How to help your child set academic goals for the new year ahead

Many people kick off the new year by setting new goals, and that can extend to the classroom for students at all levels.

Lorelei Burgess, the director of Oxford Learning, says this is a great time of year for families of school-age children to set academic goals.

“It’s an opportunity to reset and sort of reflect on what went well at the beginning of the year and make a plan for the remainder of the year,” she said during an interview with CTV Morning Live Atlantic.

Burgess says students often set “get better grades” as a goal, but there are many steps involved to make that possible.

She suggests breaking the goal down into smaller pieces.

“Whether that’s study habits or homework, how you’re approaching school, how you’re doing in the classroom -- really look at those ways that students can break that down and naturally achieve that, those better grades.”

She says it’s also important for students and parents to set realistic goals together so everyone is on the same page.

“You can really help them break those down into realistic goals. Because oftentimes kids are setting goals that are not necessarily achievable where they are right now. So you want to make sure that those are clear, that they are achievable so that they can experience success and that it’s measurable.”

Burgess has broken goal setting down into four manageable chunks.

SLEEP

Burgess says sleep is “really important” for students as it helps with problem-solving and thinking skills.

“Really, proper sleep leads to greater academic success and oftentimes teens, in particular, are staying up late, maybe not getting enough sleep, but that’s really something that’s important and can help improve marks, improve mood, attitude and ability to focus and pay attention.”

HOMEWORK

Burgess suggests if students have no designated homework time that they set a time every day, whether homework is assigned or not, to focus on schoolwork.

“Even if it’s reviewing your notes,” she says. “That way kids can go back they can look through; if there’s something that’s unclear they can then speak to their teacher the next day.”

IN-CLASS SKILLS

Burgess says potential goals to set in class include listening better, paying closer attention to teachers and taking better notes.

STUDY SKILLS

Burgess says students should also look at how they study and how they use that time.

“Do you need better organizational skills? Should you grab a planner or use an app? What is going to be the most effective for that student?”

Burgess also has advice for students who will be studying for exams this winter.

She says students and their parents should start preparing now since leaving things until the last minute “is never a good idea.”

“Create a plan,” says Burgess. “Really focus on the concepts and the areas that they struggled with throughout the semester, those are the areas you want to give more support to so that they can make sure that they know what they need to for that exam.”

And if families feel overwhelmed, Burgess says they should reach out for help.

“Get some outside assistance, because oftentimes it’s difficult to help our own kids. They often listen much better to others’ advice than they do their parents, so looking for some outside resources is definitely beneficial.”