Study Smart

Reply to Study Smart on Mon, 17 May 2021 10:34:53 GMT

bbbay — Mon, 17 May 2021 10:34:53 GMT

Zeal mummy\" post_id=\"2024189\" time=\"1621141541\" user_id=\"58173:[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2024189 time=1621141541 user_id=58173]
Swc\" post_id=\"2023273\" time=\"1620518634\" user_id=\"178585:

Meaning, let nature take it course, for all students?
No definitely not let nature take its course.

Maybe another way to look at it is providing scaffolding for your child. What type of scaffolding and how much scaffolding depends on the needs of the individual child. However, the most important part for a parent is knowing when to remove the scaffolding. Leave it for too long, the child will become too dependant on it. Too soon, the child might struggle too much and give up. There is certainly no magic formula but relies on keen observation on the parents' part to decide the best time to remove the scaffolding.

Agree with providing scaffolding and removing them when the time is ripe.[/quote]My kids’ school organised this parenting workshop. Talk about suggested parents’ role at different stages of our kids’ growth.
Pre sec sch- parents are like commanders
Teens - parents are the coaches
Young adult- parents are consellor
Adult- parents are consultant

https://postimg.cc/sBJT4jGR

Reply to Study Smart on Sun, 16 May 2021 05:09:11 GMT

Zeal mummy — Sun, 16 May 2021 05:09:11 GMT

slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2023282\" time=\"1620524392\" user_id=\"28674:

SG_KP1\" post_id=\"2023270\" time=\"1620515919\" user_id=\"188234:
[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2023266 time=1620495165 user_id=58173]The children will learn too, eventually they will know their own study style. What works and what doesn’t. The earlier they know, the better for them.
...But if they can figure this stuff out early on, the transition to secondary school will be a lot easier. In addition to more subjects and longer days, going from a lot of parental support to very little in a span of ~3 months is not easy for some. Most will figure it out eventually (there's no better time to learn to swim then when your boat is sinking) but I can see how the transition can be rough.

Parents can help the child with the figuring out as well if they talk about it. Once in a way, you can point out to your child what you observe about his preferred learning style, or some specific weakness (not scolding), and ask if he agrees with your assessment. And then, together, you can try to work out something that helps, whether it's removing distractions, or changing the schedule a bit, or organising things differently, or whatever. This makes the child more aware of himself, which will prepare him to manage for himself later on. Of course, the danger is that the child can use some of these things as a crutch or an excuse - that's something that parents have to tread a fine line about too. To what extent will you allow the child to use \"that's the way I am\" as an excuse, and how far can you insist that despite the issues, he must keep trying, or even try harder to make up some of that gap.[/quote]Thanks Slmkhoo for putting everything into words for me. Echos my thoughts exactly.

Reply to Study Smart on Sun, 16 May 2021 05:05:41 GMT

Zeal mummy — Sun, 16 May 2021 05:05:41 GMT

Swc\" post_id=\"2023273\" time=\"1620518634\" user_id=\"178585:

bbbay\" post_id=\"2023271\" time=\"1620517072\" user_id=\"175278:
[quote=SG_KP1 post_id=2023270 time=1620515919 user_id=188234]
Ideally, I think it is best if kids can start to figure this out/plan for themselves in upper primary. Before that, I doubt many can do it effectively (and many may still not be ready for it in P5-P6, which is fine). They will know what subjects or areas they are not good at, but they will likely have difficulty coming up with a plan to tackle it. Also, when they are younger I think parental support and encouragement is a huge factor. Like adults, kids don't like doing things they are struggling with. If left to themselves they'll probably just try to push aside the bad feelings from difficult stuff (i.e. need to adopt growth mindset).

But if they can figure this stuff out early on, the transition to secondary school will be a lot easier. In addition to more subjects and longer days, going from a lot of parental support to very little in a span of ~3 months is not easy for some. Most will figure it out eventually (there's no better time to learn to swim then when your boat is sinking) but I can see how the transition can be rough.

