A person’s ability to learn something depends on a wide variety of factors ranging from the content being taught to the teacher. But one thing that makes a huge impact is someone’s personal learning style. Many students get frustrated because a teacher seems to be unable to teach them, and the material is just not getting through. A common mistake that a lot of teachers make is that their lesson plans and their style of teaching only cater to one learning style. So while students who click with that style excel in the class, the majority of the students are left confused and stranded at the back of the pack.
At Study Hut, we customize each one-on-one tutoring session to fit each individual student’s needs. For visual learners, there are plenty of whiteboards and flashcards through out the Hut. Tutors can diagram content for the student, and give them instructions while writing out each step. If your student does better with teachers who write on the board or give detailed powerpoint presentations, your student is probably a visual learner. For aural learners, tutors make sure they clearly talk the student through each step and area they are confused about. If teachers who spend most of the class lecturing or doing verbal exercises with the class are your student’s favorites, your student is probably an aural learner. Going through and writing down notes and exercises with pen and paper instead of digitally will help students who are kinetic learners. No matter what your student’s needs are, we have a tutor for that at Study Hut!
For centuries people have made use of their opposable thumbs by communicating information and art with pencil and paper (or sharp rocks on trees and cave walls). Now modern technology has brought us to the next level of thumb-use evolution. With the swipe of a single digit on a screen we have access to a plethora of activities. But does technology actually make studying more efficient for students? Here are a few things to consider when deciding between using a paper-pad and a virtual-pad.
Notes
When it comes to hand-written notes a student is engaged in the activity of writing. That means that they are an “active learner” participating in the process. One drawback of digitized notes is that it removes the hands-on factor. A student is reduced to a passive observer. If the material is not engaging they will easily get bored and gain nothing from their notes. On the other hand, today’s students can often take notes much more quickly through typing than through writing. They can also highlight important information by changing the format of the text (bold, underline, italicized) with the click of a button.
Assignments
Technology is also changing the face of presentations done by students. Poster boards are being replaced by PowerPoint. Some might argue that this robs a child of their creativity. How can they use their imagination without using scissors, construction paper, and pipe cleaners? Well, creativity comes in many forms. Many teachers are now requiring students to present their material by making group videos/short films. This allows average every-day students to become directors, producers, actors, and writers—something that was rare in the olden-days. This gives students the ability to make a presentation in front of the class without the embarrassment or fear that often accompanies public speaking. It’s a win-win situation.
Focus
When it comes to creating distractions, technology has paper beat hands-down. In years past a bored student had no other option but to doodle on their paper during class. And once class was over they could entertain themselves by interacting family and friends in the real world. Today, students can take advantage of the thousands of games and social media outlets their cell phones and tablets provide them with. They can appear to be taking notes or studying all through the night when in actuality they are playing hours of Angry Birds or “liking” every comment posted on Facebook.
In the end, technology is a powerful tool that has opened up brand new horizons for students to learn and apply their knowledge in creative and innovated ways. Though it has its obvious disadvantages, there’s no arguing with the fact that it’s here to stay. That being said, let’s try to make the most of it!
It happens all too often: we pour ourselves a cup of coffee, sit down in front of our computers and books, ready to study, but find ourselves staring blankly at the blinking cursor. When it comes to studying, a lot of us don’t even know where to begin. This is not an issue of motivation; it is simply that we have never learned how to study. Sure, teachers give us all the information we need in class and we take copious notes, scribbling dates and facts down in our notebooks furiously. But what do we do when it comes time to remember all those little bullet points at the end of the semester? At the Study Hut, we specialize in the science of how to study. It may seem trivial, but we have found that most students really have no idea where to begin when it comes to preparing for exams. Unfortunately, this is something that can damage your grades irrevocably. Often final exams are worth fifteen or even twenty percent of your final grade. So what should you do, you might ask. Here are a few pointers to help you stay on track:
1) Flashcards are your friend. Sure, they’re annoying and seem to take forever, but just think: most of the time, once you’ve finished actually writing them out, you already remember them!
2) Define your terms. The best way to instantly forget something is to not understand it to begin with. When you are learning about a new concept or reviewing an old one, have a dictionary close at hand. That way, when you read over a word that doesn’t even look like English, you can figure out what it means and make it stick.
3) C.M.T.W.F.Y.: Create Mnemonics That Work For You. When you are desperately trying to remember something and it’s just not happening, try some mnemonics. Often times, if you create a silly song or jingle, the information will permanently imbed itself in your brain. Don’t believe me? This writer learned the quadratic formula over a decade ago and I still remember it perfectly. Why? I learned it to the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel.” It may sound stupid, but it really works!
