The document discusses how even smart kids need strong study skills to succeed in challenging classes. It explains that having a high IQ does not guarantee good organizational or time management abilities. While content knowledge is important, students must also learn processes for organizing, planning, and managing their workload. The StudyPro aims to teach students these essential study skills so they can learn independently and reach their full potential. It provides a personalized approach and proven curriculum to help students develop strong habits for academic success.

1. 5 REASONS WHY SMART KIDS
NEED SMART STUDY SKILLS
© The StudyPro 2016

2. “My son never had any issues. He would do his homework and had strong
grades. Then as he got in to tougher classes, doing the homework wasn’t
good enough because in addition to the homework he had to do higher level
planning and thinking. His grades suffered and so did his confidence. He
resisted going to the study skills program, but once he did, he immediately
bought in, and by the end of 10th grade he was back where his grades
represented his potential and I’m out of it. He does it all on his own.”
Even the smartest kids may be missing key organizational skills - either
because they haven’t been taught them or they haven’t yet naturally
developed. Having a high IQ doesn't guarantee you have well-developed
organizational and planning skills, and in fact, there are many
students in the top 5% of the intellectual population who haven’t acquired the
skills they need to get their work done without distress. The continuum for
brain maturation is natural and appropriate, but not forgiving to the student
who has not internalized the necessary skills to meet the demands of their
school curriculum.
All parents want their children to become confident and effective
learners. What is required is a mastery of both “content” (aka math facts,
science facts, writing skills, etc.) and “process” (aka organization and planning
skills, time management, etc.). While mastering content alone may help boost
academic performance in the short run, helping students to internalize a
personalized process for learning is something they will carry with them
forever.
SOME KIDS JUST NEED TO LEARN HOW TO LEARN.
WHY SMART STUDENTS NEED SMART STUDY SKILLS.
(Parent of an 11th grade StudyPro student)
© The StudyPro 2016 1

3. Think back. When your 2nd grader was asked to do their first “project” and to
create a “presentation”, did they immediately know where to start? Could they
do it on their own? Did they inherently know the logical order of the steps or
how to arrange the presentation flow?
When your 4th grader was assigned their first real “research” paper, could
they do it without significant parental support? Did they know how to identify
the main points, create order out of all the information they gathered or how to
pace the work over time?
As each year of schooling progresses, a deeper level of “process” skills are
required to support growing academic demands; but where do students learn
the skills they need to be prepared for these increasingly complex requirements?
And as more and more competing assignments come from increasingly
challenging classes, how do they manage the combination of it all?
To better understand the difference between “content” and “process”,
consider these examples:
When your student is studying for a science mid-term, do they know how to:
STUDY SKILLS. WHY BOTHER?
• Write a thesis statement, develop a paragraph and use effective transitions?
• Find and analyze their evidence?
• Have the patience to write, edit and re-write, if necessary?
• Review their class and book notes to identify the most important points?
• Combine their class notes and book notes to create an effective study guide?
• Analyze their mistakes on previous tests to ensure they have learned what
they previously didn’t know?
• Create a study plan so they don’t become overwhelmed the day before
the test?
When your student is assigned an English paper, do they know how to:
© The StudyPro 2016 2

4. Many students don’t have issues with individual assignments, aka “the
content". It is the pace and the complexity of the totality of the work that they
have yet to master, aka “the process”. While learning to manage work and
time efficiently are the keys to consistent academic performance, the
expectation from most schools is that “if you are smart enough, you will just
figure it out”. Yet lack of these skills impacts performance, confidence and
self-esteem.
Can we really leave “the process” to chance?
• Create a study plan that combines, organizes and breaks down the work
across their available time?
• Keep pace with their nightly homework while managing the totality of
the work?
• Manage all of it without becoming overwhelmed and shutting down?
When your student is working on a multi-step history project, do they know
how to:
• Recognize which steps to take to get started?
• Break down the project into even “chunks” to avoid being overwhelmed the
day before the due date?
• Understand how to turn notes into a draft that doesn’t plagiarize?
Now consider that they have that science test, English paper AND a history
project all on their plate. Are they able to:
© The StudyPro 2016 3

5. SO HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Over the years, there has been increased pressure to get more and more
advanced subject matter into the curriculum of our schools - and earlier and
earlier in our schooling career. Foreign language is being taught earlier, math
“paths” have gotten more aggressive, and more honors and AP classes are
“required” to get in to the most competitive colleges.
In order to add all of this “rich” content to our student’s schedules, it has
necessitated that we remove the time previously used to teach executive skills.
These were the skills that taught students how to organize study schedules,
prioritize work, integrate nightly homework with long-term homework,
effectively study for tests, and to learn from mistakes. In other words, this was
the time that was dedicated to helping students “learn how to learn”, but is no
longer available during the school day. And while, students may be
intellectually prepared for this content, their maturational readiness often is
not as advanced.
Many teachers do provide guidance on aspects of executive skills:
• “My English teacher gives us a study guide”.
• “My history teacher helps me break things down”.
• “My math teacher makes me write things in my agenda”.
The challenge is that most students aren’t able to naturally integrate these
individual tactics to create a complete structure for success. Children see
these as isolated instructions tied to a specific teacher (not even a specific
subject) as opposed to elements of a combined model that should be used
across all subjects. There is no “class” to help them understand how to master
overall skills - only bits and pieces of the complete process.
So our children “benefit” from a more aggressive curriculum, but at what cost?
© The StudyPro 2016 4

