Improving Academic Skills In Students

The adage “academic success is achievable if you put your heart and mind into it”, while true, doesn’t really give away much. Of course students can achieve academic success by working hard but sometimes, a little more is needed. Namely, the right academic skills, which are needed to study better, retain information and ensure long-term learning. 

The adage “academic success is achievable if you put your heart and mind into it”, while true, doesn’t really give away much. Of course students can achieve academic success by working hard but sometimes, a little more is needed. Namely, the right academic skills, which are needed to study better, retain information and ensure long-term learning. 

Both public and private schools Singapore actively work towards effectively imparting essential academic skills to their students. 

Read on to learn more about academic skills.

What Are Academic Skills? 

Academic skills are the strategies and traits that will help kids become better students. These skills are not innate and can be developed over time. They are imperative to acquire knowledge, stay motivated, and focused.

Learning strategies, attention enhancement and studying plans will help young learners imbibe knowledge to the best of their abilities at school. These tasks will eventually translate into highly developed academic abilities, and a better stint in school.

Importance of Academic Skills for Students 

Academic skills are integral for all students. Here’s why: 

• Academic skills enhance a student’s productivity at school, leading to success.
• Academic skills empower students to become competent learners. 
• They give students the confidence to participate in various class discussions and speak for themselves inside and outside the classroom.
• Academic skills encompass smart note-taking and critical thinking: imperative to success in any career. 
• They are essential for students to communicate better, focus longer, have better memory, attain higher test grades, and much more.
• Academic skills enable students to succeed beyond academics and improve in extracurricular activities as well.

Academic skills comprise solid writing skills and research skills. The former is essential for students to be more persuasive while the latter helps in processing information while learning about the outside world. 

What are the benefits of Academic Skills for Young Learners?

These skills help students study smarter, not harder! By developing good academic skills and learning tactics, they remain highly motivated and achieve their goals more easily and efficiently.

Here are a few benefits of academic skills for you as a student: 

• Academic skills enhance other skills, such as time management, which increase the ability to focus and get more work done on time.
• They are beneficial for inducing a sense of passion at school. It increases enthusiasm and makes children keen learners, especially when it comes to new concepts.
• The most apparent benefit is efficient studying, which translates into greater retention, improved grades and better results. 
• Students can become better communicators if they can effectively convey their problems to teachers. This will encourage them to always ask about the things they don’t understand and learn from a point of genuine curiosity, rather than stipulated syllabus.
• These skills improve the ability to remember and recall information which students can apply in the future when they find themselves dealing with real world situations.
• Students will understand how to learn better by adopting the best strategies to maximise study time.
• Academic skills can transform young mindsets into more goal-oriented ones, while increasing their strategy and planning skills. 
• Gaining good academic skills boost self-confidence and inculcate a desire to venture outside their safe spaces or comfort zones.
• Young learners will be eager to improve their current abilities and retain interest in further academic skill development.
• This can also leads to better teamwork, robust communication, and coherent transfer of information within those teams.

What are the Examples of Academic Skills? 

Academic skills encompass a wide range of skills, such as: 

Time management

Young learners can only maximise their study time if they learn how to manage it well. It does not mean studying for as long as possible– it is about prioritising your subjects, setting study goals, planning and more.. 

Research skills

International online school in Singapore have comprehensive essay writing and complex school projects as part of their curriculum. To succeed in tasks such as these, kids must research. Proper high-level research involves:

• Searching for credible sources
• Reading facts and figures
• Interpreting data
• Having clarity about questions to be answered
• Knowing where to search for the answers

Careers such as product design, medicine, journalism, etc., immensely benefit from research skills. 

Reading comprehension

Young learners will require reading comprehension skills to understand tasks assigned to you, homework questions, project requirements, and examination questions and to perform research. This skill transcends school requirements because everybody needs to be clear about directions and instructions given to them. 

Computer skills

Nobody can succeed without being well-versed in technological skills in today’s digitised world. Computer skills are essential skills needed throughout your life. In school, it is necessary to research better, create graphs, conduct research, attend online classes, share documents, etc. 

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is a universally applicable and required trait that helps you analyse information and creatively find solutions to problems. Private schools in Singapore are going the extra mile to inculcate these skills in their students so they can apply critical thinking to overcome complex problems at any point in life. 

Read also: 7 Ways To Help Your Child Do Better In School

How to develop Academic Skills?

Developing academic skills requires early intervention and commitment. Here are a few tips for you to develop academic skills: 

Create a schedule and make a plan

Open an excel sheet and write down your immediate and long-term goals. Immediate would be homework, and long-term would be an exam at the end of the semester or a project. Schedule specific time slots for each task and assign an “urgency rating” beside each task. You should perform the most crucial task under the high-urgency category first. This way, when you get home from school, there will be no ambiguity about what to do and where you should start. 

Seek feedback 

Be around people with strong academic abilities, as that will tempt you to seek more knowledge and become a passionate learner. Constantly seek information from your teachers and mentors on improving yourself and learning more about your field of interest. It could be getting their advice on things or asking for data.

Separate the study time of similar subjects

You need to take a little break and not study the same subjects simultaneously. After an hour of maths, try studying a language or history rather than statistics or chemistry. 

Don’s study when you are tired

Only study if you are feeling energised. Do not study when you are sleepy. Instead, use that time to rejuvenate – play some sports or indulge in recreational activities. 

Be prepared for your class on time

If your course is lecture-based, study soon after the class to retain the information you have learnt. If it is a subject where class participation is required, study before class. After the class, you can go through your notes and organise them. Be prepared with questions and highlight areas where you need help. 

Build Motivation

You will often be distracted by social activities or overwhelmed by their course. You need to work on cultivating self-motivation. Set goals, identify what interferes with achieving those goals, set a routine, practice self-care and create healthy habits. 

At OWIS, we are constantly working towards helping students acquire academics skill to develop themselves to their fullest potential. We help them leverage their knowledge and skills in their area of interest to ensure holistic learning, better performance and future readiness of our students. 

FAQs

What are the best academic skills?

Critical-thinking skills, Study skills, comprehension skills, time management skills, creative thinking, planning etc. 

What are the four academic skills?

• Critical thinking
• Communicating 
• Creative thinking 
• Collaborating 

How many types of academic skills are there?

There are three types of academic skills – comprehension, writing, and communication. 

How do you use academic skills?

Academic skills are used in school and the workplace to think better, understand the problem statement, be confident, apply yourself better and communicate effectively.

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