Of course, nothing can replace one-on-one tutoring for educational roadblocks, but with these simple tips, you should be on your way to A’s. Final exams can be scary and intimidating, but there is no reason why you can’t seize the opportunity to boost your grades! So go pick up your pencils and crack open those books! Good luck and happy studying!
Here at The Study Hut sometimes saying goodbye is a happy occasion. As the summer is coming to an end so we say goodbye to a few of our tutors. Not to worry! Their departure is not due to sub-par performance or conflicts between other tutors, but because they are once again joining the ranks of US college students or are exploring the world in hopes of expanding human knowledge.
We are happy to see one tutor off to Columbia University this fall. Jenna who has worked with us this last year came to us already with some teaching experience. She had taught and substituted for a few of the lower elementary grades after finishing school. Now she is going for her Masters degree in education. We are always happy people using their skills to teach other and help others.
Another tutor will also be leaving not just us, the whole United States. Jenny, after a few years helping kids in our Redondo office, is packing up and leaving for Australia. A marine-bio major, Jenny spent time studying sharks while in school. Now she plans on continuing that hobby/love. She will be camping out on the remote coast of Australia tracking, recording, and studying the local shark behavior. After a few months she will then be attending graduate school in Australia.
We wish Jenna and Jenny the best of luck on their new adventures.
Studying for any test all begins with organization. Compiling all your notes, classwork, homework, quizzes, etc into one concise organized study guide is a great way to start! You want to make sure to keep everything as tidy and ready to find as possible in a logical order in your notebook. Then when it comes time to start studying you won’t have to freak out! Pull all the vital information from all your resources and compile them into your study guide. Keep this as neat as possible as well and in a logical order. Outline form works great, separating material into separate sections in each chapter. Make flashcards for all important terms, people, dates an other key facts and review daily!
Preparation is also key. Make sure to start preparing at least 2 weeks before the test. Even studying for half an hour each day will help you be prepared by test day. Make flashcards each week and review your notes each day. As the test gets closer and closer get a game plan together of when, how long and what you will study each day. For example, what sections you will take notes on, create a part of your study guide for, and make flashcards. Never wait until a day or two before the test to start your reviewing and studying! Cramming will not be effective and will leave your brain overwhelmed.
Studying in groups by quizzing each other is also very effective. Once everyone has a good grasp on the material, get together with a few friends and quiz each other on the info. This will get your brain thinking in different ways and really test to see if you know the information. Anything you are rusty on, go back to the book and review the concepts, take notes, and answer the question you missed. Review, review, review in an organized fashion, make study guides, and prepare early! You will be in a spot to conquer the Rucker Rok!
Study Hut Tutoring has just opened a new location in Newport Beach. Located at 1600 West Coast Hwy, we are in the ideal location for students in the Newport Beach School District. We look forward to tutoring the students at nearby schools, such as: Newport Harbor High School, Ensign Intermediate School, and Newport Heights Elementary. Study Hut specializes in subject tutoring and test prep (SAT & ACT), and can help with the stressful college admission process.
Study Hut is a place where students of any age come to work one-on-one with a tutor. This allows for a student to receive the individual attention that they need but may not be able to receive elsewhere. Our philosophy is to encourage a lasting motivation in our students so that they can achieve all of their current and future academic goals.
High School, Middle School, and Elementary School students alike will find great service from Study Hut’s knowledgeable and enthusiastic tutors. We strive to help students succeed academically, not only by teaching concepts, but also by encouraging the organization and consistent study habits necessary to succeed in any level of schooling.
The Study Hut Tutoring offices are not your average, everyday cubicle work station. Each nook at the Hut is quite chill, allowing students to dominate in their natural state. In this space, fresh with plants and wood tones, frustration levels are at all time lows while comprehension and retention foster strong grades. It’s pretty epic. For example, one room is called the [Marine Layer]. You can see the ocean! They have a cool effect on the wall that really ties the whole room together; it definitely lives up to it’s name in a cloud layer of its own.
Tutoring in Newport Beach is about to be invigorated with the local beach spirit and culture of Study Hut Tutoring. One big high five, a snack, and some knowledge will fire up anyone, especially young people. We work with students with different personalities, different goals, and different learning styles. That’s why Study Hut Tutors tailor to each one of it’s students
At the beginning of each and every school year most schools distribute a handy little agenda planner to all of the students in hopes that they use them often and correctly. However most students regard these planners as just an extra book filled with papers to throw in the bottom of their backpack or back of their locker and forget about until the last day of school when they through them out. But the school does not spend the money and effort to distribute these to students just to have them thrown out, they are given to the students because they truly do help and improve student performance. The bare minimum use of the student planner is they should write down everything that the teacher assigns for that night and to keep it updated with all of the current homework assignments. Then after completing each assignment they must cross if off or some how indicate that they are completed with the work.
