For year 11 and 12 students the time has come to begin preparing study timetables in preparation for final examinations. Examinations may seem a long way off but planning and preparing now will give you the best opportunity for success. Setting out a study timetable for each subject allows you to give equal attention to all of the subjects that you study. Look at strengths and weaknesses in each subject and highlight the areas that need most attention. By doing this you can orientate your revision and study program to strengthen your overall knowledge and understanding. Timetables allow time to consult with teachers and fellow students on areas where you need extra help or clarification. Make sure that you include time for practice questions and past examination papers in your schedule. Challenging yourself in this way will also help to expose areas of weakness. Time should also be allocated for reviewing past tests and assignments. Take particular note of where marks have been lost and where you scored well. As International students you need more time for reflection and review. Starting now will allow the best preparation in the lead up to examinations. Once your time-table has been set make sure that you stick to it. Be reasonable about time allocations and set up a checklist so that tasks can be ticked as you complete them. As you move through each task you set, you will feel a real sense of satisfaction and achievement and know that you are preparing yourselves well. Leaving revision and review till the last minute is never successful. Get a head start – start now!
Secondary students in Australia are now preparing for the start of second semester. Most students will have completed trial examinations at the end of term two and will now have the opportunity to review their examination performance. Reviewing examination performance can be an excellent learning tool. Your performance in an examination can tell you a lot and help to focus your learning as you work towards final examinations at the end of the year. Look carefully at the mistakes that you have made and ask some questions. Did I read the question correctly and understand what was being asked? Did I have the knowledge that the question asked for? Your answers to these questions highlight areas that you may need to work harder on. If you have trouble interpreting questions then you should make question reviews a part of your study routine. If there are gaps in your knowledge then you know that there are specific study areas that need more of your time. Examination scores can also be affected where questions are left unanswered either because of time constraints or because the answers were unknown. These situations indicate that a student may have problems with examination technique. You can improve your technique in lots of ways. Working under time constraint even when you are completing homework exercises helps you to manage time more efficiently. Leaving questions unanswered is never a good idea so practice the ‘educated guess’ technique where you at least provide an opportunity for some marks as opposed to none. Learn from mistakes. Use your examination performances from the middle of the year to review learning and technique. This approach builds your confidence and helps you to be better prepared for finals at the end of the year.
The purpose of summarising is to compress or condense large amounts of information into a few sentences. This must be done without changing the original meaning. A summary must still include all of the main points and the supporting information but it does not include minor details or repetition of the same ideas.
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Careful listening is an important learning technique. As secondary students you spend a lot of time in a classroom listening to your teachers. Good listeners are generally good learners. Listening is a skill that you can develop. There are some simple strategies that you can use to improve your listening skills.
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Taking notes is an important study technique. Taking notes in class makes you listen carefully to what the teacher is saying. Writing down the important points helps you to remember the information. Taking notes is re-framing information in your own words which gives the information personal meaning. When you record information in this way not only does it make more sense but you are much more likely to remember it.
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