Meaning, let nature take it course, for all students?

No definitely not let nature take its course.

Maybe another way to look at it is providing scaffolding for your child. What type of scaffolding and how much scaffolding depends on the needs of the individual child. However, the most important part for a parent is knowing when to remove the scaffolding. Leave it for too long, the child will become too dependant on it. Too soon, the child might struggle too much and give up. There is certainly no magic formula but relies on keen observation on the parents' part to decide the best time to remove the scaffolding.[/quote]Agree with providing scaffolding and removing them when the time is ripe.

Reply to Study Smart on Sun, 09 May 2021 02:36:46 GMT

sharonkhoo — Sun, 09 May 2021 02:36:46 GMT

zac's mum\" post_id=\"2023295\" time=\"1620526898\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2023295 time=1620526898 user_id=53606]
bbbay\" post_id=\"2023291\" time=\"1620525596\" user_id=\"175278:
How old are your kids? Different age, different specific action plans.

Not just age - personality, traits, abilities... all the stuff that has been mentioned before as well. It has to be a very personalised plan for each child unless you happen to have very similar kids.

Another thing about plans and targets - try to make them easily achievable. It's better to have less ambitious plans and targets, especially to start with, so the child can gain a sense of achievement and some confidence. Then you can push the target a bit and he is less likely to resist, or he may even suggest a new target for himself. At some point, you will realise that maybe the child has reached his limit, but even then, you can encourage him to stay there, and maybe over time, the target can be nudged forward a little more. And in the beginning, make a big deal when he carries out a plan, keeps a schedule, reaches a target, etc, or even just makes some improvement even if he didn't reach the target. It doesn't have to be perfect - better to say \"Not bad! Only 1 careless mistake this time!\" (reduced from 3 the last time) than \"Still one careless mistake!\". Then before the next test, you can say \"Let's see if you can try for no careless mistakes this time.\"

I find that words are important - try to say \"You should be proud of yourself for keeping to schedule/working so hard/reducing careless mistakes etc. Let's go and celebrate!\" not \"You've been a good boy so I'm giving you a reward\". Give him the credit (even if you know you put in more effort that he did!).

Reply to Study Smart on Sun, 09 May 2021 02:21:38 GMT

zac's mum — Sun, 09 May 2021 02:21:38 GMT

bbbay\" post_id=\"2023291\" time=\"1620525596\" user_id=\"175278:

How about the action plans suggested in the early posts?

How old are your kids? Different age, different specific action plans.

Reply to Study Smart on Sun, 09 May 2021 01:59:56 GMT

bbbay — Sun, 09 May 2021 01:59:56 GMT

How about the action plans suggested in the early posts?

Reply to Study Smart on Sun, 09 May 2021 01:39:52 GMT

sharonkhoo — Sun, 09 May 2021 01:39:52 GMT

SG_KP1\" post_id=\"2023270\" time=\"1620515919\" user_id=\"188234:

Zeal mummy\" post_id=\"2023266\" time=\"1620495165\" user_id=\"58173:[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2023266 time=1620495165 user_id=58173]The children will learn too, eventually they will know their own study style. What works and what doesn’t. The earlier they know, the better for them.
...But if they can figure this stuff out early on, the transition to secondary school will be a lot easier. In addition to more subjects and longer days, going from a lot of parental support to very little in a span of ~3 months is not easy for some. Most will figure it out eventually (there's no better time to learn to swim then when your boat is sinking) but I can see how the transition can be rough.[/quote]

Reply to Study Smart on Sun, 09 May 2021 01:26:44 GMT

sharonkhoo — Sun, 09 May 2021 01:26:44 GMT

SG_KP1\" post_id=\"2023275\" time=\"1620520663\" user_id=\"188234:

Unfortunately, none of this stuff is easy, as their is no one size fits all magic formula. My older child calls himself a human guinea pig - his parents don't fully know what they are doing but they try something out with him and see if it works. If yes, great. If not, adjust and do something different with the younger child.

