Study Skills 

Study skills tip for may – set times for home learning

Parents: Many students come home from school and end up just waiting until they might ‘feel’ like doing schoolwork. Or else they drag everything out over the whole night. A much better way is each night have set allocated times for home learning. Many students find that learning in 20-30 minute blocks works well for them. During this time students should do homework first, then work on any assignments or upcoming tests, then use the rest of the time allocated for schoolwork to complete independent learning activities such as reviewing work they find difficult, making study notes or doing practice questions to build their skills. All distractions should be removed during this time, so students learn to focus for 20-30 minute blocks of time. It is a great idea to make a timetable of the home learning and place it on the fridge so everyone is clear when students are focusing and when they are doing other activities or having free time. 

STUDENTS: Some of the benefits for students of having set times allocated for home learning are:

• You are more likely to learn at home if you know when to start and when to end.
• You will be more effective when you remove distractions and learn to focus for 20-30 minute blocks.
• In all the times NOT allocated to schoolwork you can do whatever you like without feeling guilty about it.
• Having set times stops arguments between students and parents as everyone has agreed when the timeslots allocated to students will be.
• You know that you are definitely doing enough work for school.
• Keeping your home learning and personal life separate means you will be able to manage all of the distractions in your life and still complete your work for school.