Don't Overwhelm Students

submitted: Nov 7th 2008 | by: Robert McKenzie | Total views: 4 | Word Count: 353

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When teaching students organizational and study skills, you can very easily overwhelm students with adult processes and procedures. When coaching students and teaching them different processes you must remember to keep the processes and tools you use simple. If you build complex processes, you do take the chance of overwhelming the students to the point where they will rebel and stop using the skills and tools you want to teach them to use.
Students that do not already have good organization and study skills can often experience stress related anxiety. If you are working with a student who has experienced school stress in the past, trying to teach overly complex organizational processes can lead the students to experience additional stress. If the student starts to falter with the skills you are coaching them on, they may fall back on their old habits.
When you are teaching a student study and organization skills, you need to move slowly and show the students how well they can do in school when they use the skills you have been coaching them on. Providing positive reinforcement can keep your students self-esteem high while they struggle through the process of learning new skills. Teaching a student good study and organization skills should be a process that is taught at the speed directed by the student instead of the school year calendar.
If you do find yourself trying to coach a student who has become overwhelmed with study skills, slow down your coaching sessions and get your student back on track. Study skills need to be practiced on a consistent basis. If your students are overwhelmed and stop using the skills you have been coaching them on, you may need to re-teach the skills but this time you will understand what tools can overwhelm the student.
Many students shut down when they become overwhelmed. Avoid teaching a student that good organization or study processes are overly complicated by keeping the processes you are teaching simple and easy for the student to implement into their lives.

About the Author

Robert McKenzie is a former educator and writer. Visit his website for more information about teaching study skills

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