The days of visiting your local library or bookstore to find interesting and valuable material to help with schoolwork is nearing its end. Shelves are often packed with obscure or outdated titles ranging from mastering聽NAPLAN聽to Reading Eggspress (and yes, that spelling is intentional).
Alternatively, parents can look online for homework support, only to discover millions of hits for literally any search term.
The issue isn鈥檛 access to content 鈥� it鈥檚 figuring out what鈥檚 relevant or even聽appropriate聽for your child鈥檚 level of learning.
In fact, teaching ourselves, as well as our children, how to navigate all of the information out there is an important skill. Here are some key guidelines for finding the best content to help your child, and teaching them some valuable study skills in the process.
1. Start with the content your child has been given at school
The first port of call is the reading lists or references provided by your child鈥檚 teacher. This may take the form of a printed information sheet that has become a crumpled mass at the bottom of their school bag, likely maturing down there with some squashed banana. Schools are increasingly publishing this information via their learning management system (LMS).
Chances are you鈥檒l hear the following classic excuse from your child: 鈥淢y teacher gave us nothing, that鈥檚 why I haven鈥檛 done it.鈥� Is this declaration true? Probably not. But you can gain a real insight if you ask to see exactly what鈥檚 on the LMS. Perhaps you could take a look at the homework and support materials together with your child to build the habit.
2. Encourage your child to ask their teacher
If you鈥檙e still none the wiser when it comes to the requirements of a homework assignment, encourage your child to ask their teacher. There鈥檚 enormous value in teaching children how to navigate these conversations. Remember, most teachers are happy to field questions from their students. They want to learn what they鈥檝e explained well, and what they could make clearer.
3. Take into account the聽current听蝉测濒濒补产耻蝉
If you鈥檙e taking research into your own hands (Go Team Learning! Go!) please assume a careful approach before throwing yourself at the mercy of your nearest bookshelf or search box. If you鈥檙e helping your child with standardised tests and courses, make sure whichever content you use is directly relevant. For example, use materials specifically (and recently) developed for NAPLAN when preparing for these tests. If the聽聽is your guide, be sure to take into account state-by-state variations.
If your little treasure is sitting final exams for an ATAR, state differences can be substantial. What鈥檚 more, syllabi are updated from time-to-time. For example, substantial changes have been introduced to the NSW syllabus for this year鈥檚 HSC. This means that if you鈥檙e relying on your best friend鈥檚 son, who scored 99.5 in their ATAR last year and gave you all of their study materials, you may in fact be headed down the wrong path.
4. Create a learning program
If you鈥檙e still struggling to help with more fundamental skills, your child may need out-of-school support. There are a lot of options when it comes to this. Rather than just throwing your child in the deep end by providing the resources and telling them to simply get on with it, it might be useful to create a聽structured learning program聽that explains which sections to tackle, when to begin, and how long each activity should take.
It鈥檚 important to take a look at what鈥檚 been done and provide feedback. While online programs and games may be tempting, these methods usually provide a 鈥榮core鈥�, assessing understanding on a binary scale. This is not the ideal way to learn 鈥� children need to get to know themselves as learners, and take responsibility for their own learning. It鈥檚 this component of the learning process that all teachers 鈥� professionally qualified or parent qualified, whether they are in the classroom, online or at home 鈥� must take very seriously.
