Jan
26
2010
As part of our study skills course that we offer, we often teach students and parents about the importance of having a study space. In the early part of December, we had a student that took our course. She often studied at home at the kitchen table with her brother and sister and the TV on. This was a recipe for distraction.
During the study skills course, we learned about the environment in which she was studying and recommended the parent buy a study desk and chair, easily bought at stores like Wal-Mart or OfficeMax for anyone on a budget. The parent took our advice and reported back that she was very happy with the performance her children are showing. They are now in their rooms without TV or other distractions, resulting in a slight improvement in a short amount of time.
We love these kind of stories. Of course it is too early to say what the long term impact is on grades, but the parent came back, ever happy that her kids are focusing now. Plus she is telling all her friends about it, which of course makes us happy.
Sometimes, little things go a long way. Our study skills course, is really about those little things that sometimes are not taught or forgotten. The cumulative result is that we help provide better skills overall. A $100 desk and chair at Wal Mart can help a child focus, over the course of a high school career, that can add up to better grades or GPA, ensuring more options when it comes time to graduate.
Jan
19
2010
We were talking about this topic yesterday and I felt it would be a good topic to share with all of you. Accreditation is something most people don’t often look at when searching for a higher education school, but it is important for many reasons. Arming yourself with the knowledge of why you should pay attention to accreditation, can help save you time and money.
For starters, accreditation is a voluntary procedure that schools go through, there is nothing that says they have to do it, but it helps them in the long run to sell their services. The reason being, accreditation is done by an independent review organization that expects the schools to meet a minimum requirement to be accepted. I have gone through this process myself with two different accreditation organizations. This process can take as long as two years to go through, which involves such things as reviewers sitting in classes, interviewing students and alumni, and going over the curriculum to ensure it meets their standards of what they consider a quality education. Once obtained, the accreditation needs to be renewed after a certain number of years, this changes with each accrediting organization.
As a student, accreditation often helps you if you plan to transfer from one school to another. In most cases, school have been accredited by the same organization, will accept credits from one school to another, without much hassle. After all, they are suppose to basically have the same thing in terms of materials being taught.
Another important aspect of accreditation is to ensure you are going to a school that is not a degree mill or one that isn’t seen as a good school by employers. By seeing who else has accreditation, you get a sense of the schools caliber. Also, most schools have a regional accreditation, so if you plan to go from MN to CA, you may find your credits don’t transfer. But if you are going from Moorehead to St. Cloud State, you have a good chance of getting your credits transferred.
If you are looking at a graduate school, many professional fields have a certain accreditation or group of accreditations that are more respected than others. Generally look at the top programs in your field and find out what organization accredits them and then see how wide spread this is within your chosen field.
Overall, accreditation is important. It’s an often overlooked part of the school selection process but one that every student should investigate. One to check out the school and two, the accreditation organization will give you an idea of what caliber of school you are attending.
Jan
12
2010
Yesterday we were talking about how some of our younger students are so excited to come to us for classes. They can’t wait to get started and they don’t want to leave. Of course we really like this and the tutors find it fun to work with kids who so enjoy learning. But we also noticed that this kind of enthusiasm seems to be age related and we were puzzled as to why.
A lot of the students that show great enthusiasm are younger, using in 3rd grade or lower. The higher you go, the less excited kids seem to become towards learning. It is not that these kids fall behind or lose interest in learning all together but there is a noticeable shift that does take place. For some kids, school becomes a job, that is taken serious, the pressures of exams and final grades in high school can often take the fun out of learning. Or students may find themselves in a school that is not teaching them in a way they really grasp the information or feel engaged with their learning materials. As parents, this is where you can do the most for your kids to help them achieve remain excited.
Talk to your kids about how they feel about school and what they learn, notice they get excited or just say “yeah, it’s ok.” That’s a sign your child may not be engaging in their learning process. Many schools have stopped PE classes or any kind of hands on learning and for some students, sitting at a desk for 6 hours a day listening to lectures, is not their idea of learning. At parent teacher conferences, ask the teachers about their teaching style, there are many types of teaching styles. Knowing their teaching style and the learning style of your student, may help you identify were issues may be.
But just knowing styles isn’t enough, engaging kids will help keep them interested. Every kid is different, engagement helps, which is what we do at WHIZard Academy.
Jan
5
2010
Back to school after the winter holiday season is always tough for many kids. After some time off having fun on holiday festivities, even kids have a hard time getting back into the routine of school; just like some adults do with work.
