Timely Tips #11: The Study Zone

Tips and tidbits I’ve gleaned over the years from kids, parents, teachers, professional development, and personal experience.

When I was reading Homework Made Simple, I found out about The Study Zone.  Ilene Schwartz, M.Ed, has created a portable work station with built-in organizational strategies.  It is designed to help students become more independent with homework, as well as being useful in other learning situations. The Study Zone is $39.00 plus shipping and handling. You can download more information about The Study Zone here .

S.O.A.P. Stuff #7: To Memorize or Not to Memorize?

Social, Organization, Attention, and Processing Stuff

What’s the point of memorizing anything, anyway?  Listen to this podcast for a discussion on this topic.

I would have liked a little more focus on how important it is to get certain kinds of information into long-term memory, so that our working memory can be more efficient.

What do you think? Is it important to “know things by heart?”  What are memorization techniques that work well for you and your kids/students?

Book Bytes: Homework Made Simple

I love to read! I’ll share my thoughts (book bytes instead of sound bites) on old favorites and new books for children and adults here.

I haven’t read this book yet, but some of the author’s tips are in this article from ldonline.

I’ve used the highlighter tape idea with many of my students, not just as a way to note important information, but also as a ‘search tool.’  I’ve asked students to use it to highlight synonyms, vocabulary words, parts of speech, main idea/details, even words/phrases that describe the setting or a character’s traits.

I’ve ordered a review copy of the book, so I’ll let you know what else the author has to say.  In the meantime, you can see some of her suggestions in her videos here.

Book Bytes: Online Learning

I love to read! I’ll share my thoughts (book bytes instead of sound bites) on old favorites and new books for children and adults here.

Do you have a high school senior or a current college student in the family?In this day and age, they probably will take at least a class or two online.

This book, Online Learning: A User-Friendly Approach for High School and College Students by Leslie Bowman, would be a terrific last minute stocking stuffer (you can get it on Kindle, Nook, and iPad!)

While the strategies for self-directed learning are designed to help the student be successful in online classes, many will also help the first-time college student develop the skills needed to manage their overall college learning experience.

It’s an easy to read book, and I recommend it highly!

S.O.A.P. Stuff #3: The Effort Effect

Social, Organization, Attention, and Processing Stuff

Interesting article with some implications for motivating our kids.

The Effort Effect

“People with performance goals, she reasoned, think intelligence is fixed from birth. People with learning goals have a growth mind-set about intelligence, believing it can be developed.”

and

“Study skills and learning skills are inert until they’re powered by an active ingredient,” Dweck explains. Students may know how to study, but won’t want to if they believe their efforts are futile. “If you target that belief, you can see more benefit than you have any reason to hope for.”

and

“Dweck’s study showed that praising children for intelligence, rather than for effort, sapped their motivation.”