Just as a chef needs the right tools, such as a spoon and fork, and basic skills, such as how to boil rice, students need the right tools, such as notebooks and assignment pads, and basic study skills, such as note-taking skills, to be successful in school.

We all know students have different ways of learning, but to be successful a student needs to develop organization and study strategies. Students create their own systems for organizing, processing, and comprehending what they read or hear in class, planning homework and long-term assignments, studying for tests, and determining effective test-taking strategies.

However, these methods don’t often work because students are not fully committed to them or do not understand them fully.  As such – here are some ideas for how to best prepare for exams next time around

The first is to develop strong note-taking skills, which is important for school and life because it helps people extend their attention spans and keeps them focused on the task at hand. Note taking helps people to organize the ideas that they are learning. Good notes will provide a gauge about what is important to the instructor and arrange topics in easy-to-review chunks of information. This is important when it comes time to use notes for test review. While taking notes, students develop an important skill: being able to select important material and discard unimportant material. Note taking, however often requires both listening and writing skills and this is often what students lack.

The second recommendation is to organize materials and assignments so you can reduce stress. Being organized with material reduces stress because now students don’t have to worry about misplacing important project, being organized makes a good impression, passes along the importance of learning the skill, and shows that you’re taking responsibility for things in life. The more time you spend keeping your organizing duties up to par, the less time you will spend searching for things, buying new things, and cleaning.

Thirdly, find a comfortable study space and carve out time to actually study. Students should always have an identified study space in the home. It can be in the student’s room,  or a quiet area of the living room or other rooms. The space should be free of visual and auditory distractions (including games, TV, radio, and other children). It should have a clear work surface, good light, and a comfortable yet well-sturdy chair. All necessary supplies should be on hand. Studies show that students who study in this type of setting have the likely chance of passing their classes.

Lastly, work on reading.  What I mean by this is work on listening for main ideas.  Many students are not active readers or listeners. Though they hear what the teacher says and read the words on a page, they do not fully or accurately process the information. These students often make statements like, “I listened to the teacher, but I didn’t remember it for the test” and “I read the chapter twice, but I couldn’t answer the questions in class the next day”. The only way to solve that problem is for students to block out every distraction. The distraction can be anything from a person  to electronics. The way to solve it again is to sit away from the person or give the electronics to the teacher to keep for the moment.

My final advice is on a regular basis, preferably at the end of each week , students to remove all notes, homework, and other papers not needed for class the next week and clip them together. Students should then review the material, make a list of the main points covered in class that week, and write a summary in thier own words. Organize details for easy sorting, prioritizing, and studying. Many students want to do the least amount of schoolwork in the shortest amount of time. They believe that as long as they understand a lecture or reading assignment, their memories will serve them and notes are not necessary. Sooner or later, this strategy is sure to fail. Ideally, children should begin to learn organization and study skills in the early elementary grades. However, it is never too late to help students develop these skills.