I read somewhere that parents should be allowed to throw away the first child, and start again with the second! Joking, of course.

Even if you figure out the \"right\" way with the first child, the second could be completely different, and you will have to work out a whole new plan. I feel like almost nothing I did with my first prepared me for the second.

Reply to Study Smart on Sun, 09 May 2021 01:24:03 GMT

sharonkhoo — Sun, 09 May 2021 01:24:03 GMT

Although age can be a rough guide as to how much supervision and help a child needs, it varies, and again, the parent needs to look at the individual child. All children need the most scaffolding early on, and it should be gradually removed as they grow. But how much, and how quickly to withdraw - those are very individual, and sometimes, by trial and error. Withdraw some, see the child start to flounder, and provide more for a while longer.

Again, my personal experience - I have a child who needed a lot of support, from planning to coaching, and for much longer than I would have liked. I have another child who needed very little support, and only needed "higher order" help in planning and some advice by the time she was in upper primary.

The main thing is to remember that all children need to gradually grow into independence - there is no magic that happens at the beginning of Sec 1 (or any particular grade) which turns a dependent child into in independent one overnight. Some will manage the transition easily, but most will struggle to some extent, and some may find it really hard. If your child is a resilient, capable one, letting them struggle through may be a good growing experience, but some children need more handholding over transitions.

Reply to Study Smart on Sun, 09 May 2021 00:37:43 GMT

SG_KP1 — Sun, 09 May 2021 00:37:43 GMT

Unfortunately, none of this stuff is easy, as their is no one size fits all magic formula. My older child calls himself a human guinea pig - his parents don’t fully know what they are doing but they try something out with him and see if it works. If yes, great. If not, adjust and do something different with the younger child.

Reply to Study Smart on Sun, 09 May 2021 00:32:29 GMT

SG_KP1 — Sun, 09 May 2021 00:32:29 GMT

bbbay\" post_id=\"2023271\" time=\"1620517072\" user_id=\"175278:

SG_KP1\" post_id=\"2023270\" time=\"1620515919\" user_id=\"188234:
[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2023266 time=1620495165 user_id=58173]The children will learn too, eventually they will know their own study style. What works and what doesn’t. The earlier they know, the better for them.
Ideally, I think it is best if kids can start to figure this out/plan for themselves in upper primary. Before that, I doubt many can do it effectively (and many may still not be ready for it in P5-P6, which is fine). They will know what subjects or areas they are not good at, but they will likely have difficulty coming up with a plan to tackle it. Also, when they are younger I think parental support and encouragement is a huge factor. Like adults, kids don't like doing things they are struggling with. If left to themselves they'll probably just try to push aside the bad feelings from difficult stuff (i.e. need to adopt growth mindset).

But if they can figure this stuff out early on, the transition to secondary school will be a lot easier. In addition to more subjects and longer days, going from a lot of parental support to very little in a span of ~3 months is not easy for some. Most will figure it out eventually (there's no better time to learn to swim then when your boat is sinking) but I can see how the transition can be rough.

Meaning, let nature take it course, for all students?[/quote]Like the reply below, I think no at the primary age.

What I mean is instead of just giving them a list of do X, Y, and Z, try to have them lay out what exams they have coming up (wall calendar is great), and then ask them what they think they need to work on and what do they plan to do. Of course, you can still provide some suggestions or tweaks if you think necessary. But at least it gets them to start thinking about this stuff and how to do it on their own. Hopefully, they will become more self-aware of where they need to spend time (and where they don't), and how best to use the time they have efficiently.

It's not easy to do at any age, and people develop at different speeds. What I wanted to highlight is if possible see what the students may be able to start taking on in upper primary vs. pulling all (or the vast majority of) support the minute they become Sec 1s. While there is definitely a bright line between primary and secondary school, the children are only a few months different in age. If they haven't started thinking about any of this stuff yet (before secondary), I can see how some may feel lost initially.

