Qualities of a Successful Student

Qualities of a Successful Student

By: Michael Smith, Senior Education Specialist at RNBC

What are the qualities of a successful student?  Take a minute to answer that question in your head or grab some scratch paper and make a list. 

Here is a list of responses that I have received from middle and high school students when asked this exact question during one of our Executive Function Student Workshops…

• • “They pay attention in class.”
  • “They do their homework.”
  • “They turn assignments in on time.”
  • “They can work well in a group.”
  • “They are open to new ideas.”
  • “They are good listeners.”
  • “They study for tests.”
  • “They keep their papers organized.”

It’s an insightful list of qualities.  Did any of these items match some of the characteristics on your list?

The biggest insight for me, however, is what the students don’t say.  After more than a decade of leading this workshop, not one student has ever responded to this question by saying…

• “They have to be an excellent reader.”
• “They have to understand many scientific concepts.”
• “They have to know a lot about important historical events.”
• ‘They have to be able to solve math problems quickly.”
• “They have to be really smart.”

Students seem to instinctually know what researchers have found in their recent studies… Mastery of Executive Function skills is a better predictor of school success than IQ. (Diamond, 2013). 

With this in mind, here are some Executive Function tips to help your child get off to a good start and maintain some helpful habits this school year:

• Be sure students have a Materials Management system in place such as a binder and folders that are color-coded and labeled by subject.
• Encourage students to use a school planner (assignment notebook) to keep track of homework, tests, and projects.
• Help students find the “Hidden Steps” when they are assigned school projects
• Watch the video below from our EF Desk series and teach students how to use the “3 Ds” approach to prioritizing their homework. 

References

Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual review of psychology, 64, 135–168. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011–143750