By Brigid McNamara (Senior Speech Pathologist)
Exam period… head down, hit the books, writing essays… how do I help my child to make the most of their study preparation time ahead of their exams?
I remember studying looking like reading textbooks, making notes, re-reading notes and doing practise exams. Unfortunately, there is no specific formula for studying, however there ARE a few simple tips and strategies that can help your teen study efficiently so they are extra prepared for their upcoming exams!
How Do They Learn Best?
Firstly, you need to help your child identify what type of learner they are; visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, reading/writing. By identifying how they learn best, you can help your child to choose study methods that will work best for them. For example, if you child is a visual learner, by listening to a lecture about a topic, they will have to focus much more and their learning might be slower than if they learnt something by drawing a diagram of the information.
Types of Learners:
- Visual: this learner learns by seeing and drawing images or diagrams. A visual learner effectively studying might look like them drawing a diagram of the combustion of fossil fuels for their science topic.
- Auditory: this learner learns by hearing information and speaking this information too. An auditory learner effectively studying might look like them explaining the relationship between the two main characters of their English novel study to you.
- Kinaesthetic: this learner learns by doing or incorporating movement or tactile input into their study. A kinaesthetic learner effectively studying might look like making a model of a molecule for their chemistry subject.
- Reading/Writing: this learner learns by reading about and writing about the topics they are studying. A reading/writing learner effectively studying might look like making detailed notes or writing an essay about the events leading to the outbreak of WWI to better understand and explain the topic.
Balancing Input and Output Study Methods
A lot of our traditional study methods involve lots of input / receptive learning. This is where the information is going IN to your child’s brain, such as when a teacher is teaching them information, they are watching a video or they are reading a textbook.
When we learn something receptively or via input, the brain stores this in our working memory bank. This is a short-term memory system that helps us to understand the information. However, for your child to deeply learn the information, it has to move to our brain’s long-term storage system. This is done by expressive learning, or output.
When we produce output, our brain is taking the information that has been learnt and is DOING something with it. This helps the information to then move to our longer-term memory system, and we therefore understand and can explain the information more effectively.
Output methods of studying include things like answering practise test questions, practising giving a speech or verbally answering questions and explaining the information to another person. Our brain needs both input and output opportunities for the same information and skills to be truly learnt. Make sure that for each subject, topic and sub-topic you are encouraging your child to use both input and output strategies when studying (Sumpter, 2023).
The Importance of Study Breaks
Everyone loves a break from study! The trick is balancing these so they aren’t too long or too short and are effectively restorative for each individual person. I have two recommendations to follow when taking a study break: Incorporate movement and avoid screens.
Movement:
Incorporating physical movement can give your body a chance to exert any physical energy it might need to, that it otherwise can’t do when you are sitting at your desk studying all day. This might look like a gentle walk, shooting some hoops on the basketball court or even doing some yoga in the living room.
Avoiding Screens:
If you have been focusing on screens when studying, it is important to give your eyes and brain a break from your exposure to technology. Going out into nature, talking with a friend or throwing a ball for your pet dog are all ways to give your brain a break from studying and screens.
Study breaks are important to incorporate into your study routine, so identify what works best for your child and make sure to do these at increments that suit your child the best (Hamilton & Stachowski, 2025). We hope these tips help your child to study efficiently and take restorative study breaks during their exam periods! Happy studying!
References
Hamilton, K. L., & Stachowski, A. A. (2025). Should I Study or Take a Break? Students’ Use and Perceptions of Study Breaks. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 25(2). https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v25i2.36596
Sumpter, T. L. (2023). Studying – Completing the Circuit. Seeds of Learning Publishing.