Learning How to Learn Made Simple

Points clés

• Memory works like a path through long grass: each time your child pulls an answer from their own head, the path gets clearer and easier to find.
• Two habits do most of the work: close the book and say it back, and study a little on most days rather than a lot once.
• You can stop worrying about learning styles, long hours at the desk and being 'not a maths person'; none of them decides how well a child learns.
• Praise the method your child used rather than how clever they are, and answer 'I'm bad at this' with 'which part is tricky?'
• Children copy what they see, so let them watch you learn something new, get it wrong, test yourself and try again.

À l'intérieur de ce bit

1. Memory is a path, not a bucket

   Many of us grew up picturing the mind as a bucket: pour in enough reading and it fills up. A better picture is a field of long grass.

2. Three myths you can stop worrying about

   The first myth is that every child has one learning style, visual, auditory or hands-on, and must be taught only that way. Children do have preferences, but matching lessons to them makes little real difference.

3. The two habits that do most of the work

   If you change only two things at home, change these. The first is pull, not push.

4. What to say when your child gets stuck

   The words around homework shape how a child sees learning. Praise such as 'you're so clever' feels kind, but it quietly teaches that getting stuck means you are not clever after all.

5. A family routine for busy evenings

   Routines beat willpower, for children and adults alike. Pick the same time and the same spot on most days, so study starts without a debate.

6. Measuring progress with a kinder yardstick

   Progress in learning is lumpy. A child can practise for two weeks with nothing to show, then leap forward in a few days.