Help when learning is hard
There was a time, way before our students were born, that we wrote our study notes in exercise books, loose-leaf pages or flash cards. These options are all still available, as well as newer technological options of typing notes in a word processor, creating online flashcards on an app or website, creating a notebook online.… Continue reading To Write or Type? Study Note Cheat Sheet
How do you know when to write a set of summarised notes or to try something else? There’s not really a hard line here - these are your notes and your own preferences can guide you here. If you’re trying to work out whether drawn notes are for you begin with your written notes and… Continue reading A picture is worth a thousand words – drawings for study notes
This is a phrase spoken - often exasperatedly - by parents all over the world to their teenage children who cringe and head to their room without a clear picture at all of the battleplan. The end result - for the teenager - is some free time, reorganising pencils, watching Netflix, designing a new screensaver.… Continue reading What Does It Mean to “Go To Your Room & Study”?
You’ve just finished all of your Year 11 Preliminary exams (congratulations!) and now your HSC "year" has begun. How did you go in Year 11? What are the lessons you'll take into Year 12 to be as successful as you can? The is the beginning of the last 12 months of your time at school,… Continue reading Get HSC Ready with an Exam Audit
There has been much emphasis on paragraph types with special names of OERO, MESL, TEEL, PEEL, PETAL .. Each teacher or school ascribes to a particular acronym and suddenly the composition of an essay has taken on a life of its own. I am fielding many calls and enquiries lately from parents and students feeling… Continue reading PEEL, TEEL, PETAL, MESL, OREO – a series of linked sentences by another name?
From the day the iPad appeared all I've really wanted is to eliminate my writing pad. I have tried so many apps and stylus' with my various iPad models and sizes, but I always reverted to a notebook and pen to develop new programs, journal or write a study card for my students. I had almost… Continue reading Nebo – early signs this app is what I’ve been waiting for
As much as we try to prepare students for the concept of studying, it becomes real once Year 11 hits - in NSW schools this is the first of the two year Higher School Certificate. I am working with some students now and am reminded of that steep learning curve again. There are two issues… Continue reading 5 Tips To Study in Year 11
Recent announcements to the implications of this years NAPLAN test for students planning to sit their HSC in three years have suddenly increased the pressure being felt by families already worried about their child's future. Setting a minimum standard of Band 8 for this year's NAPLAN test may be a goal set too far ahead… Continue reading Top Tips for Year 9 NAPLAN Students in 2017
NAPLAN results have found their way into school bags across the country in Australia leaving parents wondering "What comes next?" The NAPLAN results can help inform whether your child needs additional assistance, further extension and engagement or some relaxation techniques. Most importantly the NAPLAN results shouldn't be a surprise. If they are, it is very likely they are… Continue reading What Comes Next? Steps after NAPLAN
I am always amused when my students come to tutoring and when asked what is happening at school they reply"Nothing". Further promoting often yields the second part of this answer, "Our exams are finished, there's nothing else to do this term." After I smile, count to 10 and breath deeply ... we begin our work.… Continue reading Managing the “after exam” slump