Blog Archives

Year In Review

12/21/2017

We are excited to feature a guest blog from Austin Therapy for Girls to wrap up the end of the fall semester!

Take a deep breath 2017 is almost over. No matter what has happened in 2017 for you, end of the year represents a time to reflect and do our best to make some goals for 2018. We all know that the reality of keeping those goals might lose its new year glow around February, however, nevertheless we all strive to do things better and mustard up some motivation to “getter done” (deep Texas accent required)!

At Austin Therapy for Girls we do several activities to wind up 2017 and prepare for 2018. One of our favorite creative activities is make “Vision Board Candles”. We take a blank white candle and cut out inspirational quotes, pictures and decorate them with paint pens or Sharpies. Every time we light the candle, it’s a way to remind us of our dreams and goals. Just remember to blow it out before heading to bed, your room going up in flames is probably not making your goal list of 2018. Also, we have created this awesome worksheet for those who want a quick and easy way to set some goals and let go of 2017.

Good Luck and Happy New Yearing! ( yes it’s a verb now)

-Shayna Barksdale of Austin Therapy for Girls

Study Skills Bundle

12/14/2017

We are SUPER thrilled to feature our FABULOUS Ed Tech, Lisa Johnson, with an incredible study skills post just in time for finals!!

Last week the Ed Techs sent out two surveys to glean information on study skills to share with students and parents in a webinar. We also compiled all of the great feedback we got from both students and staff.

NARROWING IN ON STUDY SKILLS and STRATEGIES
Because “study skills” encompasses reading, note-taking, managing distractions and time, and much more… we asked both staff and students a variation of this question...

In your opinion, what would be the one skill (in reference to study skills)
that our high school students need to improve?

Students and staff chose from one of 3 options (e.g. effective note-taking strategies, study skills and test prep, and concentration and time management). As you can see from the graphics below… study skills is clearly important from both the staff and the student perspective. As we have a webinar on Note-taking and one on Managing Distractions, we thought it might be a good idea to focus on study skills for this post… especially as finals are right around the corner.

One of the other questions we asked was what materials are provided to students to support them with studying. The graphic below shows the types of resources that many of our teachers provide to support students.

And this graphic delineates the types of materials that students find most helpful.

The final question we asked students was about strategies. They shared their top strategies. These are pictured below in the graphic.

What strategies (digital or otherwise) do you use to study
and/or review content for your class?

Additional strategies students shared were tutoring, rewrite/paraphrase notes, redoing homework, making own study guide, and reviewing the learning targets.

NAVIGATING CLASS/COURSE STUDY TIPS and STRATEGIES
One more thing we added was an open-ended question for staff.

What advice would you like to give to students
about studying and study skills for your class?

We took all of the information that was submitted and created a Study Tips Bundle! The Study Tips have been gleaned from our WHS staff. They are not intended to be a comprehensive guide... but more to share tips and best practices. You will also notice that some tips change based on the content area... so be mindful of that. In addition to the tips shared for each content area, there is a “General Study Skills” section of tips that apply to all content areas at the end of the document.

NOTABLE TIPS from COLLEGES and UNIVERSITIES
If you are looking for additional information on the topic, some links to articles and site shave been provided below:

Concordia University Portland: “5 Study Skills that Can be Taught”
Thinker Academy: “5 Study Skills to Accelerate Learning”
Berkeley Student Learning Center: “Academic Success and Strategic Learning”
Lifehacker: “Study Less, Study Smart: the Best Ways to Retain More in Less Time”
Washington Post: “Study Techniques that Work - and (Surprisingly) Don’t)”
College Atlas: “Study Skills for College Students”
University of Illinois: Academic Center for Excellence
University of Central Florida: “Study Skills Inventory”

We also wanted to let you know that we have started a Tech Talk video series if you would like to see the full content for this session or check out any of the previous topics:

Good Luck, Chaps!
-Kristi, Katie, and Elizabeth with the help of the wonderful Lisa Johnson

What's a Pomodoro?

12/7/2017

With the fall semester coming to a close and finals looming, we wanted to share an approach to studying that could help relieve some stress while increasing productivity, attention, and concentration: The Pomodoro Technique.

"The Pomodoro Technique can help you power through distractions, hyper-focus, and get things done in short bursts, while taking frequent breaks to come up for air and relax. Best of all, it's easy. If you have a busy job where you're expected to produce, it's a great way to get through your tasks."

It's made up of 5 simple steps:

1. Choose a task to accomplish.
2. Set the Pomodoro (or whatever timer you prefer to use) for 25 minutes.
3. Work on the task until the Pomodoro goes off, then put a check on your paper.
4. Take a short break (about enough time to fill up your water bottle or go to the bathroom).
5. Every 4 Pomodoros, take a long break (15-30 minutes).

Alan Henry breaks down the technique a little more in his post on LifeHacker, so be sure to give that a read!

The goal of this technique is to help you get into the flow and focus but, most importantly, to remind you to come up for air from time to time.

Being productive and getting work done is important but often times we need to be reminded of how crucial it is to take a step back and let ourselves relax in the midst of all the work.

By sharing this technique with our students and kids, we can begin teaching them the importance of time management and work/life (or, better yet, school/life) balance!

For more information about how taking breaks can increase productivity, check out Take More Breaks, Get More Done on LifeHacker.

Let's balance our time and remember that it's okay to take breaks!

-Kristi, Katie, and Elizabeth

Year In Review

Study Skills Bundle

What's a Pomodoro?

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