Study at Home Tips

Positive study habits at home can have a long and lasting impact on student learning. See our tips for how to support effective home study habits below. 

Study Habits:

• Work consistently throughout the year
• Seek extra assistance from teachers or other students if you need it
• Act on comprehensive feedback from teachers on how to improve
• Complete lots of practice tasks
• Form study groups
• Make a consistent study habit
• Find a quiet and comfortable place to study, such as the Resource Centre, open 8am-5pm every day
• Start exam preparation as soon as possible
• Take hardcopy notes on paper by hand
• Get organised with your stationery

With only so much time in the day for study, it is important to make the most of the time available by using effective study strategies. We encourage students to engage in 'active study', which involves processing information by engaging in discussion, analysis, synthesis, problem-solving, reflection, questioning and practice. Active studying involves a little more effort, but this extra effort will certainly see results in the long term. See our tips for 'active study' below:

Active Study:

• Try study blocks of 50 mins study + 10 mins break or 25 mins study + 5 mins break
• Do active study like completing practice questions, discussing with others, writing summaries, making flash cards, drawing visual representations, while avoiding passive studying like re-reading or too much highlighting
• Make a study timetable and write checklists
• Attend revision lectures
• Find a workplace that is flexible to your needs
• Find a job that pays well so you can do fewer hours
• Reduce your hours or stop working around Term 3 to focus more on school studies.
• Rescheduled after school SACs take priority over other external commitments
• Delete TikTok!
• Use ScreenZen app to limit app times or restrict usage in settings on your phone
• Regularly check your screen time
• Review your time spent consuming online content such as watching YouTube, Netflix, Instagram etc.
• Leave your mobile phone in a different room while studying

When you're deep in study mode, it's important to maintain a healthy balance of study, social connections and a healthy lifestyle. This will help students keep a clear mind during busy periods, and produce better results in school. See our tips for balancing study and lifestyle below:

LIFESTYLE AND STUDY

• Participating in sport, going to the gym or other fitness activities (swimming, riding, walking) are great ways to keep you active and to de-stress. There are also many positive links between positive physical health and positive mental health
• Consider what you are eating and drinking. Nuts, tuna, fruit, berries are healthy snacks which help your brain to study. Drink lots of water
• Make good and safe choices, late parties may ruin your study plans for the next day
• Catching up with family and friends can help your mental health
• Communicate with your teachers, especially if you know in advance that you will be absent from class/es
• If you are absent from class for any reason, make sure to follow up with your teachers to find out what you missed and then catch up on the work.