Tag Archives: Skill Development

Efficient Study Strategies for High School and College Students

EFFICIENT STUDY STRATEGIES FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS

1. Plan the amount of time you will need to study for each exam. It is more effective to spread your study time out rather than cram the night before an exam. This will allow you enough time to ask teachers/professors if you have any questions that arise when studying. Avoid procrastination by rewarding yourself for completing each study session and your goals.

2. Make up your own test based upon what you think will be on the test. Quiz yourself by using flashcards. The more active you are when studying the more effective your study session will be.

3. When studying, try to process concepts at a deeper cognitive level by comparing and contrasting the material. This may help you to internalize and apply the concepts. Find out from your teacher the test format (e.g., multiple choice, essay, true/false) and practice when reviewing for exams in that format.

4. Get organized when studying (especially for mid-terms and finals). Mentally
organize concepts that are related. Put in chronological order lecture notes and study materials. Use study guides – that are often arranged in chronological order and coincide with exam questions.

5. If you are struggling with the course material, arrange a time to meet with your teacher each week. If you continue to struggle, talk to your parents or school counselor about getting a tutor. For some students, concepts are better understood when reviewed individually based upon your learning style. Seek help whenever you begin to struggle and develop self-advocacy skills. Speak up and do not allow yourself to fall behind throughout the semester.

Have great confidence and good luck!!!

What is a Psychoeducational Evaluation

A psychoeducational evaluation is a comprehension assessment of a student’s functioning in three primary areas that impact learning and academic functioning. These areas, which include: 1) learning aptitude; 2) basic academic skill development; and 3) personality/adjustment factors, will be described below.

1. Tests of Learning Aptitude – (also called intelligence (IQ) tests, cognitive processing tests) investigate a student’s abilities on measures of verbal linguistic skills (long-term memory, abstract reasoning, vocabulary development, comprehension, and auditory short-term memory) as well as non­ verbal skills (visual organization and memory, nonverbal reasoning, planning ability, visual motor coordination, spatial visualization ability, and short-term visual memory). Supplemental cognitive (aptitude) tests are given to further investigate any problem areas based on in-take information and observations (e.g., attention, organization, visual-auditory associative memory, processing speed, auditory (phonological processing), long-term retrieval, visuo-spatial memory and fluid reasoning, etc.).

2. Tests of Academic Skill Development – investigate a student’ s skills in the areas of reading, written language and mathematics. Within each of these academic domains, the student is tested on measures of basic skills development and higher level application and reasoning skills. For example, reading tests assess word decoding, phonetic skills, word identification, fluency/rate and comprehension.

3. Test of Personality/Adjustment Factors – investigate a student’s functioning with regard to the development of his/her academic coping strategies. One’s functioning in this regard is sometimes affected by self-esteem, anxiety, internal pressure, motivational levels, etc. that are assessed during the psychoeducational evaluation. Students are also screened for emotional distress (e.g., anxiety, depression) during this portion of the test.