Improve Study Skills through "Gilt by Association"

The older we get, the more gilded memories we acquire. Helping a student gild her memories is easier if you encourage association. To illustrate: Imagine that this sequence of letters and numbers below is very important to you. Study it for 30 seconds.

                                                VJK51EXP1421S

Cover the page now and try to recall the sequence.

• You may have repeated the sequence over and over in your head like a loop of audio or videotape.
• You may have said the sequence in some kind of rhythm or chant.
• You may have written it out.

Here's another way to remember the thirteen bits of information (a number beyond the conscious mind's ability to retain as single units). If you can "chunk" the information into more meaningful bits, you'll be able to recall it more easily. For example,

 Vinny, Joe, and Kevin bought 51 EXlax pills and gave them to 1,421 students.

The story makes the nonsense combination of letters and numbers easier to remember because there's now a natural, logical flow to the combination.

Recalling information that does make sense is a lot easier than non-sense recitation. Making associations will help enormously with both recall-situations.

More Tips

You can do this as a family exercise. First, though, have ready one penny for each person who will be sitting at the dinner table tonight. Hand out paper and pencil and ask each person to draw both sides of a penny from memory. Allow only 60 seconds for the task.

Then pass out the pennies and see who correctly recalled the most details. You can designate the first school day of the week as Memory Monday and do the same task with familiar objects.

The association-tip works well, too, with the dreaded name-recall. Associate the person's name with the name of famous person who has the same name. Have the family choose new names for themselves and try the association-trick.

In our study skills program at KnowledgePoints, we teach a variety of strategies to remember information. Offered indivdually or in a workshop format, we help students develop the discipline to learn effectively each day, which helps them as important tests and projects rapidly approach.  For more information call us at 973-593-0050.

Homework & Studying: Practice, Practice, Practice

How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?

You've no doubt heard the joke about the out-of-towner who asks a seasoned New Yorker, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"

"Practice, practice, practice," he was told.

Authors Amy Chua and Malcolm Gladwell endorse practice as one aspect of the learning process. But, for every educational tenet, you'll find an equal and opposing point of view. Concerning rote memorization, there are attackers and defenders on both sides of the issue. You, yourself, may not be in favor of it. But at least consider the views of Justin Snider, who argues for it in his recent post (http://hechingered.org/content/rote-memorization-overrated-or-underrated_3351/). Memorization is simply a matter of practice. he maintains. And few would argue with practice as a way of reaching Carnegie Hall or any other noteworthy goal.

Gladwell, in fact, says your child can achieve international stardom if he or she is willing to spend 10,000 hours practicing a given skill. This figure translates to three hours a day over a ten-year period.

Neither you nor your child has this kind of time. And, neither of you, in all likelihood, is seeking worldwide acclaim. Honor roll and admission to a good college are more likely goals. If you are interested in enriching your child's learning beyond the what-gets-tested-get-taught curriculum, however, here's a family-oriented exercise that will help improve everyone's mind.

FAST-FORWARD RECALL

It's possible to recall things from the past. It's also possible to train your brain to remember things in the future. Yes, you can tie a string around your finger or write things on a calendar. But you can also work with your child (or the whole family) in this way. Be sure a large clock is visible to everyone around the table. At exactly 6 pm (any hour will do), say, "The first person who remembers to raise his or her hand at 6:15 will get a special reward."

Then go about the family business. Serve dinner. Discuss the day's events and wait. Ask if anyone wants seconds. The person who remembers to raise a hand at the appointed time should be applauded. He probably has "prospective memory." You can help others develop it through repeated exercises.

At KnowledgePoints, we employ many different learning techniques for students in our curriculum-based math, reading and SAT prep programs.  Although we resist "drilling" our kids into a stupor, we do make sure that they practice each essential skill until they achieve mastery.  Practice, Practice, Practice.

Help With Math: Calling 911

You can't help but smile after watching/listening to this video.  Whether it was staged or is the real deal, I’m not sure.  Still, wouldn’t it be nice if our kids, when struggling with math or any other subject, would proactively make their own figurative  911 call?  To the teacher?  To a class mate?  To us, the parents?

