The idea of the model student is different for each situation. Every learning environment is unique for the individual, and there is no single formula for how to succeed in every case. There are, however, some essential qualities which need to be recognized by those who wish to become model students.
What are the qualities of a model student? The qualities of a model student include strong work ethic, a positive attitude, a desire to learn, a burning curiosity, an ability to overcome adversity, and an imagination that helps them make connections. When these qualities are applied consistently over a long period, the student is highly likely to produce a positive outcome.
Model students are humble. They do not assume they have all the answers. They have pushed themselves enough to know that they have limits, and life will let them know if they let their guard down. Mature students use this humility to fuel their drive for ongoing improvement.
Before we carry on, we need to dispel of this notion that being a model student is only about securing outstanding grades.
Outstanding grades indeed enhance your prospects of living a good life but being the best human being you can be is more important, even if that means the best you can muster is average grades. As an adult, the relationships in both your professional and personal lives will be impacted far more by the kind of person you are than by the amount of information you can memorize, process, or analyze.
Understanding the Qualities of a Model Student
Model students are curious, they are not afraid to fail, and in no small degree, they embrace their shortcomings thereby showing they are prepared to learn from them. Becoming a model student also means developing your capacity to question the world around you.
A recent survey conducted by Mundelein High School in Illinois resulted in some fascinating findings (source).
One of the teachers questioned on the subject matter highlighted how personal development was a defining trait of a good student. In other words, being a good student is more about being the best you can be as an individual than trying to live up to someone else’s standard. Model students recognize that it is more important to grow in the areas that will get them closer to their long term goals.
Another teacher from Mundelein High School pointed out that good students make good choices. Those choices range from strictly adhering to principles (doing what is right) to setting meaningful goals both inside and outside the classroom.
In a recent interview conducted with Rafael Nadal, he explained the key to his tennis success had been the desire to improve something about himself every time that he stepped onto a tennis court, regardless of the extraordinary achievement that he has enjoyed during a glittering career. There is a universal lesson here that should be highlighted; a desire for improvement is critical to sustained success no matter how good you are.
The attitude adopted by Nadal and many other sporting greats like him are similar to that of a model student. A model student spends time intentionally plotting how to get better each day. They are aware that all those small adjustments compound into significant improvements over time.
Your goals could start with something simple like getting to class on time, finishing that tedious homework, or being prepared for class each day.
How to Mold a Model Student: Steps for Success
Bestselling author Arel Moodie explains that the key to helping a young mind reach its full potential starts with dispelling some of the myths that have guided for decades what we think qualifies someone as a model student (source).
Intellect and talent are two of the traits most often associated with model students. Being smart and talented is useful. However, these two characteristics alone don’t get anyone where they need to go. It takes hard work, grit, and determination to succeed.
Being smart and capable does not make a model student.
The best thing any adult can do when molding a model student is to teach that young mind good academic habits, dedication, focus, discipline, and sound ethics. These traits will get them much further in life. They are redeeming qualities that ultimately help breed success, and will help that individual student build on their talents and intellect to create sustained progress over the long-term.
Effort
Intellect and talent are characteristics with which we are born. Over time and with hard work, they can be developed no matter where we started. The effort we apply to improve these traits is not innate. It is a choice. Every single person wakes up each day and can choose whether or not they are going to put the effort in to get a little better that day.
The only person truly in control of the amount of effort produced is you.
You have complete control over the amount of effort you apply, regardless of your background. In fact, those who face adversity and overcome it are more likely to appreciate the importance of effort in achieving their goals. The research on resilience (source) is clear; students who work hard and don’t quit are more likely to achieve their goals. They are also more likely to set and achieve goals in other areas of their lives.
Habits
The conventional wisdom is that if you do not know or understand something, you are less likely to ask for help. This is true for many students. Often, students feel embarrassed for not knowing what they think they should already know.
Model students are different. They are confident in the effort they put into their academic pursuits. They are humble enough to know it is possible they missed something along the way. Therefore, they are willing to ask for help when they are not grasping a topic.
After asking for assistance, the model student will make developing their understanding of the concept a priority. They know that it’s OK to miss something along the way. They also know that it is their responsibility to manage their learning. It is better to learn this lesson early. If you do, you will have improved awareness of your understanding of the content and will be more comfortable asking for help. This can be summed up in two steps:
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help
- Put the effort into applying the assistance that is given to you
Sooner or later, every student realizes they can’t just walk into the classroom and master a concept. At this point, they have a choice. They can continue to wing it and see what happens, or they can be more conscious and intentional about their academic efforts. Taking the time to ask for help may be the first step on this journey, but there is much more to be done. Next, it is helpful to make a list of priorities to ensure you will grasp the new concept that you struggled with initially.
Your list will be your guide. Allow it to inform your path forward. Use it like stepping stones. Each task on the list can be completed during study hall, lunch, or after school. Follow each step to make sure you learn the concept that you struggled with, so you allow yourself to build on your new understanding of the topic.
Develop this habit through repetition. Challenge yourself to follow through on it every day. Make academics your priority when you get home. After a few months of sticking to this new routine, you will notice a dramatic change. Developing better habits will help to reshape the kind of student you are.
