MEMORY STRATEGIES FOR STUDENTS
Students often struggle to remember what they are supposed to do and when they are supposed to do it - to do as well as finding it hard remember the details they need to learn about their subjects. This kind of forgetting means that they often seem disorganised and they end up getting into trouble or going over a deadline with monotonous regularity. The good news is that this will fade over time as their brains mature – the bad news is that they need extra help from us as they do this maturing!
If you have students who consistently struggle with organisation in the following ways there are things you can do to support them:
Forgets to do homework
Is very unsure of what they were supposed to do in the assignment
Seldom completes an assignment
Cannot give an answer when asked about how and when assignments are handed out
Finds it hard to work out what papers and books would be needed to do an assignment
Waits until the last minute to start any assigned work
Keeps on running out of time when studying for tests
How to help them get their act together
There are four basic organisational things they need to do to get round their problems:
- write down the given assignments
- gather together books and materials
- divide up their time so they spend enough time on each task to get it completed in time for the deadline
- have a place they can study successfully in
Discuss with each student how they like to record information about assignments. Do they like to get sms’s/texts to tell them what to do? Do they like to write it down in a particular attractive book? Do they like a separate note to give their parents or carers so that they can have some help remembering what to do? Do they like having a recording of what they are to do on an MP3 format so they can listen to it several times?
Gathering up books and materials to take home can be an issue for some students and they may find having someone as a mentor for a short time who can specifically help them with this task while they get used to it very helpful. Sometimes it helps them to have a specific place where they can put the materials they have gathered together so they don’t spread them all over the place and forget where they all are. A box or a nice recycled bag for each student to put their stuff into will help.
Organising tasks into bite sized pieces helps a lot when it comes to hitting deadlines. This is where visual aids can be so helpful. Having a large paper schedule on the wall or having a week at a glance diary page marked off with what should happen each day to get to the final result on time is a huge help to students. For some students a dry wipe white board on their wall at home can give them the visual stimulus to get organised.
Lastly helping the student understand what they need to study successfully can give them that last boost to getting their work done. www.cladac.com has a profile students can do online to find out what kind of learner they are. They will need a token to do this and it costs a small fee to do this profile. Once they have done it you and they will be able to see how they like their physical study area to be set up so that they can learn best. Some students like to work to music and prefer being in a busy place as they learn. Others like to relax in comfort as they read and study but need quiet as well. Everyone is different and finding out the learner strengths areas is a great way to boost success.