Does school feel crappy a lot of the time? And do you sometimes feel hopeless that you’re going to spend the rest of your teenager years (or young adulthood) in the slog of school?
One of my clients was feeling this way last school year during final exams, and I got to ask her one of my FAVORITE questions that I ask clients: “Are you stuck?! Are you the victim of a crappy school system? Or are you choosing school?”
Check out this video, where I share more details about how this conversation went.
Do you try to be a supportive parent to your teen? But suspect that you still do a lot of micromanaging?
Well, one of my clients’ parents emailed me the other day asking how to follow up on some advice I’d given her daughter. I LOVED that she asked me this question, because it shows that she’s trying very hard to do the right thing by her teen.
In this video, I share more background on the situation and then tell you the suggestion I made to her about how to remind her daughter about the tips from our session… without micromanaging her.
Do you usually wait for the teacher to hand out a study guide before you start studying? Are you a frustrated parent who’d really LIKE your student to be studying regularly but they keep on saying, “The teacher hasn’t handed out a study guide yet!”
I just got this question emailed to me, and I’m excited to share some reflections with you all. It’s not a straightforward answer, because it depends on how well you’ve been keeping up with the information you’ve been learning this semester.
However, there ARE some concrete ways you can figure out whether you need to start studying early. So watch the video, and let’s check it out!
Too many students have poor grammar, and it weakens their writing. This has become increasingly obvious to Megan as she works with students on writing their college admissions essays.
If you are looking for skills to build or strengthen with students grades 6-12, consider following some of Megan’s advice to improve students’ grammar and usage.
In this episode, Megan breaks down:
three reasons why it’s important to improve grammar sooner rather than later (hint: one of them is the SAT and ACT tests)
the importance of not just acquiring knowledge of grammar rules, but of ALSO practicing this knowledge so that it becomes fluent, and
some tools and tips for how to get this practice regularly.
Do you sometimes feel a little insane trying to schedule all the little and big tasks that go into being a student?
I worked with one client who discovered something really important about how to get herself to follow through with her study and project plans — rather than habitually wait until the last minute.
She realized that if she builds these three things into her schedule, she’s more likely to follow through.
Do you hate your assignments sometimes? You are not alone!
So many of my clients detest working on certain assignments for school, so much so that some of them just ignore the assignments completely. That certainly doesn’t help their grades, but it’s a perfectly understandable reaction. Hate is a strong feeling, and it’s not a culturally appropriate feeling to feel!
In today’s video, I share with you how a client of mine learned, through our sessions, to let herself hate her assignments. She actually found them EASIER to get done if she let herself hate them, as opposed to trying to convince herself NOT to hate them.
Do you struggle to get your first drafts of essays written?
MOST of my clients have a hard time getting their first words onto paper, including the client I feature in today’s video.
She’s a perfectionist, and often gets hyper focused on editing the first sentences she’s written… and can hardly get a full paragraph out of her head in an hour, much less an entire essay!
Today we discussed the use of the iPhone’s Voice Memo as a way to help her get that first draft written. Tune in to hear me describe exactly how.
Students, do you sometimes find that your brain is barraged with yucky thoughts? Thoughts that distract you from taking action on your academic responsibilities?
I’ve been paying more and more attention to the “self-talk” in my clients’ brains that keep them miserable when it comes to school… and life for that matter.
In our culture, we are given very few tools for how to handle those thoughts in a healthy way.
In this video, I share a story from a client last Spring who was really struggling with the debilitating thoughts that kept her from studying for her finals. The first step to transformation is awareness, and so I worked with her to help her be more aware of the thoughts that were getting in her own way.
Check it out!
The following are some yucky thoughts that I discussed in the video:
Take the appropriate steps that I discuss in the video to get these thoughts out of your head!
“My teacher doesn’t explain things well!” This is a common refrain in my coaching practice when I suggest that students seek their teachers out for extra tutoring outside of class.
Recently, I’d been watching as a client saw her chemistry grades plummeting and plummeting. When I asked her more about it, she kept on telling me how hard chemistry is and how she doesn’t understand the material. When I suggested she talk to the teacher after school, she insisted that there’s no way she’d be able to understand his explanations then, because they felt undecipherable in class.
