For most students, learning does not only take place in the classroom. Homeschooled students naturally see most of their education occur at home, but students that do attend a public or private school also spend substantial time at home doing homework, studying, or getting extra help. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), students tend to spend an average of 10.8 hours per week doing homework. This is a substantial amount of time, so it is important to make sure that this time is used effectively.
What Should a Home Learning Environment Look Like?
With home learning being such an important part of each student’s academic growth, it is important to ensure that this environment sets them up for success. As such, there are a few key components to a home learning environment to make this time as productive as possible.
Distractions
A student’s working environment should be free of distractions. This can come in the form of noise, visuals (such as a nearby TV), or even smell. The environment should be such that it is as unlikely as possible that a student’s concentration will be broken when they are studying.
Frequency
A student’s learning environment should be something that they are familiar with. Each student is different when it comes to the best time to do their homework, but it should be a regular occurrence when the student is alert, fed, well-rested. The specific time(s) that this takes place may vary from student to student, but a regular routine of homework built to accommodate a student’s strength is important.
Resources and Features
A student’s home learning environment should provide all of the resources they need to complete their various homework tasks. This often includes access to learning materials (either physical, such as a textbook, or online), but can be more inclusive. Studies will show that a tidy environment helps improve focus and lighting, especially natural lighting, also plays a role in energy and productivity.
Supervision and Assistance
While many students may not need a parent or tutor to monitor their every action, student homework should be supervised. This helps to ensure that a student stays on task, but it also offers an easy solution in cases where they are stuck on a problem. Each student will require different levels of supervision and support in this regard, so spending time getting to know what your child needs is important.
Finding a Good Learning Environment
Now that we have defined what a good home learning environment looks like, we need to see how we can put this into practice. Some families may have a space that fits all of the physical requirements in their own home. Other families may prefer to go to a library or community center to meet their child’s needs. Regardless, every family should spend some time making sure their child has a space that sets them up for success.
Additionally, parents should consider whether they have the time and capacity to provide the supervision and assistance that is so crucial to productive homework. Many families are busy with work, chores, and extracurriculars and not everybody is a teacher. In this case, it can be useful to hire a private tutor. A tutor naturally provides supervision but also has the expertise and experience to provide academic assistance as necessary. Tutoring can come in many shapes and forms, as outlined in an earlier blog post.
This has been a short guide to setting up an effective home learning environment. If you would like to learn more about how SchoolTutoring.com can contribute to this environment via a tutor, you can continue to our website or call us at +1 (877) 545-7737.