Reply to Study Smart on Sun, 09 May 2021 00:03:54 GMT

Swc — Sun, 09 May 2021 00:03:54 GMT

bbbay\" post_id=\"2023271\" time=\"1620517072\" user_id=\"175278:

SG_KP1\" post_id=\"2023270\" time=\"1620515919\" user_id=\"188234:
[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2023266 time=1620495165 user_id=58173]The children will learn too, eventually they will know their own study style. What works and what doesn’t. The earlier they know, the better for them.
Ideally, I think it is best if kids can start to figure this out/plan for themselves in upper primary. Before that, I doubt many can do it effectively (and many may still not be ready for it in P5-P6, which is fine). They will know what subjects or areas they are not good at, but they will likely have difficulty coming up with a plan to tackle it. Also, when they are younger I think parental support and encouragement is a huge factor. Like adults, kids don't like doing things they are struggling with. If left to themselves they'll probably just try to push aside the bad feelings from difficult stuff (i.e. need to adopt growth mindset).

But if they can figure this stuff out early on, the transition to secondary school will be a lot easier. In addition to more subjects and longer days, going from a lot of parental support to very little in a span of ~3 months is not easy for some. Most will figure it out eventually (there's no better time to learn to swim then when your boat is sinking) but I can see how the transition can be rough.

Meaning, let nature take it course, for all students?[/quote]No definitely not let nature take its course.

Maybe another way to look at it is providing scaffolding for your child. What type of scaffolding and how much scaffolding depends on the needs of the individual child. However, the most important part for a parent is knowing when to remove the scaffolding. Leave it for too long, the child will become too dependant on it. Too soon, the child might struggle too much and give up. There is certainly no magic formula but relies on keen observation on the parents' part to decide the best time to remove the scaffolding.

Reply to Study Smart on Sat, 08 May 2021 23:37:52 GMT

bbbay — Sat, 08 May 2021 23:37:52 GMT

SG_KP1\" post_id=\"2023270\" time=\"1620515919\" user_id=\"188234:

Zeal mummy\" post_id=\"2023266\" time=\"1620495165\" user_id=\"58173:[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2023266 time=1620495165 user_id=58173]The children will learn too, eventually they will know their own study style. What works and what doesn’t. The earlier they know, the better for them.
Ideally, I think it is best if kids can start to figure this out/plan for themselves in upper primary. Before that, I doubt many can do it effectively (and many may still not be ready for it in P5-P6, which is fine). They will know what subjects or areas they are not good at, but they will likely have difficulty coming up with a plan to tackle it. Also, when they are younger I think parental support and encouragement is a huge factor. Like adults, kids don't like doing things they are struggling with. If left to themselves they'll probably just try to push aside the bad feelings from difficult stuff (i.e. need to adopt growth mindset).

But if they can figure this stuff out early on, the transition to secondary school will be a lot easier. In addition to more subjects and longer days, going from a lot of parental support to very little in a span of ~3 months is not easy for some. Most will figure it out eventually (there's no better time to learn to swim then when your boat is sinking) but I can see how the transition can be rough.[/quote]

Meaning, let nature take it course, for all students?

Reply to Study Smart on Sat, 08 May 2021 23:18:39 GMT

SG_KP1 — Sat, 08 May 2021 23:18:39 GMT

Zeal mummy\" post_id=\"2023266\" time=\"1620495165\" user_id=\"58173:[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2023266 time=1620495165 user_id=58173]
The children will learn too, eventually they will know their own study style. What works and what doesn’t. The earlier they know, the better for them.[/quote]

Ideally, I think it is best if kids can start to figure this out/plan for themselves in upper primary. Before that, I doubt many can do it effectively (and many may still not be ready for it in P5-P6, which is fine). They will know what subjects or areas they are not good at, but they will likely have difficulty coming up with a plan to tackle it. Also, when they are younger I think parental support and encouragement is a huge factor. Like adults, kids don't like doing things they are struggling with. If left to themselves they'll probably just try to push aside the bad feelings from difficult stuff (i.e. need to adopt growth mindset).

