From Assistant Principals
28 August By Ashwin Pillai, Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching
Home Study Routine- A personal guide in HOW to implement an effective study routine.
Preface
Over the last few years, I have had countless emails from staff, students and parents/guardians regarding home study routine. Specifically, what it is, and how we do we effectively implement it. The definition that I will provide is essentially what I say to parents/carers and importantly to my students. A home study is essentially a process at home where you try to consolidate the knowledge and skills acquired at school. This may include working on homework and completing tasks, however there is a bigger emphasis on the process of consolidation and retention, allowing for a deeper understanding of the content and/or skill. The ‘routine’ part of the ‘home study routine’ is a concentrated effort in applying these processes daily.
As much as this seems logical and easily manageable, the issue is that for most of us the application of ‘study routine’ rarely sticks and can be ineffective. Students do study, most (if not every) night. Although what they study, how they study and where they study can contribute to how effectively they studied.
Another reason for ineffective study routine or study, in general, may be directly related to procrastination. Or specifically, academic procrastination, which can be defined as “unintentionally delaying or deferring work” (Schraw et al, 2007). Prevalent amongst adolescents and generally considered a sub-branch of general procrastination, academic procrastination is the most researched form of procrastination and the highest form of procrastination linking to the negative impact on a student’s wellbeing (Janssen, 2015).
Preparation before Application.
I will say that, in general, the most reliable way to employ an effective study routine for the long-term is to use a systematic approach (the preparation), where students identify the distractions (environment, procrastination, etc.), the non-negotiables (entertainment, sports, work dinner etc.) then create a plan of action (study timetable) and then put into practice daily (application).
Below are a few effective techniques that I have personally used and shared with students in preparing and applying a home study routine. It’s never too late.
The Preparation:
Of course, it's difficult to know in advance for each activity you will do. Nobody wants to live life on such a tight schedule, but getting a rough estimation of when you do things will be a good start. Once you have identified the key times for activities, you can move to the application.
The Application:
It is important to keep in mind that your routine with the assistance of the study timetable should be used as a guide, not as a rule book. The aim is not to stick to it 100% and live life by such regimented time-slots. If you can stick to the timetable 60% of the time, that should be considered a 'win'. Sometimes, you will get to a study timeslot, and you will just feel like relaxing - that's fine! Equally, you may get 30 minutes into an X-box game or find that you've had enough Snapchat for the day and decide it's time to hit the books. Either way, plan in advance and stay flexible too!
Closing words and further advice
Implementing a study routine is a complex and varied task. Different students study in different ways and for different reasons, which is why different solutions work better for different people.
From a student point of view, it can be pretty frustrating to hear your parents or teachers say, "are you doing enough study?" A great way to get around this is to print/email your study timetable, give your parents and teachers a copy and say "this is my plan. I will try my best to stick to it. I still need my week to be flexible, but here's a snapshot of the times I plan to be studying in."
The techniques listed here are some of the most simple and effective ones you can use in general and should be highly beneficial in most cases.
However, keep in mind that there are many other techniques you can use, some of which might work better in your particular case.
Good Luck!
Mr Ashwin Pillai- Assistant Principal- Learning and Teaching
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