader can develop their skills. While reading out loud, have your child sound out each letter to help them put together words. The best way to start helping your child is through your local Library. Begin making weekly trips to the library where there are no distractions around. The library is a quiet, easy place for the two of you to concentrate and spend time together. Spending this time alone will help your child build their confidences and get them on the road to being a great reader. Many libraries have story nights which is great for your new reader. Having them listen to the story while following along to the words in the book. Find a book that comes with a CD to listen to in the car. Have them listen and read along to the story as it is read on the CD. You can always try to find a book that also comes with a CD. That makes car rides a little more fun. They can read the words as the story is being read. This will make road trips a little more fun and keep their minds and eyes in a book. This will also keep your younger ones learning too! This will open their minds up as much as your new reader! The more you get them interested in books, the better off they are! As you read together, begin going over what they read and talking about the story. Comprehension is a strong part of reading that leads to better reading skills. Ask your child questions about the story: Who was in the story? What happened in the story? Teaching your child to pay attention to the story as they read is important to their reading growth along with something that they will be tested on later on. If your child feels frustrated by the idea of remembering what they read, then take it slowly. Always remember to be there for your child as they read. Never read what they should be reading to get the work done quicker for your child. The first year of reading in school is one of the most important years. Finding new books at their reading level helps bring interest to your child. There are plenty of reading books to pick from at your local library and/or library.
