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Study Skills
Ruth's Blog | Thoughts on Education

Extended Time: When it Can Help and Hinder

03/Apr/2010 03:07 PM
The most commonly requested accommodation on IEPs, 504 Plans, and college board exams is extended time. Psychologists, who evaluate students, will often list extended time as a school and college board recommendation, for students who have slow processing, anxiety issues, focusing problems, or are disorganized. Students ask for it regularly, thinking it will help them obtain a better grade on a test, because it lessens the anxiety of running out of time.  But does it really help?
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The Learning Style Debate

01/Mar/2010 08:24 PM
According to a published report in a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, new research debunks the existence of learning styles. The December 2009 report claims that earlier studies have not used the type of scientific research designs that would make previous findings credible. Part of their conclusion to this study, states that educational institutions have wasted limited educational resources to push learning styles theories. I am one of those educators who say that students often do learn differently from their peers and it is my responsibility to learn how each of my students gains the knowledge that they need to have. But equally important, especially for the adolescent student, is for the student to understand how he learns. Read More...

Practical Study Skills

02/Feb/2010 07:01 PM
Most of us believe that good study skills can help a student become more successful in school. As a result of this belief, there are an abundance of courses taught by tutoring agencies, educational organizations, and schools that teach study skills as a separate subject.  The courses are often aimed at keeping students organized, improving their abilities to study and take tests, acquiring effective reading strategies, and practicing good time management. 

The problem with most of these well-intentioned courses is that they are not always practical for individual learning styles, not practiced on a daily basis and seldom linked to a current curriculum. Read More...