Attention is the skill that enables students to follow through even when the work gets challenging or boring. Note: This is one of a 10 blog series on learning traits. Read about all 10 learning traits here. What is Attention? Attention is your ability to sustain focus, even for tasks or classes that you might not find interesting. Attention difficulties can affect students in all subjects and activities, but it is likely to have the biggest impact in classes that students don’t have intrinsic motivation. Why is Attention so important ? Quite simply, if you’re not paying attention to what the teacher is saying, you’re not learning. If your mind wanders when you read, you are likely missing out on critical information. If you lose focus while doing an assignment or a test, you are likely to make… Read More

Visual memory is a key skill for STEM. Mathematicians, scientists and artists all rely heavily on this trait to be efficient in their work. Note: This is one of a 10 blog series on learning traits. Read about all 10 learning traits here. What is Visual Memory? Visual memory is the ability to remember what you see, including images, patterns, colors or what’s in “the mind’s eye”.  Why is it important? While you can definitely succeed in school without strong visual memory, your visual memory helps a lot. For elementary students, visual memory is key to memorizing math facts and sight words. As students progress in school, visual memory becomes increasingly important in subjects like geometry, algebra, and science, where you need to remember patterns, shapes and diagrams of multi-step processes. While it’s true that… Read More

Verbal memory is the skill that makes students most efficient in school and with homework, particularly in elementary school. Note: This is one of a 10 blog series on learning traits. Read about all 10 learning traits here. What is Verbal Memory? Verbal memory is the ability to remember what you read or hear. It includes your ability to hear or read a word, sentence or paragraph and then recall it when needed. Why is Verbal Memory so important? A lot of in-school learning involves reading, listening or studying and then recalling it when needed. Remembering vocabulary definitions, key details in a story, or the name of a species are all examples of verbal memory. While it’s true that technology is a good enabler so that students don’t need to memorize nearly as much… Read More