Talk About It: A Quick Tip for Helping Your Child with Study Skills

Sorry for the late post, friends...I usually get this out on Monday! I'm kind of glad that my schedule didn't allow for my timeliness this week however, because a conversation that I had with my daughter this morning gave me some great content to share with you about Metacognition and how we, as parents and coaches/therapists, can help our kids develop and strengthen these skills even in our everyday conversations with them.


It went a little like this...

Me~ "So, I know you weren't all that happy with a couple of grades you received yesterday. Have you thought about how to adjust things today that might help you achieve a better outcome?"


M~ "Um...read more carefully?"  {notice that she is not quite sure that this is the "right answer."}


Me~ "Great. Yes, reading more carefully could help you achieve a better outcome" {restating HER idea and telling why it is a good idea}. "Tell me what it means to you when you say read more carefully."


M~ "Um...reading things again?" {again notice that she is not quite sure that this is the "right answer."}


Me~ "Yes. Reading carefully CAN be reading things again. That is a good strategy. Reading carefully also means reading with intention-making sure you are "checking" yourself to make sure that you are paying attention and taking it all in."


M~ "How can I do that?" {notice that she's now asking questions to learn more because she realizes that I'm NOT nagging her or telling her what to do...}


Me~ "One way that I use is to have "stopping points" while I read {maybe a paragraph} and I then try to paraphrase what I just read but in my own words. If I can't do that, or I have NO idea what I just read, then I go back and read it again. {explaining to her HOW to THINK/adjust/monitor = Metacognition}.


M~ "Cool. I'm going to try that today."


Me~ "Great. I'll check in later to find out how it went." {always check back with them to keep them on track AND to help them adjust their strategy, if needed}.


So, there you go...a simple, quick conversation can set you on the way to laying a firm foundation for Metacognition/Executive Function skills with your middle/high schooler. If nothing else, a dialogue such as this allows your child to see that you care, that you value what they say/their ideas and that you will help them but not NAG them. 


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Until next time...keep growing and blooming.

Jen