From the Director of Studies 

PREPARING FOR ASSESSMENTS AND EXAMINATIONS

As Year 7 – 10 students begin preparing for their examinations and Year 11 students prepare for their first round of HSC assessments, it is important to consider what study is and how to prepare efficiently for examinations and assessment tasks.

During Academic Care sessions, students have been learning more about retrieval practice. While it is important to focus on making notes, retrieval practice involves deliberately recalling information. It is only when we attempt to recall information or use it in a different context that we find out whether we actually know the material or not. 

Moreover, the process of bringing information to mind is one of the most important factors in enhancing or boosting our learning. It is actually the struggle or challenge we feel when trying to exercise our memory that improves our learning. 

Some tools that help with retrieval practice:

• Flashcards – write down key information on flashcards. Regularly test yourself on the key information from the flashcards by covering, recalling and checking. There are lots of digital flashcard apps that might work for you (Quizlet, Tiny Card, Brainscape).
• Writing prompts – choose a few words as a writing prompt to write down as much as you can remember on a topic.
• Mind mapping – create a mind map with all the information you can remember on a specific topic.

There are also lots of mind mapping apps that might work for you (Bubble.us, Free mind).

• Teach a friend (or parent) – teach someone about the topic you are learning. Provide as much detail as you can and ask them what they remember at the end.
• Complete quizzes – completing quizzes gives you a chance to test your knowledge and push your brain to remember things. Try making or using digital quizzes from Kahoot or Seneca Learning.
• Vocabulary and terminology activities – recall the meanings of specific terminology and vocabulary. Link the term to the area of knowledge you have been studying.
• Venn Diagrams – create a Venn diagram to summarise areas of knowledge by comparing and contrasting
• Study exit ticket – at the end of a study session, set yourself a study exit ticket by recalling key information about part of the topic you have just studied.
• Visualise it – picture the information you have learned. Turn the words into pictures to help you recall the detail. Give yourself a real-life Mathematics or Science question and work towards solving it.
• Dual Coding – if you are artistically minded (or even if you are not), use a combination of words and pictures to represent your ideas.
• Brain dump – after you have studied a topic spend time writing down as much of it as you can remember. Don’t worry about form, just get it all out on the paper.

If you would like more information, go to www.retrievalpractice.org 

HOMEWORK HELP CLUB 

Homework Help Club will switch to study mode in the next few weeks. 

While our Senior students are always more than welcome to spend Monday afternoons studying, we will also focus on assisting our Stage 4 and Stage 5 students studying for their exams. 

Teachers will be present to assist students preparing for their exams and our Academic Care Coordinators will be on hand to help students knock out a study plan or develop specific study skills. Wednesday Mathematics afternoons will also continue during the time.

As always, we would encourage students to come and study in the Library Monday – Wednesday and Friday. 

STUDY SKILLS TIPS – FROM PRUE PSALTER

ELES QUICK TIP  - TIME TO REFLECT 

With the end of term fast approaching take the time these holidays to reflect on what is ahead in the last term. 

• Are you ready for your exams?
• Should you be making some study notes?
• Are there areas of difficulty you should address?
• What do you want to achieve both academically and personally?
• Set some goals!

Riccardo Bombardiere

Director of Studies