Bad Grades? Here's what to Do

If your student is getting bad grades, you want to be supportive, but you also want to ensure that their academic performance improves. While it’s natural to get upset by bad grades, your student may lack the skills they require to do a better job. You can help them to take responsibility for their academic performance and provide them with the much-needed tools to get the job done.

What’s the problem?

Every student has a bad test from time to time, but if you notice a marked decline in a particular subject or in overall grades, it’s time to take action. First speak with your student to try to ascertain what the problem is. Don’t be discouraged if they can’t tell you; it may be that they just don’t know why they aren’t doing as well as their fellow students.

Speak with their teachers; your teachers are the best resource for finding the root of the problem. Problems may range from getting distracted in class, not being organized, lacking study skills or simply forgetting to complete assignments. You should also investigate the possibility of social issues like bullying.

Fixing the foundations

If your student has gaps in their knowledge, then the more their teachers build on these foundations, the less they will understand. If you suspect that this may be the issue, then get an in-home tutor to evaluate your student’s knowledge. They will be able to tell what kind of an understanding they have of the subject matter and help to fill in the gaps.

In-home tutors are able to work individually with your student so that they are able to catch up and show rapid improvement. They are also able to work in a situation where your student feels comfortable and confident. As they progress, they will feel more confident, and will be more likely to ask and answer more questions. They may be too intimidated or shy to ask questions in class.

Study skills

Teachers don’t always have the time to teach both the course material and study skills. Your student may need help with the way they study. Start by asking your tutor or teacher to ascertain what learning style suits your student best. Then show them how to convert their course materials into a format that is more accessible to them. For example, if your student is a visual learner, they can remember material by creating a mindmap, flashcards or an inforgraphic. Ensure that your student knows how to properly study, summarize and revise and how to estimate how much time they should leave for studying.

Get organized

Being organized isn’t something that comes naturally for most students. If your student often forgets about assignments and tests, loses items or doesn’t hand work in, they may need help with organizational skills. Find a calendar that works best for them. This can be a diary, a smartphone app, a whiteboard; anything that helps them to member important upcoming events.

Ensure that you check their calendar every day and help them to fill in the tests, exams and assignment’s they have coming up. Block out time between extramural activities when they are set to do their homework or study. Ensure that they have enough time to complete their schoolwork and help them to prioritize tasks.

Waiting Until Later To Procrastinate - Study Tips

With the midterms coming up, do you find yourself cleaning your room, organizing your closet and spending time with your younger siblings? You’re not going crazy, you’re just procrastinating. Procrastinating is the art of putting off studying at all costs. Finding a million things that absolutely have to be done is your way of delaying the tasks you find overwhelming or intimidating. You may feel like the mountain of work you need to get through is daunting, but delaying only causes more stress. Here are some ways to get going.

1. Make a schedule: Divide your study time into manageable chunks. Start slowly at first and then study for longer as you progress. Be realistic with your expectations. You know how much studying you can comfortably do in a day. Divide your time between all the tasks you have to do. Make sure that you leave enough time for each task so that you don’t fall behind. You can make a schedule on your computer, draw it out on paper or find a phone app to help.

2. Live in the now: When you sit down to study, don’t think about all the stuff you have to learn for exams, only think about the hour you have to study and the tasks you have to complete today. This will help you to feel less stressed about your workload. Completing your task for the day will make you feel successful. This will put you in a positive frame of mind about your studies. Dividing up the tasks will make your studies more manageable.

3. Minimize distractions: Tell your friends and family beforehand that you will be studying and that you cannot be disturbed. Be strong, even if your friends are out having fun. You need to stick to your study schedule or you will end up cramming the night before an exam, wishing you had started earlier.

4. Prioritize: Study the most difficult or intimidating work first. That way, you will know that the hard work is over first and will be more motivated to continue with your studies all the way up to the exam date. Keep your expectations realistic; the more times you fail to adhere to the study schedule, the less you are likely to try.

5. Reward yourself: When you successfully complete the tasks you have set yourself for the day, take some time out to relax. Meet up with friends, go shopping or spend some time outside. Rewarding yourself gives you time to unwind and relieves stress. You are far more likely to start studying if you know that there will be a reward at the end.

How Creating the perfect homework station can improve academic performance for Highlands Ranch Students

One way to avoid the daily struggle to get homework done and to help your student to improve their academic performance is to create a dedicated homework area. Here your student will be able to work in an atmosphere conducive to study and do their homework in a quiet, comfortable setting.

Elements of a good homework station

There are several factors that go into creating an environment conducive to study. The homework station should be quiet and out of the way of the general hustle and bustle of your home.

The homework area should have excellent lighting and an abundance of fresh air. If there is poor or stale air, fatigue and lack of concentration occur. Ensure that you clean out your HVAC filters every month to keep the air in your home fresh.

Reduce distractions by ensuring that there are no toys, pets, snacks and games nearby. The study station should only contain items pertaining to homework.

The homework area should be neat and organized with an abundance of stationary and everything your student needs for creativity.

Homework stations also have to be comfortable so ensure that your student has enough space and that the chair and table are at a comfortable height.

