Helping Students Prepare to Be Academic Successes

I have experienced the back-to-school season 24 times as a student, teacher and consultant. Although I might not be an expert, I have learned quite a few things through observation of this yearly pilgrimage.

To begin with, motivating factors that form the foundation of a students’ educational experience are often set by age 9 or 10. Consider asking an incoming 5th-grader, “Well, Julie, what do you think about starting another year of school?”

Chances are she’ll have plenty to say. Few topics have such emotional charge, simultaneously in opposite directions. What words do students use to describe school? Fun and boring, new and the same old thing, interesting and a waste of time.

So what do we do?

Instead of merely encouraging students to stick it out for one more year, offer a fresh look at what education can mean to them.

Here are some strategies for students this new school year.

* Commit: Coordinate your learning supplies. Surely you will collect binders, pens, paper, etc. In addition, consider drafting your academic autobiography. It will encourage you to take charge and consider yourself a learner. What do you do well? What do you typically avoid? You will gain powerful insight into your learning styles and experiences. Consider giving a copy of this essay to each of your teachers. What better way for them to understand more about students than to read an autobiography of the ways each one learns best?

* Commence: Start the year off by selecting three to five specific learning outcomes for yourself for the year. Write them out and review each one quarterly or even monthly. Depending on your style, include personal, academic and professional goals. Write them in the present tense. Say what you want to be true throughout this year. These will become powerful landmarks on your learning map. For example, write, “I am completing each homework assignment and exceeding my teacher’s expectations.” If you know what the curriculum will include, be more specific: “I have an excellent understanding of how the California mission system enabled Spain to quickly control the West Coast of North America.”

* Continue: Seek out opportunities to gain insight and understanding through communicating with your instructors. Provide your e-mail address to each teacher. Ask them to send you notes about class work and course support. Let them know that you would appreciate Web site addresses that will connect you with the topics you are studying.

Regularly review your learning goals. If you find ways to modify or add to them, record those additions in a paper or digital journal. Remember that the most important person in the learning process is you, and if life is worth experiencing, it is worth recording.

The further students go toward developing their education for themselves, the better equipped they will be to make the most of their academic talents and to be effective learners for the rest of their lives.

Traditional academic assessments place students on an A to F continuum. This placement can, over the course of an academic career, impact that person personally, physically, emotionally and even spiritually.

The time to prepare for academic success is now--whether the student is in second grade or 10th grade.

Can a student be more successful in the learning process, starting tomorrow?

Yes.

Putting these three strategies to work could turn the educational experience around for some and make learning even more positive for others.