Most people make the mistake of thinking the highest achieving students are the most talented students. This is rarely the case. The hardest working students usually outpace the talented ones. Talent can only take you so far without hard work and sacrifice.
This principle should be a core element of your academic philosophy.
Another good habit is to start making friends with all the academic achievers in the classroom. If you do not know who they are, they are likely to be the ones who sit at the front, ask questions, and are involved in the class. Those are good people to surround yourself with because they are an example of the work ethic required to be a model student.
It is well known that the company we keep has a dramatic impact on the person we become. The influence of friends and family should not be understated. A well-known study found that people who choose to surround themselves with strong-willed people when they are struggling with self-control are more likely to overcome the challenges they are facing (source).
The lesson here is one that has been known in most cultures for a long time. The people you choose to surround yourself with will shape the person you become.
Independence
Another critical characteristic of a model student is independence. They are willing and able to put in the work necessary to be successful without having to be continuously prompted by their parents or teachers.
There is a new area of academic research that offers compelling insights into how the drive of students impacts their academic success. Focusing on students enrolled in online learning courses, studies are identifying the traits and attributes that contribute to student success in the areas of self-regulation; self-efficacy; and technology use (source).
The researchers found that self-efficacy and self-regulation were critical to success in online courses. They also found that students who previously experienced success in online courses were more likely to experience success in future classes. They reasoned that these students had already acquired the skills necessary to be successful and had to reapply those skills with each new course they took.
Academic Strategies that Develop Model Students
Habits aside, there are specific strategies that you can apply to become a better student. The truth is far too many young people waste precious time studying in ways that aren’t useful or effective.
Distribute Study Time
The first useful skill worth trying is distributing your study time. At its core, this strategy stops students from cramming a whole semester’s worth of work into two weeks of study. It also helps them see the benefits of deliberate and intentional learning by allowing them to explore topics in greater depth.
Try to space your study period out over 1-2 weeks for a chapter and 1-2 months for a unit (depending on the timeline given by your teacher). You are likely to learn a considerable amount more if you take in the information over time and in the end could spend less time studying overall.
It is also likely to be less stressful than cramming, which can induce needless stress and anxiety.
When you study over an extended period, you also give yourself a decent opportunity to review information from each class right after that concept has been taught to you. The prospect of creating meaning from the content for yourself significantly increases when you study in this manner.
Once you have conducted the initial review of the material, you now have the opportunity to go back and connect it to older information. This will help you keep the older information fresh in your mind and link up to the different segments of the curriculum.
Remember, the goal here is to have consistent and short study sessions over a protracted period.
When creating your plan, map out your study schedule on a calendar and stick to the program. Over time you will figure out where you need to make adjustments. In the short term, the actual act of sticking to a schedule will be essential. Stick to your plan and be patient as your actions develop into a new habit.
All of this sounds like a lot of work. It is. Luckily, there are some techniques you can use to break up the content, so it doesn’t seem monotonous.
Interleaving
Interleaving is an excellent strategy to help with this hurdle (source). It is the practice of engaging different types of content that have the same goal in mind to help break up the skill development of the learner. Interleaving can be particularly helpful across classes that offer similar content like English and Social Studies or Science and Math.
Balance is an essential concept at play here. Interleaving recognizes that too much of one subject area can be a bad thing. Just know that the opposite is true as well. Spend too much time switching back and forth will result in time wasted with little results.
Talk to Yourself
Some people consider talking to yourself a sign of insanity. However, in the right context, talking to yourself has actually been proven highly beneficial. Outwarding articulating your inner monologue can help with comprehension of the topics you are studying (source).
Reading and doing your work allows you to absorb the information needed, to a degree. But if you want to create meaning, try vocalizing your thoughts. When we think to ourselves, we tend to run through the information quickly, which makes it easy to skip over mistakes. Expressing the same information verbally increases the chances you will catch yourself making a mistake. As a result, the meaning you create from the information you are studying has the potential to be more in-depth and accurate.
This scenario is another possible situation where interleaving can be helpful. It provides a fantastic opportunity for you to make essential connections verbally between the different topics that you are studying.
While it might seem like an odd thing to do, try to explain and describe the information you are studying with as much detail as you can. Where appropriate, connect those ideas to your observations on and experiences with the topic.
Final Thoughts
When you are studying, try to avoid the abstract. Focus instead on formulating real and tangible ideas. Support them by coming up with examples that make sense to you. Take the knowledge that you acquire and make sense of it by creating practical examples that emphasize the essence of the lesson so you will connect the concept with the scenario, making recall easier in the future.
As an expansion of this model, you should learn to create visuals from your verbal examples. As powerful as words are, they can sometimes be intimidating and create confusion through the nuance of they carry. As you iterate through this creative process, you will learn the strategies that work for you. Make note of them in a journal. Recording this information will ensure that you don’t forget them later.
As you progress, you will make different connections. They will help you learn your style. Some strategies will work for you, while others won’t. Some strategies you will like, while others you will find boring. All of this is OK. Prioritize the strategies that work first. Then, elevate the ones that you like over the ones that you don’t. Keep all of them somewhere in your arsenal. As you continue to learn and grow, you will know when and how to use each strategy to your advantage.