Tutor friendly homework spaces

If you have an in-home tutor, then the homework area should be big enough to accommodate your student and their one-on-one tutor. This reinforces the homework area as an academic space where positive, constructive work occurs.

The study station should be a quiet zone

The study station should be a dedicated area in your home where homework happens. When one of your students is in the study station, they are off limits to the rest of the family. Here they are not to be interrupted or distracted and should be left in peace.

Set homework times

Homework is best done when your students are refreshed and alert. The best time for this is usually after a short break when they have returned from school, but you and your students should work out a time that best suits your family schedule. Having a set homework time helps to establish a routine and reduces the incidence of incomplete homework.

Floral study friends

Studies show that indoor plants reduce stress, absorb sound and create fresh air. Placing a few pot plants around your student’s study area will help to create a positive atmosphere and provide a source of fresh air.

When planning and creating a study area, be sure to consult your student. Together you can create a space that best suits their study needs. Creating a space that is free from distractions and interruptions from siblings, phone calls and pets is a great way to encourage your students to complete homework tasks and study for exams.

How to Help Your High School Student Set Goals

To your teen, it might seem as if high school is going to last forever. But you know better. Setting goals provides your teens with concrete landmarks to help them along their academic path. Having set goals to follow will give your teens focus and help them build self-confidence.

Here’s a look at the kinds of goals your teen should be setting and why they are important.

• Of Course Those Courses Matter. How can you help make your teen’s academic schedule beneficial to him or her? Keep your teen’s college and career goals in mind when choosing courses.

• Think Ahead to Test Time. Tests are a fact of life for high school teens. Whether dealing with subject tests, mid-terms and finals, or standardized tests, your teen’s high school career will be peppered with test dates. Well ahead of test time, help your teen set up test preparation goals.

• Extracurriculars Are Not Extraneous. Both colleges and employers think extracurricular activities are important because they showcase skills, commitment and responsibility. In addition, these activities benefit your teen by helping to build independence, confidence and experience. Sometimes, they even help your teen figure out a career path. As your teens set goals for the things they would like to achieve outside of school, help them keep their overall schedule in mind, as well as their college plans.

• You Talking to Me? Have your teen talk to the school’s counselor. The counselor can help your teen select courses and narrow down college and career choices. Setting up goals with the counselor provides a clear framework that helps them keep things in focus.

• Hello College, Here We Come! No matter which year of high school your teen is in, college visits should be on your goal list. Freshman year is not too soon to start looking at colleges. In fact, it’s much better to start early, and you can start locally. Visit different colleges of different sizes, with different kinds of campuses, if possible. Different campuses have different “feels” to them, and visiting will help your teen figure out which atmospheres are most appealing.

• Face the Financial Facts. High school means study time for you too. Your goal during your teen’s high school years should be to learn about college costs. That includes learning about financial aid: how it works, what’s available and if your family qualifies for it. It also includes learning about the differences between loans, grants and scholarships. The earlier you learn the ins and outs, the better, because it’ll give you the opportunity to plan ahead. Then, you can sit down with your teen and have a frank discussion about the fiscal facts. Based on that discussion, you can help your teen set realistic college goals.

The more your teens set and meet goals, the more they will realize the benefits and importance of goal setting. How do you help your teens set goals and keep them on track for meeting their goals?

Getting Organized: Learning to Manage your Time Effectively

As you move to a new grade, high school or college, the amount of work you need to do every year increases exponentially. If you find yourself constantly scrambling about at the last minute to study, complete assignments or slap together an overdue project, you’re not managing your time well.

Good time management impacts your grades and performance as well as your anxiety and stress levels. Learning good time management skills will mean that you have more than enough time to do every assignment and study for tests and exams. This will really give you a chance to apply yourself and you will see your grades soar while your stress level drops.

Work avoidance behavior

We all have them; things we do to distract ourselves and put off doing tasks we don’t want to do. If you are finding it hard to motivate yourself to start your homework, you may choose to speak to a friend, surf the net, get lost on social networking sites, make elaborate sandwiches, play games or tidy your desk. Time spent doing these activities is wasted; you can’t enjoy them because you know you should be doing your homework and you are just delaying the inevitable.

Start monitoring the time you spend doing stuff and you will see where all your spare time went. Instead, locate dedicated blocks of time to checking your email and social networking and stick to your schedule. You don’t need to check your phone/tablet/email every five minutes. Reduce your work avoidance behavior and, when you catch yourself doing something else to delay homework, try to refocus and get back to work.

Work in bite-sized chunks

When faced with tasks you really dislike, break them up into manageable sections. Do ten minutes of reading, read five pages, do half an hour of working on an assignment or 20 minutes of math homework. Work intensely for a short period of time and then go do something fun. When you break it up into these short, intense work periods, they are more manageable and you get everything done no time at all.

Be realistic

Set out a study schedule that is realistic. Don’t think you can cram a whole year’s worth of work into a day’s learning. Time how long it takes to read each page of the work you have to learn for exams so that you can leave yourself enough time to study properly. Start early and do a little each day rather than cramming it all in at the last minute.

Time management is an essential life skill for successful students, and successful businessmen and women. Learning to manage time effectively will make your life easier, less stressful and more fun. You will be amazed at how much your grades improve too! Ask your parents, tutors and teachers for help with your time management strategy.

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