6. PROVIDING “THE COMPLETE TOOLBOX”.
If we want our children to become both successful and independent, we need
to teach them a complete study system so they can become increasingly in
charge of their learning over time. The right formula takes the tactics now
taught in isolation and ties them together into a system to help students
become efficient and effective learners.
We need to prepare them for situational demands - a jump in curriculum
based on an accelerated program or school - and maturational demands - a
point where the demands of the curriculum outstrip their current executive
function skills.
If a child is about to enter a high demand situation, we can avoid anxiety,
self-doubt and/or reduced academic performance by building a solid
foundation and enforcing good habits from the start.
If a child is already struggling, and is showing signs of anxiety, avoidance, or
falling grades, new skills can provide the keys to productivity that help them
understand that they can truly be successful (again). It is critical that students
understand that they are smart and capable and that any setback has nothing
to do with their capabilities but how they are processing the work. As students
start to see improvement in their academic performance, they become more
confident, more willing to invest greater effort, and more capable of working
independently.
© The StudyPro 2016 5

7. A NOTE ON THE PARENT’S ROLE.
Whether your child needs improved study skills due to situational or
maturational demands, the parent’s role is to support their transition and to
offer the right environment for them to succeed. Higher school demands result
in higher anxiety for our students and parents can make it worse as our
anxiety exacerbates their anxiety. Parents don’t help their children when they
fight with them about their work, do the work for them, or critique their work.
Parents do help when they provide the right time and the right space for our
children to get their work done:
• Help them manage time - by making sure there isn’t too much on their
plate (extracurricular commitments, sports, sibling’s commitments, etc.) or
too many advanced classes. Be honest about what they can manage. It’s
the adults responsibility to say “there are only 24 hours in a day (and sleep
matters) and where are we going to get it done?”.
• Help them manage space - by designating a distraction-free space in the
house to allow them to succeed. Whether they are standing or sitting, or
whether they need to move from room to room, make sure that they do
their homework on a hard surface (even reading requires note taking!),
there is good task lighting, and there are rules (enforced) about electronics.
Children want to succeed! They want to live up to their parent’s expectations
and be everything their parents say they are and can be.
© The StudyPro 2016 6

8. ABOUT THE STUDYPRO
A student’s success won’t come purely from how smart they are, but instead,
from the actions they take toward learning. A good study skills curriculum is
built to create a “process” for students to become independent learners and
help them build new habits for success. Internalizing the fundamentals of
executive function - planning, initiating, organizing, time managing and
completion - gives students a formula to lean back on that will help them
achieve their potential across all subject matters, and for life.
As parents and educators, we want to inspire students to work harder and
challenge themselves academically, and to help them truly believe in
themselves and their own abilities to produce excellent work. To do that, they
need to complete toolbox, to know how to use the tools and to become the
master craftsman we know that they can be.
TEACHING THE PROCESS OF BECOMING A STRONG STUDENT.
visit: www.thestudypro.com
The StudyPro is the only learning center dedicated to improving the study skills
and habits of students. Our programs provide a proven, consistent learning model
across all subjects.
Our Essential Study Skills Course is based on thirty years of experience
helping students become efficient and effective learners.
We work with each student to help them self-assess their learning style and craft
a personalized strategy to improve their skills, build their confidence and
inspire them to do their best.
For More Information:
email: info@thestudypro.com
© The StudyPro 2016 7

9. WHAT PARENTS AND STUDENTS SAY.
“Her skills are so much better - It’s almost an unfair advantage for her to show up at
college compared to students that haven’t had this training..”
Parent of a now-freshman at Boston College
Parent of a 9th grader
“A distinguishing characteristic of this program is that my daughter isn’t working on the
‘subject matter’, but instead, ‘how to go about tackling the subject matter ’... the intent is
to help launch your kid into independence vs. an ongoing “homework helper”
Parent of a 11th grader
“There is a skills transfer - learning how to plan, to organize, etc. He is learning how to
fish vs. being handed the fish.”
Parent of a 7th grader
“When it came to homework, I thought my son was such a pain. But then I realized that
he was just in pain. He just didn’t have the skills to get the work done, so he chose to
just not do it, rather than choose to try and fail.”
Parent of a 7th grader
“My daughter had some blocks keeping her for meeting her intellectual potential and
she needed to develop strategies for how to compensate for them. It is key to not make
them feel bad i.e. that this issue makes them bad. It’s about meeting them where they
are - people who are successful are the people who learn to meet issues head on and
how to compensate for whatever roadblocks they have”.
Parent of a 8th grader
“My daughter was not struggling academically, in fact she has always gotten great
grades. It was the time management and study strategies, e.g. being able to break
things down into manageable chunks and planning in advance to get work done
without stress that was key.”
“From my perspective...its not just the grades but how he feels about learning and how
he feels about himself and his confidence. The money you’re investing is money that is
helping them with the rest of their life.”
Parent of a 10th grader
© The StudyPro 2016 8