We have found that a 25 hour program helps students get back into the swing of things. Students spend time with tutors on specific subjects or with our study habits expert. Many parents wait until the first bad grades come in, but in some schools, that sets up the rest of the semester to be catch up. Starting the new semester off with a 25 hour program, allows a student to start off the semester right, with solid grades. What this means to you is, less time and money in the long run and a student that is confident in their skills. Give us a call, ask for Sonja and schedule a no risk appointment to see how we can help.
Dec
15
2009
Graduate Level Study Habits
For many students who want to go to grad school, they often don’t realize that there is a big different between college and graduate school. As a result, how you study needs to change as well.
When in college, many course were still about rote learning. In graduate school, most of the classes are about understanding and creating. So how you study needs to change. Colleges teach students to master a subject, graduate school teaches students to master, understand and create, which are very different. In graduated school, you will focus more on papers and defending your logic. Thus, how you create you study notes will be different where as in college, you often wrote papers that were not of that sort on a regular basis and the papers were shorter. Papers in college tend to be 5 pages, 25 pages in grad school.
So before you plan to go to graduate school, realize that it is different from college and you will need to step up your game in order to excel in grad school.
Dec
8
2009
Use Memory Games
Sometimes when you have an exam with a lot of facts or even a foreign language exam, you can use memory games as a form of studying for these exams. One of the simplest and cheapest methods are flash cards. Just obtain a stack of note cards and on one side, you can write out the question and on the other side, the answer.
For example, lets say you have a history test, you can write a question like, who was the first president of the United States? And the answer is George Washington. Go through the cards until you can get them all right. The best part is, you can do this anywhere. If you carry the cards with you, you can use any down time you may have, to go over your cards to help refresh your memory.
The major downside to this method is, it only works on exam questions that have a straight forward answer. If you have to do complex calculations or write an essay, it won’t help you very much, but that’s where we come in with our homework helper programs.
Nov
24
2009
With Thanksgiving just a couple days away, we thought we would have a little fun with a few lighter tips on studying. After all, we know most students are looking forward to the few days off from school and to the turkey or football games. And some may even be looking forward to the shopping the day after Thanksgiving.
In our search for the best study tips, we have come across a few interesting ones and we would like to share them with you.
1. Wearing perfume. One woman mentioned that ladies should wear the same perfume during their study time as they do during test time. The familiar scent can help with memory recall. Although make sure it is a mild perfume and to not over do it. Too much can actually be a distraction.
2. Chew peppermint gum or eat peppermint mints. Someone said this helps to keep your nasal passages open and allows more oxygen to the brain.
3. Eat sugar. Some believe that sugar is brain food and that eating it will help you remember. We don’t recommend this one, although it has been done.
4. Eat oranges. This combines elements of tips 1 and 3. The oil in the skin of oranges emits a scent and the sugar in the oranges is believed to help you focus. The vitamin C will help you stay healthy but not sure about the rest.
5. Study in rooms that improve focus for that subject. It is believed that certain colors helps us relax or focus or be more creative. One person had gone so far as to say each subject was color coded. So if you were studying math, you would be in one room with a specific color and then move to another room when studying English. Although this may have some merit, it’s a bit time consuming to move around so much.
That’s it, a few amusing study tips we have found. Have a great Thanksgiving everyone and don’t forget, finals are coming up soon, see our homework helper program to help you maximize your study time for those exams.
Nov
17
2009
The Importance of Good Notes
No matter what subject you are studying, note taking is a vital part of your success in that class. Yet, note taking skills are often over looked in schools as a vital study skill and preparation skill for tests. There are several methods of note taking styles, finding which one is best for you, can really make a difference in your classroom and test performance.
Cal Poly University has a number of note taking styles and they do a great job of showing the pros and cons of these styles. This will be a great start for you to find which style works for you. Play around with them and find out which one seems to help you the most.
Nov
10
2009
Study at the Same Time Everyday
A former professor of mine said that when he was a student, he treated school like a job. He only studied and took classes between 8am and 5pm. During that time he did nothing else. He was on the dean’s list every semester and got straight A’s throughout his time in college. There is actually evidence that his methods were a good idea.
Many studies have shown that students who study at the same time every day, tend to perform better than those that do not. When students study at the same time, they set that time aside for study and nothing else. Their odds of sticking to it and actually getting their work done, is higher than those students who just try to find time to study. If a student studies one hour a day but at the same time every day, their odds of better grades and test performance improves over those students who do not.
Nov
3
2009
Use all Your Time
Every test you take is most likely timed. You have a set amount of time to complete your test. It is important to pace yourself to use your time wisely and to use all your time. If you time yourself properly, you should have a few minutes left to go back over your test and proof your answers. This can help save you a few points by ensuring your answers are well thought out and clearly written. In some cases, this can make the difference between an A or a B grade for the test.