Monday, December 3, 2018

Studying plus Cram & Cocoa

Do you know how to study? I ask students that question a lot and, quite honestly, the most common response is "no." It really isn't a surprise though. The reality is that until high school gets hard enough that you hit the wall and it no longer comes easy to you, studying isn't something you typically have to worry about and spend a lot of time focusing on.

The challenging part of studying is that what works best for one person may not be what works best for someone else. And, even if you figure out what works best for you in one particular subject area, that still doesn't mean that this particular strategy will be most effective for a different subject.

The best news is that there are lots of different ideas and strategies that you can use to develop a study strategy that works best for you! For what it is worth, think of learning to study like you think of learning to run. You already know some skills that have helped you to know how to study and to be successful - just like you already know how to run, but if you practice and really train at running, you can improve significantly and studying will work just the same. Keep working at your study strategies, practice and continue refining your technique until you find the perfect combination that works for you.


Over the next 4 days all freshman students are invited to participate in "Cram and Cocoa" sessions during your lunch periods.  This study strategy session is being provided by the Link Leaders and will be a great opportunity for students to get a jump start on effectively preparing for exams. The feedback I have heard about these "Cram and Cocoa" sessions in past years is that they are incredibly helpful.  I sincerely hope you will take advantage of their willingness to help you prepare!

You (now) have just 11 school days of classes left to not only learn and master everything you are currently covering in class, but also to go back and study to refresh the material you have covered since August when we returned to school.  


If you are struggling to find strategies to try out, I encourage you to visit the WKHS Counselor website as there are lots of examples listed.  You can also work with the Academic Assistant's in the Teaching and Learning Center (Room 209) as they have a wealth of knowledge and helpful tips for study strategies that can help you in their particular subject areas as well as studying overall.  And, last, but not least, you can also stop in and see me and I can help brainstorm proven ideas that you could try.

Happy Studying!

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