Developing Good Study Habits

Lower grades can often be attributed to poor study habits. You can help your student develop good methods for studying.

In addition to learning more about developing good study habits, read more about National College Savings Month and a chance to win money for college in a guest article from Treasurer of State, Roby Smith.

Why It Matters

Good study habits are often the key to good grades.
As your student improves study habits, better grades for higher quality homework and more correct test answers will follow. In addition, many of the habits that work for the classroom will help your student adequately prepare for standardized tests that have importance later.
Effective studying means less wasted effort.
Students can get frustrated by spending hours preparing for a test or doing homework, only to receive a lower than expected score. Improved habits can help your student spend less time while earning better grades.
The cycle reinforces itself.
Anxiety over assignments and tests can arise from not knowing the correct information well enough. By preparing well, your student can face these moments with more confidence, and better results will further reduce anxiety in the future.

What Your Student Can Do Now

Understand good studying habits.
The Steps to Good Study Habits information we’ve included can help set up a guideline for good study habits. In addition, your student should try different methods of studying to find strategies that are personally effective.
Identify the best learning environment.
Every student learns differently and in different ways. Some are able to study with family members close by doing their usual routines, while others need absolute quiet in a room with the door closed. Your student should try different settings for different subject matter and then evaluate each one’s effectiveness. For example, your student could read different textbook chapters in two different settings and determine how much more time was spent reading it in one versus the other. You can determine how much information was comprehended by asking for a summary of the content. More than likely, the proper study environment will be very evident after this type of exercise.
Practice makes perfect.
Knowing which study method to use for each class or subject matter is very effective. Does pacing around a room speaking out loud while holding notecards help your student practice a speech? Does a video or movie help your student remember which president was in the White House when the 13th Amendment was passed?
Try new methods.
Not many of us remember much of what we hear, but we remember more of what we see and write. Help your student establish a system of note-taking, such as an outline, to pinpoint important information from a textbook. The SQ3R strategy for reading textbooks improves understanding, recall and retention of textbook material.
Make a study plan or schedule.
Your student should take full advantage of study guides or extra study sessions the teacher offers. A large amount of material can be broken into smaller chunks, which can then be scheduled on a written study plan. Group similar topics together so that skill sets are being layered and strengthened to be ready for future skills. For example, rather than memorizing the dates of every Civil War battle that took place between 1861 and 1865, focus first on those that occurred within the first two years; or break them down by the states in which they occurred while marking them on a map.

What Your Student Can Do Later

Take a class on good study habits.
If a class on studying is offered by the school, your student should sign up for it as soon as possible. If such a class isn’t offered, your student may benefit from talking with one or more teachers about how to best study for specific classes or upcoming assignments and tests.
Join or create a study group.
While a large group can be a distraction for many students, smaller groups of focused students can be beneficial in limited doses. Your student can see how other students study and discuss the topics they are studying for greater comprehension.
Continue to refine skills and planning.
As your student learns what is most effective, he or she can tailor study sessions to get the most benefit in shorter amounts of time. More efficient studying will help your student avoid boredom, frustration and anxiety.
Be mindful.
Harvard professor Ellen Langer defines mindfulness as “the simple process of noticing new things.” Help your student become a lifelong learner by being a watchful observer. Watchfulness develops detail-oriented skills and builds empathy, which are necessary for nearly every profession. Encourage your student to pay attention to people’s interactions and mannerisms and imagine what emotions are occurring. The first step, however, is setting aside the electronic device for a few minutes.

What You Can Do

Provide feedback.
Discuss the Steps to Good Study Habits with your student, and watch for times when your student starts to deviate from those. In addition, keep an eye out for excessive boredom or frustration. If you see any of these behaviors, be ready to step in with some reminders or suggestions for beneficial changes.
Encourage progress.
Especially if your student does not see immediate large increases in scores, a feeling may develop that the extra effort to build study habits is not worth it. Be willing to support any positive changes you see, not just higher grades.
Help your student find a balance.
If your student does not have time to study effectively, you can help by talking over the other things taking up time. Ideally, your student should be able to strike a good balance between studying enough to achieve high grades, social or free time, family commitments and school and other activities. If something needs to give, be prepared to help your student decide what that will be.
Create a successful learning environment.
After discussing with your student, create the learning environment where successful studying can happen. Then make sure other family members are aware of and respect it.

ISave 529 Celebrates College Savings Month with $5,290 Giveaway!

College Savings Month, celebrated each September, is a national effort to encourage families to start thinking about saving for future education costs. To celebrate, ISave 529, formerly College Savings Iowa, is giving one lucky Iowan a $5,290 boost to their education savings! All you have to do is visit Iowa529Contest.com and register before the end of September. All Iowa residents with a child or grandchild under 18 years old are eligible.

Given the increasing costs associated with all forms of education, ISave 529 offers families a way to save for their children’s future, wherever their educational journey takes them. Funds saved in an ISave 529 account can be used for tuition at any eligible education institution in the U.S. or abroad, including colleges, universities, apprenticeship programs, trade schools, K-12 schools and more. But did you also know funds can be used for qualified education expenses beyond tuition at post-secondary institutions, including room and board, books, a computer and supplies? An additional perk for Iowa taxpayers is a state income tax deduction of up to $5,500 in contributions per Beneficiary account in 2024!

With more than $6.2 billion in assets and $5.1 billion already withdrawn for qualified education expenses, families across the U.S. have experienced the benefits of saving for education costs with the ISave 529 plan. It’s easy to see how invested Iowans are in the education of current and future scholars in their lives. To see everything the Plan has to offer, I encourage you to visit ISave529.com or contact us at (888) 672-9116. Happy saving!

Roby Smith
State Treasurer of Iowa

About the Author: Roby Smith is the State Treasurer of Iowa and administrator of the ISave 529 education savings plan. He serves as the State’s banker, coordinates bonding and invests Iowa’s money. Treasurer Smith is also the administrator of Iowa’s unclaimed property and Iowa’s ABLE plan for individuals with disabilities. To learn more about the Treasurer, visit IowaTreasurer.gov.

For additional details about ISave 529, read the Program Description.

Next Steps

Be sure to complete the survey questions at the end of this article to be entered into the 529 deposit giveaway!

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