Yet, students should and need to get even more in depth and on top of their work load. We all know that daily homework is not the only assignments teachers hand out. They also assign long term projects and normally give the dates for future tests to allow students time to prepare. So the student needs to make sure to go ahead into the future of the planner and write down assignments or tests that are due sometime in the distant future. There are too many students claiming ignorance to when the assignment is due and having to start a huge essay or project the night before it due. Which is terrible because this problem can be easily avoided by taking an extra 30 seconds each day and making sure that the planner is filled out completely and that the student knows what he has to do and when it is completed. Remember schools are always trying to help students improve their grade not hurt it, so use all the available resources to you and you will be great.
As a new test-prep tutor for Study Hut, I have learned loads of information about the SAT, ISEE, and HSPT. I was surprised to find that, despite the differences in the exams, the overall study technique was very similar and ultimately comes down to one word – strategy.
This reminded me of my fourth grade teacher, Ms. Green. She told my class that she was SO good at taking tests that she could take a multiple choice test on any subject and still get most of the answers correct. At the time, I thought she was crazy – or maybe just really smart. What I have come to learn while working at Study Hut is that any test, whether for school or the SAT, has two different parts to it: the information it covers and the specific way that you put that information on the test. Failing to recognize this often makes the difference between an A and a B, or several hundred points on the SAT.
During my first test-prep tutoring session, my student seemed very stressed out about the ISEE test he was only a month away from taking. We were reviewing vocabulary words, many of which he had never even seen before. Becoming very concerned, he asked me: “How can I EVER remember all of this information?” I told him not to worry and that, by the end of our session, he would be able to figure out the meaning of at least half of the words he had never even seen before. Now, he thought I was crazy. He only had three weeks until the test and his parents had chosen Study Hut to provide that extra special test-prep service that only Study Hut can provide. Now, it was my job to show him the first important strategy to use when studying vocabulary words. While that’s not a secret I can reveal now, let’s just say that by the end of our two-hour one-on-one session, he not only knew most of the word meanings, but also answered 14/15 correctly on a practice quiz directly afterward.
Finals are the most stressful and overwhelming time of each semester. It was hard enough studying for each test the last couple of months, but how are you supposed to study for a test in every class covering everything you have learned! It’s a tall task, but it is manageable with the right tools and preparation. The tutors at the Study Hut are ready to arm you with the weapons necessary to conquer the dreaded week.
Probably the most important key to studying for finals is budgeting time. You have to have realistic expectations for each class and weigh the pros and cons of time spent studying for each class. If I have a C+ in math and need to nail my final to get a B, I’ll put more time into that class than in English which comes easy to me and I have a solid A. Once you decide how important each final is, now you have to make sure you set time aside for each, and work both diligently, and effectively.
A second key to studying for finals is simply knowing WHAT to study. Believe it or not, finals are usually far easier than the individual chapter tests. This is because on the final, the teacher is going to test the big concepts from each section, not the nitty gritty details like those tested in a chapter test. With the help of your Study Hut tutor, you can go through your old tests and assignments and realistically pick and choose what you must dedicate more time to studying.
So remember: Don’t panic, stay organized, take your tutors advice, and study diligently. Good things will come. Best of luck to you all.
Dont let these Manhattan Beach middle school students fool you. Please stay active with them and keep them engaged.
Go through his “edline” acct with him and talk to him about each of his grades. He could use practice quizzes and he can make them himself.
He needs to focus on his daily planner too, as do ALL of our middle schoolers, and even most of our high schoolers, and have all his tests written on the day they will be given, and have a detailed study plan written out for the days leading up to his test(s).
The study tasks should say, “Make 20 flashcards for spanish verbs” and that would be on Monday for example, even if his test isnt until friday. The next day should read, “review flashcards for 2 [20min] chunks”…. you can make him difficult practice quizzes where you will be able to see if he is not only comprehending the material, but retaining it.
You’re def going to want to make mini quizzes (they can be as small as 3-5 questions based on the material he just covered). If no practice quiz is given, there is no real way to ensure comprehension.
He can work on HW, but that shouldnt be his number 1 or even number 2 priority, unless the difficulty of the assignment is a pressing concern. He needs some management help, and probably a little conceptual help, you can evaluate the needs of all this at the beginning with an interview process. You will be able to gauge and feel more comfortable after working with him a second time…that kind of thing builds as you get to know your student.
