Academic Excellence During COVID-19: The Foundation of Study Skills
During a constantly shifting landscape, whether schooling is delivered online, hybrid, or in-person, our programming addresses the fundamentals necessary for success in all environments. To achieve the best grades, highest test scores, and become the strongest student one can be, study skills are the bedrock of any success in academics for students of all achievement levels. We consider study skills to encompass the ability to utilize executive functioning, including time management, planning, and organization, as well as to become more adaptable and proactive in one’s learning. We see this time of uncertainty to be a moment that our students can seize, to grow, and to cultivate personal agency, as well. As we support our students and families, we also look to enhance talents with skills so a student not only improves performance in grade or test score, but also in understanding interests, passions, and abilities. This concept is something founder Tony Di Giacomo knows well through his original research. Novella Prep’s focus on Retention, Relationships, and Responsibility address core factors that influence student achievement. Whether a student is an A student who feels overwhelmed or inefficient, or a student who, with the right skills, could be an A student, this program is for you.
How it Works
Through our Novella 6-10 annual programs, we holistically evaluate and teach each student to optimize his or her approach to in-school and at-home studying, ensuring students of all levels perform at their best. Goals are set by Novella Prep staff and parents, ranging from seeking to optimize study habits, time spent on task, focus, and skill improvements. From here, we create a program based on contemporary research and our own years of experience. We are a program that advocates for hard work, focus, and discipline — no shortcuts here! However, our specialty is in finding ways to motivate students, manage digital distractions, and foster new habits that lead to better outcomes. With our in person or online meetings, we teach students how to take notes, memorize the essentials, improve writing, and ultimately refine all aspects of what makes for a successful student. We are seeking to optimize performance and develop initial plans to set a foundation for ongoing and future success. After establishing a foundation of study skills, we will transition towards offering academic enhancement to continue to support more specific areas for continued improvement, and begin to integrate foundational college advising starting in our Novella 10 program. *
*Please note that while our services are aimed at helping maximize academic opportunities, we cannot guarantee specific results such as test scores, grades, or admission to a certain college.
Learn how our Online Study Skills Course addresses:
Benefits of Novella Prep Study Skills:
- Inspiring motivation
- Improving focus
- Creating goals
- Enhancing personal agency
- Developing rapport
- Cultivating career interests
- Managing priorities
- Cultivating persistence
- Beginning college advising*
*Depending on the student, we help integrate longer term thinking into decision-making toward college admissions, career, and beyond when they are ready.
Why Motivation Matters
We have found all students tend to fit somewhere in one of the four steps of the motivation scale. For many reasons, students can find themselves lacking motivation or having trouble seeing the value in certain activities to move their grades up, whether from a C to a B or A, or from an A- to an A. Because bettering ourselves to increase future opportunities is the core of why improving grades matters, focusing on this core component of student success is how we help students implement sustained changes in habits that get positive results. Whereas tutoring may address symptoms of an issue, we seek to treat the core of what matters, and build out from there, holistically.
Our Programs seamlessly integrate what students need to succeed based on their individual learning characteristics, goals, and grade in school.
