More recently, there has been a push to fill students’ entire school days with academic instruction. At first glance, this idea sounds solid; we want students to get as much out of their hours in school as they can. However, a completely over-scheduled and packed day misses the mark for middle and high school kids.
Middle and high school students need study hall time in their day. This time provides an important break, an opportunity to practice skills independently, and space to think on their own.
With that said, it’s clear that more and more, middle and high school students are needing more support with these independent working skills. Many kids and young adults are not self-starters yet. This is where a guided study hall comes in.
What is a guided study hall?
A guided study hall is a study hall that is supported and guided by an educator. The important piece is that a guided study hall isn’t taught like a typical structured class, but also not like a regular study hall either; it’s perfectly in the middle. It is a bridge to independence. This provides an opportunity to teach skills and give reminders while also allowing kids time to work on their own. It’s a win-win.
This guided study hall time might include many different skills and supports, depending on what the students need. A few might include:
- Teaching academic study skills for success, such as how to study for tests or write homework down each night.
- Teaching executive functioning skills, such as how to plan, organize, and manage time.
- Providing extra organization support, including sitting with students and show them how to organize their notebooks from start to finish.
- Giving reminders for assignments that are due, including nightly homework and long-term projects.
- Helping students “get started” and then letting them work independently.
- Giving time to check in with grades, providing a chance to identify missing assignments that can be completed for credit.
- Reviewing and re-teaching concepts, as needed.
- Having a “safe space” to ask for help on challenging assignments.
Why should guided study halls be added to schools?
This list is non-exhaustive, but provides a strong foundation for some of the many reasons why schools should be adding guided study halls into their middle and high schools.
Reason 1: Kids and teens need guidance and support in working sessions.
Many learners need support deciding which assignments to begin, getting started on tasks, and working through challenging activities. Let’s keep in mind that kids and teens are still learning and growing; their brains are under quite literally under construction. At the same time, learners are often transitioned from elementary to middle school with limited support related to study hall.
What should I work on? Which assignment is the most important to tackle first? What material should I study for my test coming up? These are just a few of the meaningful questions that can be discussed and answered through a guided study hall. While it’s true that some students might be able to independently work well through study sessions, the truth is that many learners need this extra support. A guided study hall helps give that foundation.
Reason 2: Guided study halls strongly support academics.
Guided study halls all come back to learning and academics. They support strategies for classroom work completion, study habits, homework, and academic skills for success. This is an important point on its own to help showcase that guided study halls are not about “making it easy” on teens; instead, they are about supporting academics in the most efficient and effective way possible in that time.
Reason 3: Guided study halls provide a chance to teach and re-teach meaningful skills.
Middle and high school learners need extra support and instruction in all sorts of skills that don’t fully make it into the English or math classroom. This includes teaching skills for how to research before beginning a project, organizing materials on a regular basis, and how to self-advocate when you need extra support. A guided study hall provides a classroom where many of these skills can be addressed.
Beyond that, guided study halls serve as a place to re-teach content too. Let’s consider an example. Imagine that several students struggled to understand the math lesson today. They tried to listen in class, but just couldn’t follow along with the process. Rather than “just moving on,” guided study hall serves as a place to address those confusions and misunderstandings.
Reason 4: Young adults need a balance of structured and unstructured time.
Structure is a good thing. In fact, kids and teens thrive on a structured day. However, too much structure is actually problematic. When we do everything for kids and teens, this takes away their autonomy. A guided study hall strikes the perfect balance between structured and unstructured time to help them do their best.
Reason 5: A guided study hall allows students to strengthen their executive functioning skills.
Executive functioning skills are the processes in our brains that allow us to complete daily tasks. These skills include planning, organizing, initiating tasks, managing our time, and problem-solving through challenges. Given that classroom time is limited, sometimes these skills take a back seat, but they don’t have to. Educators can plan guided study hall time to teach executive functioning skills explicitly and provide meaningful practice. In turn, this can help students perform better in all of their other classes.
Reason 6: Guided study halls help students get caught up with work.
A guided study hall also becomes an ideal spot for learners to make up missed work or brush up on content they missed while they were out sick. Assignments can be seamlessly passed from teacher to guided study hall so that missing work doesn’t end up slipping through the cracks.
Studies have shown that tutored guided study halls improve homework completion rates compared to traditional study halls.
Reason 7: Guided study halls build independence.
Study halls (and in particular guided study halls) give students the opportunity to choose what to work on and how to work on it; these are skills all learners need for success in order to be independent. Of course, learners do not step into middle or high school fully independent and ready to go. A guided study hall provides the supports and guidance students need to get there.
As always, the goal is providing strategies and structures so that students can be more successfully independent in the short-term and long-term.
Reason 8: Guided study halls hold students responsible for their grades.
Guided study hall also becomes the perfect place to hold students responsible for grades, effort, and potential missing assignments.
One simple strategy is meeting 1:1 with each student to review online grades. The guided study hall teacher looks on with the student and identifies what’s working and what might need improvement. If a student is missing an assignment or two, the guided study hall teacher can then guide the learner to get started and turn that in right away for partial credit.
Reason 9: Guided study halls are an intervention for struggling learners.
While a guided study hall can be a tool for all students, they can be an incredibly helpful intervention strategy for students who are struggling. A smaller and more supported guided study hall can help students develop skills for studying, starting assignments, taking notes, and working through challenging schoolwork.
Reason 10: Breaks help replenish self-regulation skills.
Kids and young adults cannot be “on” throughout the entire 6 hours of a school day. The truth is that no one can. We all need breaks to replenish our self-regulation skills. This idea is backed in research. Guided study hall teachers can assist learners in striking this balance between when to take a meaningful brain break and when to keep working through.
Reason 11: Guided study halls give a check-in for students.
One effective social-emotional and behavioral intervention for learners is a daily check-in with a trusted adult. It provides a “safe space” to share how they are doing. Some students may benefit from a daily emotions check-in, given that research shows that merely identifying our own emotions can reduce the intensity of those feelings.
It also allows the guided study hall educator to give each student caring and constructive feedback on what they can do to be successful. For example, imagine a student comes into guided study hall upset about a situation that happened in history class. The student explains that he didn’t have his hand up, but the teacher kept calling on him, which left him feeling called out and embarrassed when he didn’t know the answers. Together, the student and the guided study hall teacher can work through the problem, consider alternate perspectives, and eventually come up with possible solutions.
Reason 12: Guided study halls can strengthen social skills.
With a small class facilitated by an educator, students are able to practice social skills such as communicating effectively with peers, working in groups, advocating for self, and problem-solving through challenging social scenarios.
Reason 13: A smaller study hall helps build self-advocacy skills.
Self-advocacy is learning how to understand what you need and reaching out appropriately for help when you need it. This is a critical social and personal skill for all middle and high schoolers. One major benefit of smaller and more supportive guided study halls is that learners have better opportunities to pause and ask for help when they need it.
Of course, self-advocacy often doesn’t come easy for many young adults. This makes all the more reason that a guided study hall makes sense. It serves as a home-base where students can ask for support, feedback, and share their needs.
Reason 14: Guided study halls can provide differentiation and accommodations for learners.
Different learners are going to need different supports and strategies to be successful. Some students, for example, may need a quieter work environment to allow them to work mostly on their own with limited guidance. Other students may need more conversations and check-ins during working sessions. Setting up several guided study halls allows the flexibility to give students what they need to succeed.
Guided Study Hall: Getting Started
Does your school offer a guided study hall? If not, consider talking with colleagues to consider re-imagining the way independent study hall time is used. It could make a difference in the school and the lives of your students in a big way.
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