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8 Ways to Help Students Develop a Study Plan

Featured Author:

Pat Hensley

Pat Hensley retired after 27 years of teaching in the classroom. She currently teaches graduate courses as an adjunct instructor for Furman University. She was chosen 2006 Teacher of the Year for her school and a district Top 10 Finalist (out of 5000 teachers). She is Nationally Board Certified as an Exceptional Needs Specialist and is on the National Board of Directors for the Council for Exceptional Children. Pat comments on education and her experiences at Successful Teaching.

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Meaghan Montrose from TutorFi has a great post about Study Tips and Learning Strategies for the New School Year. She compiled a list of links to previous posts that will help students be more successful. These are great suggestions and I started to wonder how I could teach students in the classroom how to create better study habits.

I think the most important thing is to teach them a routine. My students do better if I can actually post a regular routine for them to follow. This type of checklist helps them do things in order of priority. Since my students have disabilities, organization is one of the major obstacles in their life. Before they can even begin to study, they have to prepare for this. Many times I have heard teachers tell students, go home and study but the students have no clue what this means. Even after meeting with parents, they tell me that their child studies and they can’t understand why their child is not progressing. Further investigation shows that they don’t know what their child is doing when they say their child is “studying.”

Related Link: How to Teach Study Skills

Now, I could work out a routine with the parents, but I find a routine is more successful if the student has input and control of this routine. I like to discuss the routine with the whole class and then work individually with each student to fine tune the routine. After a routine is developed with the student, we agree to discuss this with the parent together and sign a contract. The parent is able to give input and make changes at this point if something in the student plan is not feasible. If the student has ownership of the plan, I find they are more likely to follow it and take responsibility for it. It is a lot like when I try to develop a new habit. I can read all the books and articles but until I make it my own plan, I usually am not successful with it. I want my students to be successful.