But if they can figure this stuff out early on, the transition to secondary school will be a lot easier. In addition to more subjects and longer days, going from a lot of parental support to very little in a span of ~3 months is not easy for some. Most will figure it out eventually (there's no better time to learn to swim then when your boat is sinking) but I can see how the transition can be rough.

Reply to Study Smart on Sat, 08 May 2021 17:32:45 GMT

Zeal mummy — Sat, 08 May 2021 17:32:45 GMT

bbbay\" post_id=\"2023160\" time=\"1620458032\" user_id=\"175278:

It seem like the study smart, begins with understanding each child learning style, strengths and weaknesses? With these knowledge, it will be easier to formulate plans?

The children will learn too, eventually they will know their own study style. What works and what doesn’t. The earlier they know, the better for them.

Reply to Study Smart on Sat, 08 May 2021 17:29:41 GMT

Zeal mummy — Sat, 08 May 2021 17:29:41 GMT

bbbay\" post_id=\"2023140\" time=\"1620448592\" user_id=\"175278:

Dear parents

Any advice on how to “study smart” for our child? Please share what have worked for your child, so that other parents may consider teaching it to their child.

Paying 100% attention in class.
Ask whenever in doubt.
Practice/revise what was taught.
Motivated by rewards.
Celebrate small/big achievements.

Reply to Study Smart on Sat, 08 May 2021 10:00:49 GMT

zac's mum — Sat, 08 May 2021 10:00:49 GMT

Thx for sharing! Yes I agree.

Reply to Study Smart on Sat, 08 May 2021 09:15:44 GMT

bbbay — Sat, 08 May 2021 09:15:44 GMT

Have this to add, on the benefit of deep sleep for learning:

https://www.google.com.sg/amp/s/www.activehealth.sg/read/sleep/how-does-sleep-impact-your-learning%3Fhs_amp=true

Reply to Study Smart on Sat, 08 May 2021 08:04:40 GMT

zac's mum — Sat, 08 May 2021 08:04:40 GMT

Regarding setting certain marks as targets…I realized after some trial and error that it may be unduly “harsh” to set a fixed numerical digit or percentage.

The reason is, sometimes the things tested are not entirely the same. So for Eg. Now with the weighted assessment format, Term 1 could be Oral exam, Term 2 Compo, Term 3 S&T…Term 4 entire set from Paper 1-4.

It wouldn’t be fair to say, take the Oral exam result (AL1) and set a target of AL1 for the Compo exam. Or take the kid’s P4 results (total 13) and say next year P5 let’s set a target to improve to total 12. For one, every year in primary school the topics get more difficult. The exam format also changes from lower primary to upper primary. Expecting the kid to improve on his AL grade/marks (an impersonal number) by say, throwing $$ at non-targeted tuition, and then feeling upset/disappointed when it never materializes, is not the “smart” way to do it.

Understand the child’s weak components. I have learnt to set small targets, Eg when I see improvement in child showing his Math workings properly in the exam paper, we celebrate. When I see improvement in the child getting a certain weak Science topic correct, we celebrate. These smaller targets are more reasonable. Qualitative improvements such as in attitude & willingness to take notes/revise un-nagged…are also worth celebrating. Yes even if the marks don’t go up. Such are good study habits that will take them thru to secondary school and beyond anyway.

Reply to Study Smart on Sat, 08 May 2021 07:46:33 GMT

sharonkhoo — Sat, 08 May 2021 07:46:33 GMT

bbbay\" post_id=\"2023160\" time=\"1620458032\" user_id=\"175278:

It seem like the study smart, begins with understanding each child learning style, strengths and weaknesses? With these knowledge, it will be easier to formulate plans?

