Student support services
Study Skills for Everyone
Everyone can benefit from the following study skills taken from Today's Catholic Teacher (2015) and written by Dr. Pat McCormack.
Everyone can benefit from the following study skills taken from Today's Catholic Teacher (2015) and written by Dr. Pat McCormack.
- Use as many senses as possible; vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch for better memory recollection
- Create a game of concentration using flash cards; go fish with a twist
- Concentrate on more difficult tasks when your energy is high, and complete easier tasks after that peak time
- Divide hard assignments into pieces and provide a break between pieces
- If there is no homework on a given night use the time to review math facts or act out a scene from a book
- Research and note taking
- Drafting the report/assignment
- Editing and proofreading
- Final version
Why Accommodate and Modify?
- Accommodations and/or modifications can lead to student success and improvement in motivation, self-esteem and behavior.
- Students cannot be forced to learn (and achieve) way above their own ability level
- Learning is being defined differently than it has in the past - the new generation of learners are more hands-on and utilize technology much more in an academic setting.
- Assessments of student knowledge may not match student achievement.
- Diversity in students (ethnic, cultural, learning styles) requires instructional diversity.
- Many students included in the general classroom have different learning styles and needs.
- It is often the only way some students will benefit from general classroom instruction.
- It is a Catholic moral issue.
Take a Break from Class & Play Teacher
Sometimes the best way to know if a student understands a concept is to ask them to "teach" you how to do it - or show you how it works. Without the stress of a sit down test the answers can be a better reflection of what the student truly understands. If the student is old enough, have them create a test of their own based on a book or science project; most students that I have worked with love playing teacher and showing me how to do something. That also helps struggling students gain confidence while making the task fun. Depending on their age have them create a rubric to be used when they "grade" the tests - most students know how to use a rubric by the 5th grade.
Sometimes the best way to know if a student understands a concept is to ask them to "teach" you how to do it - or show you how it works. Without the stress of a sit down test the answers can be a better reflection of what the student truly understands. If the student is old enough, have them create a test of their own based on a book or science project; most students that I have worked with love playing teacher and showing me how to do something. That also helps struggling students gain confidence while making the task fun. Depending on their age have them create a rubric to be used when they "grade" the tests - most students know how to use a rubric by the 5th grade.
