The key to your child’s academic success goes beyond reading books and memorizing lessons. It’s also about knowing the best, most efficient way to learn and assimilate concepts. This is where the need for academic skills comes into play.
Higher test scores and better grades can be achieved by helping your child develop a strong set of academic skills, which include a good understanding of time management, reading and writing, and work skills team.
As a parent, you play an important role in helping your children foster and maintain these skills. Whether it’s creating a productive study routine, signing them up for camps, or taking them to after-school events, there are many things you can do to support your child’s education and help them achieve his academic potential.
In this article, Blue Bells Public School will review the key academic skills every student needs to succeed in school, as well as some tips and tricks you can use to improve your child’s learning potential.
6 tips for parents to improve their child’s academic skills
The key to your child’s academic success goes beyond reading books and memorizing lessons. It’s also about knowing the best, most efficient way to learn and assimilate concepts. This is where the need for academic skills comes into play.
Higher test scores and better grades can be achieved by helping your child develop a strong set of academic skills, which include a good understanding of time management, reading and writing, and work skills team.
As a parent, you play an important role in helping your children foster and maintain these skills. Whether it’s creating a productive study routine, signing them up for camps, or taking them to after-school events, there are many things you can do to support your child’s education and help them achieve his academic potential.
In this article, we’ll review the key academic skills every student needs to succeed in school, as well as some tips and tricks you can use to improve your child’s learning potential.
What are academic skills?
Academic skills are talents and habits that benefit academic activities such as learning, research, report writing, and presentations. These skills allow students to stay focused and motivated to perform well, complete projects, and manage multiple tasks at once, which increases their productivity and success in school.
For example, children with strong academic skills know how to set goals, plan, organize their time, and collaborate with their peers on group projects, so they don’t get overwhelmed.
They know the ideal time to study, the best tools and resources to complete tasks quickly, and the best strategies for preparing for tests at school.
By being successful at school, they will have more time for extracurricular activities and having fun with friends.
These core skills are transferable and valuable in various situations and their future workplace. For example, having a good grasp of time management will allow them to enjoy a healthy work-life balance.
On the other hand, honing their public speaking skills can help them communicate better in a variety of situations, including workplace presentations.
6 Most important academic skills for students and how to improve them
Let’s look at the most crucial academic skills that would lead to your child’s academic success. We’ve also listed some tips to help them develop these skills.
1. Time management
Time management is about the effective and efficient use of time. Students with this skill know how to optimize their energy and time to ensure timely completion of all tasks, while still allowing ample time to complete other activities.
With complete control over time, they can stay on track with what is required of them at school without feeling overwhelming stress and pressure.
Although mastering this skill can be tricky, you can help your child start by establishing a daily routine to includes time for homework, playtime, and bedtime, until he gets used to it.
You can also set a timer while they work on a task. For example, have them work on an assignment for 30 minutes, with a few breaks to help them measure time effectively.
This will teach them to prioritize tasks and train their minds to think about how they can accomplish them in the allotted time.
2. Literacy
literacy is the ability to understand and communicate through reading and writing. It enriches students’ lives and creates opportunities for them to enjoy their educational experiences, achieve academic success, learn to express their ideas verbally and in writing, communicate with others, and become more social.
Children learn literacy through everyday activities at home and school. As parents, focus on constructive discussions to help them listen, understand, and ask questions.
There are countless ways to encourage your child’s love of reading, writing, speaking, and listening at home and develop strong literacy skills.
- Introduce your children to new words to develop their vocabulary.
- Read aloud and go to the library together to feed their curiosity and desire to read.
- Explore the sounds of language through rhymes.
- Support early writing with handwriting and spelling exercises.
These exercises will help your child improve their literacy skills and develop higher levels of attention and concentration in the classroom, leading to an overall improvement in their academic performance.
3. Teamwork
Teamwork is beneficial when it comes to collaborating or contributing to group activities. Learning about teamwork and working with peers on diverse projects helps students develop essential communication and social skills, such as active listening and effective speaking.
When they work in teams, they learn to listen to their peers, explore diverse ideas, and consider different points of view.
Effective collaboration will make it easier for children to complete their tasks and meet their deadlines. Additionally, it can be a good stepping stone that can advance their leadership and conflict resolution skills, which would greatly help them achieve success in the future.
To foster this academic skill, you can give your child simple household chores and ask them to divide the chores among everyone. This activity will help them realize how they can do more things in less time through collaboration and delegation of activities.
Another good idea is to enroll them in after-school activities or camps to try team sports, theater performances, or STEAM activities to instill values of teamwork and respect.
4. Digital literacy
Digitally literate people can find, evaluate, and use information using digital tools such as social media, web browsers, and online discussion forums. Additionally, they are aware of the risks associated with technology and strive to avoid them.
This skill is now more essential than ever as technology becomes more and more integrated into our daily lives.
Start teaching your children how to become digitally literate by showing them the ins and outs of popular digital tools, like Google and YouTube, and how these platforms can be used for educational purposes.
If your child already knows the benefits of these digital tools, redirect your attention and guide them on how to use them safely and responsibly. Familiarize them with some of the risks that come with them, like cyberbullying and phishing scams.
Additionally, it is important to teach them to verify information posted on the Internet and to become critical and responsible users of various online resources.
More advanced learners should be challenged to explore ways in which emerging technologies (like artificial intelligence (AI) platforms and tools) can help accelerate learning.
In the coming years, our students will need to understand the basics of Web3, blockchain, metaverse, AI, coding, robotics, and IoT, among others.
5. Public speaking
Public speaking is an essential skill that children need to learn. Effective public speaking skills have many benefits for students, such as the ability to connect with peers, become confident communicators, and develop leadership skills.
To hone this skill, introduce your child to podcasts, TED talks, and TEDYouth to help them see how to present themselves in a crowd and inspire them to step out of their comfort zone.
If they have a presentation coming up, you can help ease their anxiety by rehearsing with them and recording their practice presentation. After that, review and reflect on the video to identify areas for improvement.
Another tip to consider is taking them to a public event so they can see how professional public speakers interact with the audience.
Let your child observe their gestures and tone of voice so they can understand how to convey their message successfully when they begin giving presentations in class.
6. Critical thinking
Children who think critically can differentiate between facts and opinions, analyze information question ideas rather than simply accept them, and reject any unreliable or illogical arguments. They can find appropriate and rational solutions to problems and challenges in the process.
Simple exercises like asking your child open-ended questions can go a long way in developing and perfecting this academic skill. Ask them how they feel about their school or what will happen if they don’t complete their homework.
These questions will allow your children to make judgments based on facts from their daily school experiences. Another way to improve your child’s critical thinking is to put him in situations where he has to make decisions.
This can be done by giving them a choice of what to wear today or planning how to spend their weekly allowance. By considering the pros and cons of each solution, children learn to analyze and base their decisions on what works best.
Conclusion
In conclusion, nurturing your child’s academic skills is vital for their overall success. Time management, literacy, teamwork, digital literacy, public speaking, and critical thinking are essential abilities that empower students.
As a parent, actively engage in fostering these skills through daily routines, collaborative activities, and exposure to technology. By doing so, you equip your child with the tools needed not only for academic excellence but also for future personal and professional achievements.
