Test Taking Strategies Study Smarter 26 A Clean Slate 26

TEST TAKING STRATEGIES: STUDY SMARTER

By Karel De Cock, Career and University Counsellor

Taking tests and exams are part of being a student. And while students may not look forward to them, tests and exams are important tools that teachers use to evaluate a student’s understanding of a topic. There is a good deal of anxiety and uncertainty when sitting for tests and there are several coping strategies that students can utilise to alleviate these pressures, and that parents can practice to help support their students. Before we get to that point, though, let’s take a step back and breathe.

Keep in mind that students don’t need to study “harder”, but “smarter”. Here are a few revision techniques to support your child to study smarter for their tests:

• Encourage your child to set up a study timetable and write down their goals. In order to allow our brains to absorb the most information and to be able to recall previously studied information during a test or exam, we need to break it up into manageable segments. By planning it out reasonably, students are able to review a good amount of material daily, rather than everything all at once. Help your child plan for achievable study goals so that they don’t become frustrated before even sitting the exam. Students can then write down their goals for the day and make sure they achieve those goals. • Remind your child to ask for advice from their teachers.

Every subject is different, so as a result, students will need to study differently depending on the subject matter. Reading through a hundred pages of their textbook is the most ineffective way of studying and is actually a waste of time. Their teachers know the format of the exam and the essential content they will need to know for that subject. • Help your child to identify their weakest links. Have an honest conversation with your child to determine which topics or subject areas are most challenging for

them to remember. Perhaps they forgot a whole unit of a specific subject – they will need to then put more effort in revisiting and studying that part again. Students can also set extra time in their everyday study goals to specifically study that subject matter. If it’s a mathematic topic that they can’t comprehend, advise your child to sort out the proper understanding with their teacher or classmates before they begin to study it. If there is a part of history content that your child struggles to remember completely, the best solution is to begin early – support your child to set aside time now to begin reviewing it through notes, books and video clips. • Study with concentration. We all have a limited attention span, and it varies person to person. Emphasise scheduling study time that maximizes your child’s attention span. They may need to change subject matters every 30 minutes or change the method of studying within the same subject matter to sustain their attention. • It’s all about practice. Make learning more interesting by testing your child in various ways such as verbal inquiry, asking them to write summaries and helping them to create study notes. Students aren’t able to apply learned knowledge without any practice. If answering analytical essay questions is difficult for your child, try to help them practice drafting outlines and working on their topic sentences. • Motivate your child by allowing them to set their own limitations. Students can create a limited and inaccessible environment that prevents any disruptions when they study. Remind your child not to engage with any accessible entertainment or distractions during their

set study schedule. Any privileges such as taking a break, going on social media, talking with friends or playing video games can be a motivator and a reward only after a productive period of concentrated study time. • Eat, rest and exercise. Your child’s ability to concentrate depends heavily on their physical well-being. Eating nutritious and healthy food plays an important role in their ability to concentrate. Research has shown that having the right nutrition, quality rest and regular exercise can boost brain power.

Some additional tips for how parents can help:

• Provide a quiet, well-lit area with little distractions; • Make sure that your child gets enough sleep on the night before the test; • Let your child relax for a few hours before bedtime, it can be stressful to study all night; • Maintain and demonstrate a positive attitude about tests and exams; • Keep testing in perspective – it’s important to not be upset by a single test score; • Mark down test days on your own calendar so you are aware of when your child may be stressed or need extra support; • Offer positive re-enforcement; • Talk to your child about testing, focusing on the purpose of the test; • Stay in communication with your child’s teachers.

A CLEAN SLATE

By Richard Molloy, Cross Campus Head of Sports

Sport has been given a clean slate this year. We started Season 1 with the chance to create opportunity and experience across our teams. We also sought to engage as many students as possible and bring sport back into their lives. The return of SEASAC competitions meant our Varsity teams were able to head to Singapore to reacquaint with great rival schools. For Cross Country, Football and Volleyball, this meant a sterner test than has been available in recent years.

The students, as always, rose to the occasion both on and off the field. The Girls’ Football team were at their dominant best as they powered into the final against old rivals, Tanglin Trust School. On this occasion, an extra time goal meant the Girls came home with Silver, still plenty more chances to come for the young squad. The Boys’ Football and Volleyball, as well as Girls’ Volleyball, all performed admirably and came away in 6th place in their respective tournaments. The success of the trip is much broader than the final placing, seeing our teams build friendships, find common ground and thrive under pressure is such a magical experience and we can’t wait to host Tennis and Rugby in Season 2.

The Tennis programme have been busy preparing the Under 14 players for their BMAC team event. Both Boys’ and Girls’ teams have put up typically strong performances, earning their BMAC titles in style!

Our Junior Basketball teams have also had a busy season, playing in the now seven-team BMAC competition, fielding strong teams that were full of Tiger spirit. The Under 14 Boys, under the guidance of long-time Head Coach Carlos, won against a strong field, snatching the win in a closely fought match with NIST. The Under 12 Boys took a Silver medal, with the Under 14 Girls placing 4th and Under 12 Girls 7th.

There was also success for our Cross-Country teams as the Under 11 Boys’ and Girls’ teams were crowned BMAC champions, including lots of medal success across the Under 11, Under 12 and Under 14 age groups.

We are excited for what is to come in Season 2 as we host SEASAC Rugby and Tennis, with Touch and Basketball in Bangkok as well.

Go Tigers!

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