Does Your High School Teen Know How to Study?
Dr. Carey Heller: clinical psychologist with The Heller Psychology Group in Bethesda, Maryland
A growing trend that I have noticed is that many high school students don’t know how to study effectively. In addition, many struggle with basic time management and organization skills. For many teens who are very intelligent, they were able to get by in elementary and often times even middle school, based more on their level of intelligence than their ability to use study, time management, and organization skills effectively to do well. Thus, many of these teens start to really struggle in high school because the academic and executive functioning demands placed on them increase, but they don’t possess the basic skills to meet these demands effectively.
Thus, it is very important to make sure your teen has a good foundation with basic study skills as well as time management and organization abilities in order to meet the demands of high school and beyond. It is much better to address any limitations now, and use the summer to help your teen improve and further develop these skills so that they can have a better next academic year.
Here are a few tips to help your teen improve these skills:
1) For in-depth study skills assistance, consider seeking out a tutor or academic coach.
2) For assistance with time management, organization, or executive functioning skills, as well as basic related study strategies, a therapist who specializes in this or an ADHD coach can be very helpful. As a therapist who specializes in ADHD and executive functioning deficits, I run a summer boot camp for executive functioning skills, which serves as a good tune up or start in improving time management, organization, and other related skills. Here’s a link for more information: http://www.hellerpsychologygroup.com/#!summer-programs/c1rlw
3) Encourage your teen to use basic apps such as a calendar, task list, and other similar productivity apps to help them improve their time management and organization.
4) If your teen is actively motivated to improve these skills on their own, consider getting them a workbook to use to help improve these types of skills. For some individuals, this may work well, but others may need a professional to help them take the action to implement strategies and tips from the workbook.
5) Encourage your teen to get all of their binders, computer files, etc., organized right before school starts and work with them if they are receptive to ensure that they maintain good organization of these items as the school year progresses.
Having good study and executive functioning skills is very important for long-term academic success. It’s much easier to address these issues when your teen is younger, so if you have concerns, I urge you to take action now to ensure a smooth transition into high school, college, and beyond.
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*Disclaimer: The previous information is intended as general guidance based on my professional opinion, does not constitute an established professional relationship, and should not replace the recommendations of a psychologist or other licensed professional with whom you initiate or maintain a professional relationship*
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