Senior School

In the senior school the middle of term 2 signals a time for preparing for end of semester examinations. Our Year 10 and Unit 1 students will be undertaking their exams in weeks 8 and 9 (3rd June until the 14th June). The Year 10s will undertake exams in their classrooms while Unit 1 exams will have classes suspended while they undertake an exam period that allows students to experience an exam period that mimics end of Year 12 exam period. 

In the upcoming month all senior students should trial a variety of methods for reviewing their learnings and applying them to past exam questions in order for them to develop their own study habits, an essential behaviour for achieving ones potential in VCE.

As parents or carers of a senior student assisting them may be challenging when the subject matter is unfamiliar. However, families can support their young people in adopting positive study habits, assisting them with developing study routines and schedules, and reflecting on their chosen practices until students know their preferred strategies.

Creating a study schedule should look to incorporate all aspects of life. Students should plan time and incorporate recreational activities as well as study. Learning is an important aspect of a young person’s journey alongside socialising with family and friends and engaging in sporting and cultural activities. 

Below you will find a link to a variety of templates that students may use to plan out their time. The allocation of time should reflect the range of subjects that students are undertaking and should also address the topic that will be studied. Initially students could work on reviewing by creating visual representations for learnings (diagrams, tables of results, flowcharts) and closer to the exams they should use these resources to apply to past exam questions that will allow them to check their understanding and very importantly, their ability to demonstrate the required knowledge.

Many young people plan to study and often find they struggle with the discipline of sitting down at the time to complete the tasks. The ability to commit time to studying may be a skill that takes some time to develop. It is important to tap into a young person’s intrinsic motivations when reflecting on their time management. Lack of study can often be a cause for conflict but rarely does this motivate students to engage with their learning. 

Take time to ask students to reflect on their planned use of time compared to their actual use of time. Identify the positives and look to adjust expectations to become more realistic while also improving on previous practice. Development of independent study habits is not easy for some students at senior school. They will need the opportunity to fail and succeed before they can settle into their own effective study habits.

Please refer to the links below for ideas for study schedules and strategies. Students will also have subject specific strategies suggested by their classroom teachers to adopt and as such, their advice should be primarily adopted.

https://templatelab.com/study-plan/ 

https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/studying-101-study-smarter-not-harder/ 

https://www.edutopia.org/article/5-research-backed-studying-techniques/

We wish all the very best to our senior students embarking on the upcoming exam period. Please note, this is an opportunity for personal growth.