Surprise! Surprise! This client reported in that she finally got the after school tutoring at the teacher’s insistence, and it went MUCH BETTER than she expected it would.
Listen in for an explanation of what my client discovered.
I just started taking a water aerobics class at the swimming pool of a local high school. Sometimes there are high school students working behind the front desk, and this particular day we got in a fascinating conversation as I was leaving.
I was so inspired, I couldn’t wait until I’d showered and dried my hair to tell you about it — so please enjoy this “come as you are” video in which I’ve got wet hair, my wrinkles and gray hairs are extra visible… and I tell you this story of this super fun — and tip filled! — interaction.
Listen in as we discuss the idea of potential, why it’s not enough to get you into college, why it doesn’t necessarily matter whether you get into a “good” college, and some easy tips for how to make the most of your education now matter where you go to school.
P.S. If you want more great tips about college and studying check out my College Prep podcast here!
Do you ever struggle to read difficult texts? I’ve had a few different videos on this topic lately because it’s such a buggaboo for many of my clients.
In today’s video we explore a way to THINK about reading that might shift your ability to understand what’s in the text.
This tip comes to you courtesy of a client of mine, who made a brilliant observation about her own reading process. I just LOVE IT when my clients try the techniques I give them, but then come back with an even more brilliant observation of what works for them.
Check out the video to learn a small little tweak my client has made in her thinking that has given her the grit to get through a difficult reading.
Below are two questions about the SAT and Advanced Placement tests that we got recently from two moms:
(1) “I just heard someone talking about their 2nd child who took a gap year and delayed taking the SAT until after high school. For kids who just aren’t ready for college or who haven’t progressed to Pre-Calc by their junior or senior year, is there a benefit, or even an option, of taking the tests later?”
(2) “A fellow mom and I have been having a long conversation about what colleges can and can’t see from your college testing record. This includes your SAT scores, your SAT subject test scores, your AP scores. […] My question is – can you still list [a course] as an AP course, but not report your testing score (say you do great in the class, but not so great on the test or does that look like your school is weak?) Or do you only report the class as an AP course if you have a score that is worthy of reporting? Otherwise would you simply call it Honors?”
I spent all weekend creating videos and downloadables for the course. Super exciting to see things coming together, and to meet the INCREDIBLE educators who are signing up for the course. You will be in professional development heaven with this new cohort from around the world.
Here’s a sneak peek of what the course looks like from the inside:
Also, I’ve been hearing soooooooo many success stories — from BOTH the alumni of my program AND the participants in my recent Study Cycle Masterclass — about how the Anti-Boring Strategic Study tools are already making huge shifts for their students this semester!
“One of my high school students is really putting the Study Cycle to work for her….it’s AAMMAAAZING to see, and another student could totally tell me what he was going to do after he tested himself,” academic life coach Sarah Weidman reported on Facebook.
“I was so super proud of a student today who I know I haven’t discussed the study cycle with in about 8 months or so and she was able to pull it out of her brain when I asked her for a refresher,” tutoring company owner Anna Hasbun added.
It’s not an accident that Sarah’s and Anna’s clients could remember the Study Cycle after several months “off”. I’ve done the hard work to figure out EXACTLY HOW TO TEACH this brain theory, and all the accompanying Strategic Study tools. When you follow my formula and combine it with your own “special sauce”, as Sarah and Anna have done, these lessons really, truly STICK in students’ brains.
If you don’t want to re-invent the wheel — and DO WANT to learn the fastest, most effective ways to teach students how to become agile, independent learners who confidently rock their tests and their learning — please join me for the upcoming course.
Well-meaning teachers make mistakes when it comes to setting students up to study effectively!
Listen in as Gretchen shares five mistakes teachers accidentally make, including tips for how both students and teachers about how to handle the fallout of these mistakes.
Here is the list of mistakes Gretchen covers; tune in to hear her explain WHY it’s a mistake, and what teachers and students can do instead.
Mistake #1 – We don’t teach them to study.
Mistake #2 – We teach our favorite strategies without explaining WHY they work. We give instructions that students do or don’t follow, but without teaching the bigger picture.
Mistake #3 – When we do teach studying, we often make it too complicated. Too many steps.
