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Summer’s in full swing. Students’ days are filled with part time jobs, internships, sleeping in, and (if they’re lucky) lounging along the beach. Back-to-school time feels like a distant worry.
Even so, the clock stops for no one. Each day that passes brings us one day closer to the new school year.
Whether you’re looking to shore up weak spots in your knowledge or seeking to enrich skills you’re already confident in, there’s still plenty of time to see meaningful educational growth this summer.
Here are some tips to make the most of the rest of your summer:
When it comes to practice, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that if we can’t dedicate a large amount of time to a task, then it’s better to do nothing. For example, that mindset would also say if you can’t spend an hour practicing basketball drills, then you might as well not practice at all. However, I can’t think of a single coach who would be angry at a player for spending ten minutes practicing free throws instead of doing nothing at all.
That mindset applies to your summer studies, too. If you only spend ten minutes daily practicing Spanish on Duolingo throughout July and August, that’s more than ten solid hours of review (or pre-work, if you’re trying to get a feel for Spanish before actually taking the class) before you walk into the classroom this fall. That’s a significant amount of time on task—one of the most important factors in learning anything.
A little work done consistently over a long period of time can lead to fantastic improvement, no matter what your summer learning goals are. If your summer is jam packed with work, internships, and band camp, finding those small windows of time to study will ensure that you can still start the new year on the right foot.
Check with the community centers, schools, and libraries in your area. Many of them offer fantastic educational opportunities for students throughout the summer. The perfect fit for you might only be a few blocks away.
I haven’t taken a French class since I was in high school, but I can still conjugate French verbs because my teacher taught us how by using the game Patty Cake (seriously). Why is that information still ingrained in my brain nearly two decades later? Research suggests that we more easily remember information when we enjoy what we’re doing; this finding is especially true with learning!
Finding ways to incorporate fun into the material you’re working on is a fantastic way to ensure you remember what you learn. It’s also a great way to get yourself excited for your study times. Whether it’s using a silly prompt while you practice your essay writing skills or playing Prodigy Math (which also reviews core concepts that both the SAT and ACT test), working on crucial skills doesn’t have to be dull to be effective. Just make sure to have someone review your work so they can confirm you’re making progress.
This point might sound a little counterintuitive. If I want to get the most out of this summer academically, doesn’t that mean I need to stay at my desk from sunup until sundown? Not at all. In fact, if we work ourselves to the point of exhaustion, our brains don’t remember as much anyway.
A great way to build endurance while studying is to incorporate short planned breaks into your work time. The Pomodoro technique is a great model for doing exactly that.
Using this model, a student would work for 25 minutes, take a break for 3 minutes, then work for 25 more minutes. They’d repeat this cycle one more time, then take a longer break (around 30 minutes– just long enough to watch an episode of their favorite show) before starting the cycle again. The 3-minute break allows your brain to “reset” before working on the next task, kind of like a basketball player taking a timeout to catch their breath. It gives you an opportunity to clear your head so you can stay focused on the next task.
I use this technique myself at the weekly writing group in which I participate; we swear by it! I’m always amazed at how much work I get done in those 25 minute work times without feeling exhausted by the end.
Even as you work to make the most of your summer learning opportunities, don’t forget to take time to rest so you can return to school energized for a new semester of learning. If you start the school year already burnt out, you’re not setting yourself up for a successful year. It’s all about finding the balance that works for you.
There’s still time to incorporate these tips into your summer, so why not start today?