Sometimes, kids can hide their struggles, only to have them surface with the arrival of an interim progress report or grading period report card.  Who knew?   There are some tell tale signs you should be aware of:

1. Homework takes much longer than it should.  If your 4th grader spends more than 30 minutes on his math homework – he’s probably having difficulties with the problems.
2. If your daughter, not normally prone to procrastination,   goes into homework delay mode, it may not necessarily mean that she’s just feeling lazy.
3. If you persistently detect any level of despondence during homework times, there’s a good chance that not only is she struggling, but she’s feeling really bad about it.  

What should you do?

1. Encourage your child to get extra help from the teacher or other in-school tutoring support services (Homework clubs, before and after school help, etc.)
2. Take advantage of parent-teacher conferences.  Many teachers will also meet with outside of the prescribed conference period.
3. If practical, explore private tutoring options. 

Whatever the approach you take, make sure you take quick action.  Kids who struggle can fall behind quickly, and playing catch-up can be frustrating and difficult.  If your child doesn’t make the 911 call herself, help her pick up the phone.
 

Can Rearranging the Furniture Help Your Child Learn?

In an article titled Blame the Furniture for the Poor Education, the author discusses ways in which furniture (and its arrangement within the classroom) can facilitate a positive learning environment for students.   Although, not specifically cited, the author references recent studies that suggest that teachers, by controlling the environment (where students sit, how desks are arranged, and where other environmental stimuli) can purposely or unknowingly affect a child’s interaction and ultimate success within the class environment. 

As the author states “Sensory stimulation is another effect of a good classroom setting. For children, it is easier to learn in a very appealing classroom- like the elements of the things that would appeal to the senses are there. Pictures, colors, sound, and so forth. The arrangement of furniture affects space allocation and space allocation has effects to the learning atmosphere. If the classroom looks narrow and small for students, they feel restricted and they do not interact well. On the other hand, if a classroom provides adequate space, students feel that there is space for interaction.”

Environmental considerations are important in the home as well.   In our study skills tutoring program at KnowledgePoints, in addition to core topics such as note taking strategies, techniques for remembering information and time management, we also help students identify their learning style --- and embrace it.   Embracing a learning style can include setting up the right environment – a throw pillow on their bed for reading, for example or taking a break every 20 minutes to walk around.  Some students can settle in to homework and studying time with background music.

When my kids were younger, they each set up a “chill space” where they could retreat and “chillax.”   My eldest cleared out the bottom of her small closet and decorated with it pillows, stuffed animals, pictures and a small light fixture.  For a time, this was the place where she would frequently read or do homework.

When you eat dinner or watch T.V, you want to be comfortable, right?  Why wouldn’t you want the same (if not more) for studying and homework?

Think Tutoring offers study skills and other subject tutoring programs (Math, Language Arts, Reading) to students of all grade levels at its center in Florham Park and serving the surrounding communities of Morristown, Livingston, Madison and East Hanover.  For more information, contact us at 973-593-0050.

Improved Math & Reading Skills Can Help in Science

Citing a 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress  (NAEP) report, known as the Nation’s Report Card, Joanne Jacobs blogs that  most American students most American students aren’t “proficient” in science.   The report illustrates that only 34 percent in fourth grade, 30 percent in eighth and 21 percent in 12th grade scored proficient or higher; one percent of high school seniors have the advanced science knowledge and skills that lead to careers in science and technology.

In her article, a number of leading educators offer up reasons for these low scores.   Some argue that science has taken a back seat to math and language arts, which are much more closely watched for NCLB-related state assessments.   Others disagree arguing that many school districts with high reading and math scores also have high science scores.  The point being that you can’t do well in science if you don’t read well. 

I agree, and also wonder if there a correlation between low science scores and aptitude in the social sciences.   Like science, social science (history, geography, etc.) text books and resources are dense with information, requiring sound reading skills as well as the discipline to approach new information methodically — reading and re-reading, taking effective notes, proactively learning new vocabulary.

That said, good math skills are also important for science. Even at the elementary school level, students need to master basic skills of interpreting graphs and diagrams to do well in 4th and 5th grade level science.

Solid reading and math skills are the foundation…without this, the ability to grasp more difficult concepts — experiment design, formulas, theory and purely scientific nomenclature can be increasingly difficult as students move up in school.  If your child struggles with sciences and social sciences, you should take a good and hard look at how well he/she reads and how well he computes and understands numbers.