The Circle of Learning Strategies™
Reading time: 8 minutes
Our circle diagram shows how simple learning strategy improvement can be! Keep it simple – over time, you need only focus on the eight dimensions or pillars to expert learning. And to help your child find that superlearner inside, you only need to work on one at a time. Note the location of important strategies within the dimensions.
How to Study Smarter
Your focal point for encouraging improvement lies at the center of the learning strategies circle with your weekly meetings with your child to plan, review and encourage better study efforts while celebrating improvements. Sign up for the Pa 10 course to learn more.
At first, we know the initial exposure to evidence-based strategies might feel a little intimidating. This is a common response. It initially may seem like there is so much to know about better learning strategies, and then there is considering how you will help your child use them. The circle helps you break this down into small steps!
You want the best for your child, so there can be the temptation to want your child to learn to practice every strategy. But it doesn’t need to work this way – in fact, our simple step-by-step approach is better. We help you start small.
Yes, it’s true there are many things your child can do to study smarter. But hold this thought – this means you have many good choices to choose from when you begin to start helping your child study smarter.
Know there is no one best way to get started-there are many. You tailor your efforts to fit your child’s needs. You start small, then grow one strategy at a time as you see how much they improve your child’s learning.
Simple step-by-step is good news! Here at the Center for Homeschooling, we have done the heavy lifting for you. We make it easy to understand the most important learning strategies, and we provide an easy way to view them in The Circle of Learning Strategies.
Use this as a tool to organize your efforts to get better. Get familiar with the strategies within each of the dimensions. Many are listed in the boxes on the chart. Use your Learning Strategies Assessment report to help you decide what to work on each week. Organized your conversations and efforts by these eight dimensions.
It’s easy, for example, when you work on helping your child try just one new learning strategy a week, in eight short weeks you can be more effective across all eight dimensions. Or if you wish, you can do what many do by working at a more deliberate pace and spend a few weeks practicing using only one strategy until you and your child get comfortable with it. You still can become a much more effective learner in the course of a just few months!
Follow our suggestions and use our learning strategy toolboxes. Refer to our twelve steps to smarter learning diagram in the parent resources section to guide your efforts. We are there for you.
Print this chart, post it on the wall, and use it as your checklist. Put on your “Self-scientist” hats and mark your progress as you go by checking off the dimensions. Then celebrate your successes.
To understand how all this works, take our Pa 10 online course which explains all of these dimensions and provides lots of great ideas on how to get on the path to becoming a superlearner.