Yes. The \"smart\" actually refers more to the parent than the child if the child is young.

Another crucial thing is to set goals appropriate for the child. We have to accept if our child is not top-student material, or just inherently weak at something. It doesn't mean they shouldn't be encouraged to work at those subjects, using whatever methods and means work best for them, but it does mean that setting high targets (which they can never meet) is not likely to help motivate them. It could even cause them to give up. So for some kids, a reasonable target might be a B, or a pass, or just to get a few more marks for each test. For another child, it could be that anything short of 95% might be a poor grade in that subject. It is a strange fallacy (maybe just Asian, or just Chinese?) that if you set 100% as the target for everything, it will inspire children to keep trying. It may for some, but I think it demotivates most kids.

Besides learning styles, which ZM has provided some info about, there are other basic things which sometimes we parents overlook. Things like allowing kids to have some leisure time each day, making sure they get enough sleep, controlling the time spent on gadgets, not adding work if they finish what was set, allowing to have some choice in terms of where/how/when they work, etc. Or not establishing routines so the child has to be nagged and reminded all day (which saps everyone's energy).

Reply to Study Smart on Sat, 08 May 2021 07:20:11 GMT

zac's mum — Sat, 08 May 2021 07:20:11 GMT

Yup! Here are some handy tables:

https://postimg.cc/gnKXbtpV

https://postimg.cc/4YLYmKmn

https://postimg.cc/CRLZhCMW

Reply to Study Smart on Sat, 08 May 2021 07:13:52 GMT

bbbay — Sat, 08 May 2021 07:13:52 GMT

It seem like the study smart, begins with understanding each child learning style, strengths and weaknesses? With these knowledge, it will be easier to formulate plans?

Reply to Study Smart on Sat, 08 May 2021 06:01:21 GMT

sharonkhoo — Sat, 08 May 2021 06:01:21 GMT

I copied this from another thread where this was discussed a little. I give a concrete example below which I think illustrates what the others are saying:

slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2022791\" time=\"1620263975\" user_id=\"28674:
Swc\" post_id=\"2022786\" time=\"1620261441\" user_id=\"178585:
The concept of smart studying means it should not and cannot be a one size fits all. To study smart requires one to identify where one's weakness is and use different methods to attain mastery. Hours of repeated practice might not be the best way. To cite a simple eg for illustration, if a child cannot spell a certain word, it might not be the best to ask the child to write 100 times that same word so that the child can learn the spelling. Maybe using mnemonics method might be a more efficient and effective way to help the child learn it. Hence, simply increasing the number of hours put into one subject might not automatically equate to a correlated increase in scores.
Agree - studying smart has to be tailored to ability, learning style, amount of time available, etc.

My examples: I have a daughter who is weak in Maths. For her, studying smart is focusing on the basics for quite a long time until it becomes well understood and the methods are ingrained. During the school year, we encouraged her to try all questions set as homework, but by the last few weeks before exams, we told her to forget the toughest ones and focus on the easier 80% to make sure she can do as well as possible in those. And we recognised that top marks were out of her reach. Maybe if she only had 1 subject to study and could spend all her time on it, she could have done better. But she couldn't do that without sacrificing other subjects, so we worked with the time available.

I have another daughter who is strong in Maths. For her, studying smart meant spending less time doing the bulk of the questions since she was managing those without difficulty. We asked her to focus on the toughest questions so that she could learn the skills and techniques to cope with the unusual and tricky ones. In the run up to the PSLE, she did the Maths papers set by school (enough practice on all types of questions), and at home, just 5 \"tough\" questions a day. So her Maths revision was much less (in time) than her sister, but her marks were always much higher.

As for learning style, we realised fairly early on that 1 daughter preferred to read information silently (more visual), while the other preferred to read information out loud (more auditory) and also standing up and moving around (more kinesthetic). So we asked the \"read aloud\" one to do that part of her revision in another room so she didn't distract her sister.