What do you consider essential 'study skills' at secondary school?

[LittenTree]

How do they (the school) teach them? How do you reinforce them at home?

TIA

[LittenTree]

Anyone?

[Donki]

Learning not to procrastinate.... (I still have to master that one though )

[startail]

I'll post tomorrow.

[Amaretti]

Is that because you are procrastinating?

[seeker]

The single most useful thing dd does is the rolling homework list on the kitchen notice board. Every bit of homework with when it's due and roughly how long it will take. We started this in year 7, and she voluntarily carriesnitno, even though she's year 11. It means she always knows where she stands, and I know when not to ask her to cook, or suggest a movie night, or tell someone she can babysit or something

[EverybodysSnowyEyed]

The biggest thing for me is making sure they learn to be self sufficient when it comes to study. Often schools/parents can hand hold too much but once you are at university you are on your own!

[weevilswobble]

Getting on with homework asap. DD does hers every night from 5-6pm and after tea if nec. Even on Friday, she never does homework at the weekend, unless its a project. (making a castle this w/e!)
I've also realised its important to have techy stuff these days, a laptop/netbook and wireless printer with scanner. Its tough on kids who dont have the kit.
Reading instilled at a v young age is utterly crucial. Imo.

[seeker]

Don't necessarily agree with homework done straight away. Learning how to judge whether it's ok to have a night off, and how to deal with three late nights in one week, or that sort of thing is vital too. Starting the week with everything done is a good habit to get into, though.

[startail]

Yes! I'm very good at it
Should be clearing a heap of junk of the bed and sleeping in it, but I'm MNing instead.
Seriously, learning to manage your time. Not leaving things to the last minute.
How to mind map and essay plan.
Reading questions and spotting the points that are relevant.
Research skills, how to get beyond Wikipedia and how to reference.
( I'm too old and have no idea how to do electronic references)

[floweryblue]

I was useless at 'study skills' when I was at school, but I was very good at being 'terrified of teacher' if I didn't hand my homework in on time. I think one of the things our schoolchildren lack is the 'in awe of authority' bit.

[Summermeadow]

LT

Sorry if this sounds too simplistic (but there again so am I sometimes)


What this seems to me to mean is

• making sure he has his bag packed so he has all right books at every lesson
  
• making sure all right books are with him when he does h/w
  
• handing homework in on time (knowing the deadline and having to plan his time in the evenings - so looking at what he needs to do for the week not just tonight & planning )
  

This is not rocket science obviously . I wish I could do it.

Also

• (As said above ) knowing where to go for reference material
  
• Being able to absorb reference material and write his own answer - not cut and paste from Wikipedia (I exaggerate for effect)
  
• sorting the relevant from the related.
  

(I say "he" because I have a DS not because these are male traits)

As for reinforcing at home I try & ask him when he can do things he wants to , given he has done his schoolwork. IE to look at a block of time rather than the next 3 hours and eg - what do you have to do by next Monday - if you get that done by Sat shall we go and see the film you want to see on Sun.


Again sorry if I have missed the point - as I read my post it sounds a bit pathetic. Would love to hear the real answer from a secondary teacher.


SM

[Summermeadow]

Oh and one more point about the home thing, Realising he is getting older & he has to do this stuff for himself. So , if he seems to have a plan which he can articulate (eg for a piece of work or revision over holidays) letting him get on with it and not standing over him making sure he is doing it.
Essentially , trusting him.

Would love to hear others' views as I am no expert - just muddling through the best I can .

[floweryblue]

SM according to DSS, he has no books. As far as I can see, he's right.

The school have issued him with some sort of slim-line personal computer with all his lessons/training tools on it.

DSS has learnt how to access all the apps on his tablet thingy, but as far as I can make out, he can play all manner of games but spelling his own name in a legible fashion is a bit tricky.

And homework is too boring.

So the school have given him a computer game assuming it will help his education. When I went to school, calculators were revolutionary (and banned in most exams)

[floweryblue]

Sorry, I'm a Luddite! (sp?)

[Summermeadow]

FB - that sounds harder !

[whoknowswho]

At my DS's school (he's Y7) they have assessments at the end of each topic in most of the subjects. They are told the lesson before that the next one will be a test and told to revise what they have done so far (the exam can include things they are currently working on plus anything covered from the start of the year) - this definitely gets them thinking about revising even if its only reading through their notes to date the night before. Before they start something new especially in subjects like history & geography, he will often have the homework "find two facts on ????, This is a good way to get them thinking about the subject and finding reference to things whether on the internet or in the library. Like you seeker my DS also puts all his homework on a whiteboard as soon as he gets home and notes when its due, this way he can learn to plan his work and have time for his (many) after school activities as well as music practice and play/rest time. I think learning to juggle homework, revising, practicing, sports, play etc is invaluble throughout life.

[LittenTree]

In some ways I think a 'problem' DS1 (Y8) has is that he doesn't do any extra-curricular activities apart from Scouts so he does seem to feel he has 'the whole evening' to arse about achieving little complete his work. I have taken to, once he has sat himself down, see what he has to do and set an appropriate 'time limit' when I tell him he will stop and however much is done- that's it, I may have to sign the work off in his log book as being the product of 40 mins 'work' but if he's happy with that, go ahead... Cue lots of moaning but as much as anything, I don't want his homework to encroach on the whole family's evening esp if he needs the family computer to do it on!

A question: DO secondary schools 'teach' DCs how to sift search engine results? I know a lot of it is experience (spotting a paid ad or placement when you see one; recognising that a post-doctoral thesis around The Subject will be far more in-depth and detailed than the Woodlands Primary school site information BUT may be too hard to access academically; knowing Wiki isn't always right etc etc.) so how do they do it?

And what is 'mind mapping'?

[MrsJAlfredPrufrock]

I used to do quite badly in end of year exams until in the third year, a lovely lovely teacher taught me the art of mind-mapping as a means of revising. She thought it was a good way of revising for chaotic artistic types, who don't process information in list form. It is a BRILLIANT way of revising for GCSEs as you can add bits of information that you know and then draw linking arrows etc. Drawing big loops, symbols and arrows makes revising a very dry subject a total joy. well almost.

And then to a Constitutional Law lecturer of mine who taught me 'examiners warm to signs of planning'. Nothing wrong with planning your essay (another mind map) in the margins before you write it and ticking the salient points off as you deal with them and then putting a big fat line through it when you've finished the essay or whatever.

[2012resolutionlesstv]

To me, one of the biggest things in yr 7 seems to be the art of personal revision. DD never had to revise in primary, recapping in class was plenty - she was good at maths and no facts you can really revise for literacy.

So being tested last term on subjects where she had to remember facts and techniques from lessons taught weeks before was a completely new concept for her, as was using her own notes. Lots of potential techniques for revision - I think everyone has to work out what suits them best. Hardly any revision at all was done for last term's tests despite my prompting but I think the experience of not being able to remember stuff she knew was in her notes was quite salutary! More evidence of revision this term and who knows, next term's end of year exams may see the emergence of a revision timetable! How well I remember those! Plus I guess scheduling revision alongside normal homework. All key skills I reckon, and very new for them.

[Amaretti]

My boys use mind maps. They also seem to be known as spider diagrams in primary school?

[LittenTree]

amaretti- do you mean your DSs use mind maps to PLAN study or to actually study?

By that I mean (I think!) does the central 'box' say 'WW2' and the legs outs say 'causes';'timeline';'key people';'key dates' etc...

or does the mind map have, in the central box 'Revision of WW2', the legs being 'check exercise book': 'check project sheet';'get mum to test me on key dates' etc.