“The expert in anything was once a beginner.” – Helen Hayes

Many parents often discuss with teachers how they can help their child prepare for an assessment. How can we help motivate their child to study? There are no simple answers. However, the following habits, ideas and strategies, recommended by the University of Queensland, may be helpful:

1.    Create a study zone.

• Choose a place where you wouldn’t typically do other activities. This can help you mentally establish your study zone as a space where stuff gets done.

• Make it comfortable. You’ll want decent lighting for reading both screens and notebooks and a sturdy chair to support your back.

• Remove distractions that might interrupt your study habits. This step applies to your laptop as well – close any tabs that aren’t relevant when you’re in the study zone.

 2.    Create a study schedule that suits you.

• Your schedule should include ‘time zones’ that would give you the time to study such as before/after school, early evening or weekends.

• Include social/sporting activities and downtime.

3.    Study with friends

• Working together with a friend or in a study group can be very helpful if everyone in the group has the right goals.

Studying with a friend can also help with keeping to a schedule and creating study habits

4.    Experiment with learning techniques.

• Mixing up the way you study can help keep things fresh and make the content more memorable. 

• Active learning techniques include:

  • Try explaining concepts to other students (great activity for study groups).

  • Create flashcards and quiz yourself with them (question or concept on one side, answer or detailed description on the other).

  • Pretend to teach a concept to an imaginary audience.

• Multisensory learning techniques include:

  • Create your own charts, diagrams or colour-coded notes to visually explain key concepts.

  • Conduct experiments or practical examples yourself when possible (e.g. for science subjects).

  • Record yourself talking through your notes and play it back (some people absorb information much faster and clearer aurally rather than visually).

5.    Break up your study sessions

• Include small rests into your study sessions. This can look different from person to person, but it might come down to something like:

  • study for 50 minutes, take a 10-minute walk.

  • work on an assignment for 30 minutes either side of dinner time

6.    Ask your teachers for advice

If you find a particular subject boring or hard to understand, ask you teacher what they think is the best approach to studying each topic. They may have some tips and tricks for tackling their specific subject, which you can then layer across your existing study habits.

For more information visit Good Study Habits for Students in High School

Linda Kandylas | Head Teacher Teaching & Learning