8 Steps to Help Your Child Study More Effectively
Academic
achievement and effective studying require children to be mentally and
emotionally prepared to complete their homework successfully and improve their
ability to understand and retain information.
Rushing this
process is a mistake. Pressuring children to study, memorize, and understand,
or even scolding and punishing them, without giving them sufficient time to
learn can undermine their progress.
Learning and
education experts recommend taking into account the limits of working memory
and cognitive load, while adapting teaching methods to each learner and
subject. They also emphasize that retrieval practice, spaced repetition, and
elaborative explanation can help strengthen learning.
Here are eight
practical steps to improve your child's ability to study and learn:
1.
Focus on Understanding, Not Finishing Quickly
Do not rush
your child through their homework. Make sure they understand the lesson and
grasp its meaning and content. A child might memorize a definition containing
unfamiliar words or follow the steps of a math problem without understanding
how they work.
Instead, ask
your child to explain what they have learned in their own words.
2.
Break Lessons into Smaller, Manageable Sections
Divide the
lesson or math problem into smaller parts and discuss each one with your child
verbally. Avoid rushing them to produce perfect answers. The priority is
genuine understanding, not simply giving the answers you expect.
3.
Close the Book and Practice Retrieval
Encourage your
child to close the book and recall what they have learned rather than
immediately looking back at the page. This technique, known as retrieval
practice, helps information remain accessible for longer.
According to
the Australian Education Research Organisation, retrieving information helps
make it easier to recall in the future.
4.
Let Your Child Become the Teacher
Give your child
the opportunity to explain a concept to a family member, provide an example, or
draw something related to the lesson from memory.
They can then
compare their drawing with the original material and solve similar problems to
reinforce what they have learned.
5.
Provide Constructive Feedback
If your child
cannot remember something, give them time to think before offering a small hint
or part of the answer. Revisit anything they have not fully understood.
Avoid scolding
them or repeatedly saying, “We’ve gone over this ten times!”
Forcing
children to recall information they have not understood can turn learning into
a frustrating experience.
6.
Use Spaced Repetition
Repeated
practice improves performance, but reviewing material at intervals helps
children revisit information after some time has passed and retrieve it again.
Start with a
brief review the following day, then revisit the material a few days later, and
again after a week.
7.
Prioritize Quality Sleep
Never allow
studying to come at the expense of your child's sleep.
The US Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children aged 6–12 get
9–12 hours of sleep per day, while teenagers aged 13–18 should get 8–10 hours.
8.
Incorporate Memory Games
Memory games
can help improve children's performance and cognitive abilities. However,
remember that these games are primarily for entertainment and enjoyment; they
cannot replace studying and reviewing academic material.
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