Starting in middle school, students have more freedom then ever before. They walk to their own classes, are responsible for keeping track of homework, and get to choose which electives to take. All of this responsibility can quickly overwhelm students which can cascade into larger academic problems down the road. One such issue that can crop up revolves around bad habits with studying. In this article I want to discuss 5 study hacks your student can employ today to maximize their executive function development.
What is Executive Functioning?
Before we discuss the study hacks, we need to first define executive functioning and why it’s important. my.clevelandclinic.org defines executive functioning as the following:
Executive function refers to skills that you use to manage everyday tasks like making plans, solving problems and adapting to new situations. The three main skills are working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibition control. These skills develop during your lifetime, often declining as you get older. But there are ways to keep and improve them.
The reason we bring this up, is executive function development happens while a student is in middle school. This isn’t to say a student or person beyond middle school can’t develop their executive functioning skills. Anybody can learn or relearn these skills, but they become increasingly more difficult as a person gets older.
Student organization is paramount and with our study hacks discussed today, students will be on their way to developing the bulk of these skills! So let’s jump right into the first study hack:
Study Hack 1: Multiple Study Spaces
If you’re like me, you’ve probably heard about the importance of having a dedicated study space. While a dedicated study space is important, we’ve found that with our own students, they study better and retain more information when their study space changes! The reasoning for this is because when a student is put into a new environment to study in, their brain has a kind of ‘reset’ moment when it comes to focus. You become more in-tune with your focus.
I highly recommend having 3 or more places that you can study. It’s important for these places to remain distraction free. You can consider the following as good places to study:
- Office or quiet room at home
- School or public library
- Coffee shop
- Park or outdoor Space (with a table)
Study Hack 2: Pomodoro Technique
The pomodoro technique is a great way to study and maintain fatigue. With the pomodoro technique, students are encouraged to set a 25 minute timer. During this time the student studies or works on homework and at the end of the 25 minutes the student takes a quick 5 minute break. The benefit of this study style is the student is able to break their studying or homework time into 25 minute, manageable ‘chunks’. This can make homework seem less daunting and allows for enough breaks to ease the risk of burnout!
One caveat to keep in mind during these 5 minute break periods is how you spend them. It’s important to rest, but don’t become distracted either! Checking social media can quickly lead into a half hour scrolling marathon, so it’s a good idea to keep your break to the following activities:
- Eating a healthy snack
- Going for a brief walk
- Stretch or do yoga
Study Hack 3: Teaching Someone Else
This is a great way to memorize and internalize information! The reason why this works so well is because when teaching someone else concepts you are forced to think about the concepts in a new way. Doing this helps you get a better understanding of the content and can better help the internalization of information. I recommend the student sits down with a classmate, close friend, or family member to maximize their benefit from this study hack. The important thing is to not sit down with someone who may distract you!
Study Hack 4: Color Coordination
Color coordination can be both a great way to organize your notes and it can make taking notes fun! I recommend all students begin color coordinating their notes with highlighters, folders, and even binders! This can be fun and is a simplistic way to keep track of items for each class, assignments, and other important due dates!
This shouldn’t replace your planner though! You still want to keep an organized planner (preferably physical), where the student can further color coordinate class assignments, projects, and due dates!
Study Hack 5: Study a Little Bit Every Day
While this study hack may seem obvious, it can’t be understated how important it is for students! Getting into the habit of studying a little bit every day can be a game changer! This prevents students from cramming, further eases stress and anxiety, and helps improve the student’s motivation for class! When students engage with the content on a more regular basis they’ll be encouraged to participate more in class! The best part about this? It doesn’t take a lot of time! Even just 5 minutes of studying each day can drastically improve a student’s retention of material!
See The Power of Executive Functioning!
I hope you enjoyed my 5 study hacks for middle school students! If you have your own study hacks that you use, I’d love to hear about them! Write them down in the comments below and I’ll update this article! If you’re interested in seeing the power of executive functioning, I highly recommend you schedule a time with one of our executive functioning coaches! You can view a full list of times by clicking here. Thanks for reading and let’s get out there and study!