Tips for students to get the best from the home- learning environment

TIPS FOR STUDENTS TO ENHANCE THE LEARNING FROM HOME EXPERIENCE

School is not the only place where a student can learn new things and gain an education. At home, a child can learn a lot of things under the guidance of the parents and other people. Parents are the prime guides and influence in the life of a child. Hence, anything that they teach remains with a child for life.

A home is an excellent place for honing one’s skills in a complacent environment. With fewer distractions and more time at your hands, an individual can efficiently utilize their time at home to achieve various goals. Proper time management and plan can help us accomplish multiple tasks productively. Here are a few advantages home-learning process:-

• At home, a person is in his/ her comfort zone.
• Fewer distractions are present, and more time is available.
• Parents can keep an eye on the children and also provide them proper guidance.
• Self-paced learning is another advantage that can be achieved at home.
• At home, the atmosphere is free of stress, and the competition factor gets eliminated. The students can clear their doubts in a better way without feelings of hesitation and fear.

EFFECTIVE GUIDELINES FOR HOME- LEARNING

1) SET YOUR SPACE

Find out the place in your house where you can sit comfortably and focus for prolonged periods. Make sure that this space is away from distractions such as TV, stereos, etc. The place should be set up to create a working environment. Also, ensure that the set-up is tidy. A messy site can be very demotivating and also subject a considerable amount of stress. Keep all the important things like pens, highlighters, notebooks, pencils, erasers, and other forms of stationery handy.

2) TAKE NOTES

By taking notes, you can ensure that your attention is not swayed away. It will help you keep engaged in the learning process. In the future also, the reference from these notes can prove to be very helpful. You can easily recall the things that you learned by merely referring to the records. Analysation of the lengthy topics becomes more relaxed, and the retention capacity of the student also improvises with the help of these notes. Some features of efficient note-taking are:-

• Make bulleted points.
• Engage the use of abbreviations and short forms.
• Make diagrams and flow charts to improve the readability and understanding of the topic.
• Use different color pens for perceptibility.
• Highlight the essential words and sentences.

5) PLAN YOUR DAY

Make a schedule and follow it. Brainstorm on all the factors and events that can affect your learning potential. When a plan has been established, the body sets itself to work accordingly. This will also help in getting more things done. Planning and scheduling are essential aspects of efficient time-management.

4) LESSEN DISTRACTIONS

Harness your imagination and trick your mind into thinking that you are at school and not at home. Keep all distractions like mobile phones, television, etc. away. At home, a distraction-free environment can be made very quickly. Just be disciplined and distance yourself from several things for a while. After the completion of the scheduled task, reward yourself with a small break. This will keep your mind fresh and motivated.

5) CHANGE IT UP

Following the same pattern, again and again, can become boring after a certain amount of time. Hence, don’t feel hesitant to incorporate new changes into your schedule. Analyze the things that are hampering your productivity and make the relevant changes. Change the intervals and introduce other activities in the process as well.

6) TAKE BREAKS

A person cannot sit straight for more than one hour, let alone do some brain consuming work. An average person’s attention span is of about 20-30 minutes at a time. Hence, take frequent breaks and rejuvenate your mind.

7) SPEAK UP AND ASK FOR HELP

No one is expected to be perfect. After all, we are only humans. When in doubt, speak up and seek the help of the elders. Various resources are present today to assist the students in their learning process. Utilize these resources and get better results.  

8) JOURNAL IT

Maintain a journal and list down all your goals and activities for the day. Also, write down about your achievements and track your progress in the stride. By setting personal goals and achieving them, you pave your way towards self-development. Through a journal, one can also keep themselves motivated when feeling low and underwhelmed.