STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
STRONG
STUDY HABITS
3 TIPS to Help Foster a Study Habit
1. Find a Challenge Requiring Study
 Challenging material
= greater success
 The experience, if done correctly, will involve:
~some struggle to understand new ideas
~not always being the smartest kid in the room
~getting less than perfect scores
~having to study to do well
 “Bloom” the standards: find an alternative that will
encourage your child to understand subjects more deeply by
addressing the “Why?” questions
2. Encourage a Growth Mindset
Praise and Motivation
 Children who believe intelligence is fixed tend to believe
truly smart people don’t need effort in order to succeed.
 Children who believe intelligence can be developed are
much more likely to credit hard work as a key factor in
achievement.
 Children who were praised for their intelligence instead
of their effort were more likely to avoid challenges for
fear of failing and losing praise.
Embrace Growth Mindset
 Children can be taught about growth mindset when
educated on how the brain gets stronger and smarter
through the process of learning.
 Students who are taught about brain development in
addition to study skills outperform those who are taught only
study skills.
 Students not taught about brain development are not
motivated to put skills to use.
 Make sure your child understands the positive impact he can
have on her brain and save your praise for the effort she puts
into learning and studying.
3. Turn Tables, Have Child Quiz You
Process of creating questions, reinforces concepts
that will be tested.
 When grading you, child gets analytical exercise in
determining whether answers are correct and why
incorrect answers are wrong.
Have Child Quiz You
Start young!
 The study habit is one best formed at a younger
age when behavior and attitude are more
malleable.
Have Child Quiz You
Give your brain cells a workout at the same time!
Bright children often enjoy discussing and
sharing their knowledge and are more than happy
to “show you up.”
Combating Stress
GENERAL STRESS REDUCTION
visualization, relaxation,
meditation, self-talk
 “rest & digest” system
Reduce STRESS
1.
Practice daily breathing exercises with deep inhalation
and equally deep exhalation This should be done for
three to five minutes twice daily
2. Engage in quiet self-talk to help guide brain to remain
calm
3. Learn how to meditate and to gain mindfulness
4. Exercise daily with moderate exertion
5. Increase fish intake to 8 ounces weekly
6. Work on being in the moment and enjoying those you
love
Stress Reduction
TEST TAKING Strategies
Improve your test results
and relieve a lot of stress and test
taking anxiety.
Before Exam Tips
Study/Review/Practice the material
 with a friend
 solo
 write/read/speak
Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Important for clear thinking & stress relief
Eat Breakfast
Important for energy
Visualize
“See” yourself easily answering questions
correctly
During the Exam
 Focus
 Avoid distractions
 Budget your time
 Read questions carefully
 Resist temptation to change answers
 Don’t waste time worrying. Recognize you don’t have
time to worry about the results.
 Take deep breathing breaks
 Check work carefully to avoid careless errors
After the Exam
 Congratulate yourself!
Combating
Perfectionism
Fixed Mind Set leads to…
Perfectionism
Parenting Perfectionists
Help perfectionists:
 avoid dichotomous thinking
 face challenges w/o harsh self-criticism
 strive for personal excellence
Emphasize Personal Growth Rather
than Top Performance
Parent needs to model a growth
mindset, focusing encouragement on
effort, and stressing growth rather
than performance
Developing a Growth Mindset
 failure = opportunity to learn and grow
 strive for personal excellence, without the
burden of unachievable goals of perfection
 Fixed mindset is learned and can be modified
with effort
 Emphasizing process not outcome
 Give opportunities to practice new skills
 Set goals stressing improvement
Opportunities to Build Small Successes and
Experience Small Failures
 Excellence requires practice, hard work, and the
ability to learn from mistakes
 Follow your child’s personal interests and avoid
high stakes endeavors that may add stress
 Pick tasks that require work for incremental
improvement, where the perfectionist won’t
encounter immediate success.
 Seek opportunities that require practice for
skill development
 Don’t let the perfectionist child quit!
 Remind them that innate talent only takes a
person so far and the most successful in any
field work hard to get there
 Reading biographies can help a gifted
perfectionist set realistic expectations. Nobel
prize winners aren’t born espousing theory.
What Else Can Parents do?
• Recognize the positive and negative traits
of perfectionism.
• Model acceptance of your own mistakes,
and let your child know you are not perfect.
• Help your child set realistic standards for
themselves.
• Teach the concept of constructive failure
 Assure child that your love for him is
unconditional and not contingent on his
successes or failures.
 Don’t let study interfere with healthy eating
and sleeping!
 Be on the look out for physical symptoms,
i.e. nausea on days of tests, excessive
nervousness, loss of humor
Additional References
 http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/perfectionism.htm
 http://stress.about.com/od/lowstresslifestyle/a/perfectionism.htm
 http://stress.about.com/od/meditation/ht/061408.htm
 http://www.surebaby.com/parenting-tips/perfectionism-in-children.php
 http://stress.answers.com/coping/tips-for-overcoming-perfectionism