John Monash Science School

A Strategic Approach to Study – Planning and Organisation

Peter Corkill

A Strategic Approach to Study – Planning and Organisation!

As is usual at this time of the year, some students are looking toward the mid-year examination period with more trepidation than anticipation, and this is beginning to affect their thinking and in a few cases probably their wellbeing. I would like to use our newsletters to contribute some thoughts and strategies I think will help students over the coming weeks. The first instalment is about PLANNING.

 

Students tend to feel overwhelmed by work when it starts to mount up, and some often have no systematic approach to dealing with it. The strategic use of a weekly planning tool might assist students to get on top of their work. The tool is simply a large grid of the seven-day week, broken into hourly timeslots from 6am to 11pm. The five school days are encased in a bold outline. Students who need better planning should obtain one of these grids (one is attached to this newsletter) and follow these steps:

  • Shade out all COMMITMENTS in that week (sport, tutoring, part-time job, church, family etc)
  • Make a list of all work you wish to complete that week in each subject, including extra preparation for SACs OR mid-year exams like practice from the Checkpoints books or from past VCAA exams if you are in Year 12, or topic summaries etc.;
  • For each piece of work estimate the time you need to complete it, and calculate the TOTAL TIME you need for each subject;
  • Break this time into SESSION TIMES you feel you can stick to, for example 4 hours of Maths could be achieved in one 2-hour and two 1-hour sessions;
  • Place these sessions onto your weekly planner, stick it on the bedroom wall and commit to it! Make sure you get a good night’s sleep each night and put in some REWARDS for yourself, say some exercise, a movie etc to give yourself a break;
  • Do this EVERY SUNDAY for the following week;
  • Finally, get yourself a cardboard wall calendar from Officeworks (I am told they cost around $7) and put it on your bedroom wall at home. Put all important dates and deadlines on it, including assignment due dates, SAC dates and exam dates. This will keep deadlines ‘public’ for you, not lost in a diary, and will help you plan accordingly.

[Download Timetable Planning Tool]

 

I would suggest that students use this tool STRATEGICALLY, that is, when needed. It is best used when:

 

  • you fall behind with work and you have a lot to do in a short time or
  • you want to include revision for exams in your homework schedule, say four weeks before the exams begin or
  • you just want to get a bit more organised when you have a lot going on.

I believe a more strategic approach to study will help all of our students. In the next newsletter I will talk more about balance and keeping things in perspective, and closer to the exams I will include some strategies to use immediately prior, during and even after them.

 

If students and parents would like advice with appropriate study schedules, you are welcome to contact your son’s or daughter’s mentor, House Leader, one of the Assistant Principals or myself. We are happy to help.

Peter Corkill

Principal

John Monash Science School