How To Unlock A Student’s Attitude To Study

Does your teen upset you?

Have they reached a point where they are saying ‘what’s the point in studying?’

Are they constantly frustrated?

Is their thinking black and white?

Do they struggle with concentration and cannot focus?

I work with many students with these challenges.

Last Saturday, I was coaching a student, let’s call him Christopher.

On many levels Christopher is a genius. He can solve Rubik’s cubes in one minute.

He can remember all the winners of the Champions League for the last 30 years.

He loves to play chess and regularly beats his Dad.

However, Christopher hates school.

He attends but reluctantly.

Christopher is diagnosed with dyspraxia and also has an autism diagnosis.

He is meant to use a laptop in school but he prefers not to. It draws attention to him.

Being 15 years old is a tough gig these days especially when you are ‘different’.

The last thing you want is to be sitting in class tapping away whilst your peers snigger behind your bag.

Dyspraxia affects his handwriting which can be described as ‘a scrawl.’

When he comes at night sometimes it all boils over and there are fights about homework.

What’s even more interesting about Christopher is that he is a kinaesthetic learner. In other works he needs to learn through movement and doing.

I am big on multisensory learning.

We all process information using our senses such as seeing, hearing and touch to learn.

Kinaesthetic learners are far more ‘hands-on’ and learn through doing.

For them sitting in class at a desk for 1-hour classes can be torture.

This is why many thrive at practical subjects such as home economics, construction and P.E.

Multisensory learning can also be referred to a learning styles.

Whenever I post anything on learning styles, some are very quick to shout me down and say ‘learning styles has been debunked.’

So I am highly auditory, does this mean I only learn by reading out loud and repeating the information to myself because I learn through hearing the information?

Absolutely not!!

We all learn by combining seeing, hearing and doing.

After we established Christopher’s learning profile (he scored highest for kinaesthetic), I showed him why flashcards, using a whiteboard and creation of WhizGrdiz are far more effective study strategies for him to use and engage all his senses.

His comment to me at the end of the session – ‘I can do this!’

Helping students shift unlock their attitude is my jam.

Going from ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can’ is possible and quickly.

This is why I like to work Saturdays.

I created the 30-Minute Study Sprint and WHIZGRIDZ as learning tools to help students learn faster.

What underpins this is their attitude.

What underpins attitude is belief.

Once you change their belief you change their life….forever.

It is wonderful to witness. You can literally hear the cogs in their mind unlock (you see I told you I was auditory!!)

Study should not be so painful.

Learning should be fun.

And just like a Rubik’s cube, every student is a puzzle to solve.