Mistake #4 – We teach learning styles as if that is the answer.
Mistake #5 – We don’t actively practice the tools we teach.
Did you know that WHERE you study can make a difference in how well you get prepped for a test? More about that topic in a moment.
But first — wow!! We had over 180 educators (and parents!) sign up for the Study Cycle 101 Masterclass yesterday. I was particularly impressed at the countries that were represented: Peru, Venezuela, Azerbaijan, Beirut-Lebanon, Canada, Australia, Canada, and more!!
It’s not too late to sign up if you’d like to watch the recording, and then participate in tomorrow’s Practice Labs! (Hint: During the masterclass I’m giving out a $100 discount code to my upcoming Art of Inspiring Students course, so if you’d like access to that, make sure to sign up. The discount is good through Friday evening).
But now — given it’s Wednesday! — I bet you’d like my weekly video tip. 🙂
Students, today you’re off the hook because I have a super hard question to ask your parents and teachers!
To all you grown ups — do you expect more of the teens in your life than you sometimes expect of yourself?
In today’s video — filmed “on location” on my parent’s front porch in Houston, Texas (I’m here for a high school friend’s wedding) — I share some reflections about a trend I’ve been noticing.
Over my 10+ years as an academic coach, I’ve been seeing an increase in adults expecting certain follow through from students that they don’t necessarily expect of themselves! I give two examples, one about teachers and another about parents. Please check out the video to hear more!
Also, if you’re ready to walk your talk, parents and educators, I highly encourage you to sign up for my FREE Masterclass: The Study Cycle Live! which will teach you how to actually get students to study effectively for tests and quizzes. Let’s learn how to apply the Study Cycle in our own lives AS WELL AS learn to teach it to students?
After all, we ALL would benefit from learning how to save time and energy by studying strategically.
?Do you teach students learning styles at your school, or in your classroom or coaching sessions? Do you assume — as many educators do — that knowing your learning style can help you study and learn more effectively?
Well, the research shows that this is not necessarily true! In this video I make the case for why we should all stop teaching learning styles — or at the very least, tweak the way we teach them.
If you agree that you’d like to teach a simpler, more research-based and brain-science-infused model for helping students learn to learn — I invite you to sign up for one of these FREE classes:
– Click here to take Study Cycle 101, (if you prefer to read all the lessons at your own pace),
– Click here to attend a live Master Class, if you prefer to learn it live from me, or
– If you watched the video and realize that we need EFFORT and VARIETY in order to learn, sign up for both! 🙂?
I interviewed Melissa Sprock, Indiana Wesleyan University’s Learning Center Director. I recently trained their staff in my Art of Inspiring Students to Study Strategically toolbox. As a result of this training, the Learning Center has overhauled three key services they provide students — their peer-to-peer tutor training, a student success class for “Conditionally Admitted” university students, and academic coaching in the TRIO program. This experiment has been so successful that Melissa and I are starting to do presentations at conferences around the country. However, I thought it’d be fun to do a “sneak peek” special for you, the folks in my community!
Anyone was invited to attend, though the conversation is probably most relevant for high school teachers, college faculty, administrators, coaches — or anyone curious to see concrete examples of the Anti-Boring Approach™ tools in action.
For the first half hour I interviewed Melissa about the process of transforming her learning center. Then for the second half hour we will see if you have any questions and open it up for conversation about how to teach study skills on the university level.
For many families, the costs of taking standardized tests like the ACT, SAT and AP’s are out reach. However, it is possible to receive fee waivers, and Megan breaks down exactly how.
Tune in to learn more about topics like:
The difference between reduced and waived fees
How to use the “free lunch waiver” as the first step in waiving testing fees
The costs of regular registration
How to use these processes for waiving university application fees as well.
This is a super important episode, and many families don’t realize the college-related reasons they should apply for the “free lunch waiver.”
Please spread the word among friends, local organizations, and those who work with students who may need assistance.
Too many students have poor grammar, and it weakens their writing. This has become increasingly obvious to Megan as she works with students on writing their college admissions essays.
Questions! Questions! We love questions!
For many families, the costs of taking standardized tests like the ACT, SAT and AP’s are out reach. However, it is possible to receive fee waivers, and Megan breaks down exactly how.