Throughout our work at Franklin Educational Services, Dr. Franklin gets asked many questions about the work we do, how we find the right instructors, and some of the theory behind why Academic Management works. We decided to sit down with him and have him break it down for us, interview style. The next few blogs will feature a Question and Answer session with Daniel Franklin, PhD. We hope you’ll enjoy reading!
Read blog 2 here
In this blog, we go into a little more detail on helping students to develop great study skills.
Learning requires memory. There’s no two ways about it. For students to be successful at school, they need to remember what they are taught and they need effective strategies to recall what they have learned.
Franklin Team (FT): How do you help students improve memory and recall?
Daniel Franklin, PhD (DF): Learning requires memory. There’s no two ways about it. For students to be successful at school, they need to remember what they are taught and they need effective strategies to recall what they have learned. Memory can be especially difficult for students with ADHD and dyslexia. At Franklin, our tutors use strategies that are known to promote both memory and recall. These strategies include breaking concepts into chunks, making certain that concepts are understood, and creating associations between new and already learned material. We also provide students with instructional repetition that is carefully spread out over time. These are some of the strategies our tutors use to help our students remember and recall what they have learned.
FT: How do you help students develop study skills?
DF: Good study skills are essential for success at school. Organization, time management, planning, note taking, and advanced reading and writing strategies are some of the critical areas that our tutors emphasize in their work with students. Direct instruction in studies skills is especially important for students with ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning differences. Our goal is to help all students develop excellent study skills.
FT: A common question that comes up when speaking with parents is, how does Franklin help students to stay organized?
DF: Organization is the key to success. Almost everyone would agree with that. But getting organized and remaining organized aren’t always easy, especially for busy students. Our tutors evaluate their student’s organizational needs, facilitate a high degree of organization, and help their student remain organized so that he or she can achieve success. That’s why all of our tutors make organization one of their top priorities while working with students.
FT: How does Franklin help students to manage their time and stay on task?
DF: Most people agree that the effective use of time is critical for success. This is especially true for students. But many students haven’t learned how to manage their time effectively. That is why all of our tutors teach their students effective time management strategies. These include creating long-term plans, measuring progress towards goals, and allotting sufficient time to complete projects. Students who use their time effectively achieve higher levels of success at school.
FT: Can you talk about the theory behind Franklin’s relationship based approach?
DF: For many students, learning is most effective when it’s the outcome of social interaction. One of the first people to describe this process was psychologist Lev Vygotsky. In the 1930s, Vygotsky coined the phrase “Zone of Proximal Development” to explain this critical learning dynamic. Our tutors incorporate principles of the Zone of Proximal Development in the work they do with students. This in turn generates better academic outcomes.
The more we know about the brain, the more effective we are in helping students utilize it for optimal learning. At Franklin, our approach draws on concepts from the field of social neuroscience of education, which views the brain as a social organ and learning as the outcome of social interaction. This approach is highly effective in helping students achieve academic success.
Franklin offers specialized academic tutoring, home school, test preparation, and educational therapy in Los Angeles and Orange County. Contact us for more info!