Educational Media Reviews Online

Study Skills for People Who Hate to Study is spot-on and practical. Watching this video is cathartic, like a vicarious intervention from a supportive group of friends. Here’s the scenario: On a Saturday, Jeanine’s friends arrive to take her to the beach. Unfortunately, she is a procrastinator; an impending test and a writing assignment deadline hang over her head. The situation is believable and convincingly portrayed; viewers can easily identify with Jeanine’s predicament. She confesses she’s guilty of three typical behavior patterns: disorganization, procrastination, and distraction. She says her friends should just go to the beach without her. Instead, her empathetic pals model positive behaviors and help her to internalize them as new routines. They clean out her messy backpack, organize her study area, and confront her self-defeating habits directly. The video presents a wide assortment of tips, rituals, strategies, and rewards to encourage new and positive study habits.

The film is grounded in psychological concepts such as executive function and flow. Jeanine’s friend says her “executive function is seriously on vacation” and offers to embody it for her. The advice is concrete and specific. For example, students are advised to retreat from external distractions (turn off the phone, set a timer for 20 minute intervals) in order to achieve flow, that experience of immersion in their task.

The scenarios are performed by an energetic, vivacious troupe of teenage actors, so it is most appropriate for junior and senior high viewers. By the clever portrayal of positive peer pressure, the film effectively engages the viewer. The pace is quick and the tone is assertive, yet supportive. The accompanying teacher’s resource notebook contains student activities and fact sheets to facilitate related classroom activities and discussion.