Smart Study Strategies for Your Child

Every child is unique, and their learning method needs to be adapted not only to their individual needs, but also to the specific context of each assessment. The type of exam, the subject being studied, and the weighting of the assessment (the percentage of their final mark that it accounts for) are all factors to consider. For example, a multiple-choice exam will be better suited to memorization techniques than a laboratory test or a set of essay questions. In addition, the time and effort needed to prepare for, say, a Friday formative test will be very different from that required for a ministry exam. 

Understanding these different aspects can help your child choose the most effective study method. For example, if they have a math assessment coming up, encourage them to do a variety of exercises. For a science test, mind maps can be useful for organizing concepts and understanding the relationships between them. 

As a parent, you play a crucial role in supporting your child in this process. Here are a few points to bear in mind: 

• Observe your child and discuss their preferred study strategies.
• Let them experiment with a range of learning techniques so they can learn their preferred strategies.
• You can also help your child assess the importance of each of their exams, so that they can prioritize their time and effort.
• Be aware that your child’s study habits or strategies may differ from yours: every person is unique.

Studies have shown that the more actively engaged your child is in their learning, the more successful they will be at school. 

It is important to remember that while reading notes is a good way to prepare for studying, it is not the best way to learn information, since it is a very passive exercise. Reviewing notes in this way can give your child the impression that they have studied thoroughly and mastered all the material, because they are able to recognize the information that comes next as they read. 

Some other commonly used study strategies are also considered passive. Here are a few examples, compared with more active strategies. 

Flashcards are also a good way to study actively, provided the child really takes the time to think about the question before turning the card over to see the answer. It is also a good idea to put just one question and one answer on each card. 

Although memorization is not the most effective strategy for retaining information over the long term, it is often necessary at school to memorize factual information such as dates, vocabulary words, and definitions. 

Mastering a few techniques can help your child easily recall information, recognize information, or make correct associations. Here are just a few: 

• Using mnemonic devices: for example, making up a song about the concepts they need to memorize, using an acronym or sentence to remember a list of words or the order of a sequence (e.g., FANBOYS for the coordinating conjunctions for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so, or My Very Excellent Mom Just Served Us Noodles for the order of the planets), or using any other image or sound association strategy 
• Checking their knowledge with Alloprof exercises
• Testing their knowledge actively with flashcards or quizzes written by a parent, a friend, or themself
• Creating a matching game: for example, separately cutting out the titles of artworks and their artists and pairing them up
• Rewriting definitions or dates by hand to anchor knowledge in their memory
• Reciting material aloud 

The article Memory: Our BFF at Exam Time! lists even more memorization strategies.

Learning and memorization will often be more effective if your child understands the concepts they are studying, rather than simply memorizing them out of context. A thorough understanding of concepts helps us create connections between new information and existing knowledge, facilitating long-term retention. 

Here are a few strategies to help your child understand information and make connections: 

• Relate prior knowledge to new knowledge, e.g. in math or science.
• Encourage your child to categorize the information they are studying using a concept map, Venn diagram, or graphic organizer.
• Ask your child to explain a concept in their own words.
• Encourage your child to make connections between different subjects or topics. For example, they could relate history lessons to current events to contextualize the information or use mathematical principles to explain scientific phenomena.
• Ask open-ended questions that encourage your child to reflect and explore the subject further: “How does this history lesson relate to current events?” or “Can you give me a practical example of this scientific concept?” This type of interaction not only enhances understanding, but also makes learning more relevant and concrete.
• Encourage your child to study with a group, as sometimes students have different ways of looking at concepts. Hearing a classmate explain something in a new way may help them see things they missed and understand the material better as a result. 

To go a step further, it can be interesting to learn about the different knowledge types so you can help your child choose the appropriate study strategies for the material they are studying. 

Here are the four types of knowledge according to Bloom’s taxonomy, plus ideas for study strategies: 

• Factual knowledge, such as dates, names, or definitions (e.g., when the French Revolution started or the boiling point of water), is best studied through memorization strategies. 
• Conceptual knowledge, such as a group of ideas, objects, or events that share at least one common characteristic (e.g., time, the cycle of seasons, forces) often needs to be understood before it can be applied, explained, or manipulated (use the strategies in the “Understanding and Making Connections” section above).  
• Procedural knowledge, such as a process (e.g., for solving a problem or writing a summary), is acquired with practice, but also with a logical understanding of the steps that need to be followed. 
• Metacognitive knowledge, such as an individual’s reflections on their own relationship to learning, strategies, and strengths and weaknesses, cannot be studied in a traditional sense. Rather, it is acquired by asking ourselves questions to better understand our current state of knowledge.