Study Journal for Junior Cycle - Full Sample

WORKBOOK

Practical exercises

for Junior Cycle

POKER Proven and e ective note making system

METHODOLOGY theory and practice

STUDY PLANNER designed to help students increase their productivity

SAMPLE

Rate your ability to study BEFORE the seminar

1exercise

Rate your ability to study AFTER the seminar

Challenges

What are the challenges facing you? Possible solutions

2exercise

exercise

This exercise will help you determine the type of mindset you are inclined to have. Read through the following statements and indicate to what extent you would agree or disagree.

Which mindset do you have?

1. You have a certain amount of intelligence, and you can’t really do much to change it.

Agree Maybe Disagree

2. No matter who you are, you can significantly change your intelligence level.

Agree Maybe Disagree

3. You can learn new things but you can’t change your underlying level of intelligence.

Agree Maybe Disagree

4. Learning new things can increase your underlying intelligence.

Agree Maybe Disagree

5. Talent is something you’re born with, not something you can develop.

Agree Maybe Disagree

6. If you practise something for long enough, you can develop a talent for it.

Agree Maybe Disagree

7. People who are good at a particular skill were born with a higher level of natural ability.

Agree Maybe Disagree

8. People who are good at a particular skill have spent a lot of time practising that skill, regardless of natural ability.

Agree Maybe Disagree

9. You can always substantially change how much talent you have.

Agree Maybe Disagree

10. You can learn new things, but you can’t really change your basic level of talent.

Agree Maybe Disagree

Now work out your score:

Step 1: Check which statements are growth mindset or fixed mindset statements and write either F or G beside each one.

Step 2: For growth statements, give yourself the following scores:

For fixed statements, give yourself the following scores:

Then add up your total score for the exercise.

Step 3: Your results

a. So, what mindset do you have?

b. Are you surprised?

c. Why?

Developing and nurturing a growth mindset towards life and learning can provide you with positive outcomes.

Creating

Pre-test

Write or illustrate all you know about the topic.

Scan back over the article and pick out the key headings. Write them in the box at the end.

Once you have tested your knowledge, the next step is to get an overview of the topic. This is the big picture. You don’t need to go into detail, you’re trying to get the overall gist of the topic. What are the key ideas? What is important in the topic? What is not important?

What information are they looking for to answer the question? You should spend no more than 5 minutes on this step. Scan over the text and identify the main subheadings, these provide the overview of the topic. You can put these in the box at the end of the text.

The Heart Function

The function of the heart is to pump blood around the body. It is made of a special type of muscle called cardiac muscle. This muscle contracts and relaxes regularly throughout life.

Structure

The heart is divided into four chambers. The two upper chambers are called atria. The two lower chambers are called ventricles. The chambers on the left side are completely separated from the ones on the right-hand side by the septum.

Flow of blood in the heart

 Atria

Blood flows into the heart at the top, into the atria. Both of the atria receive blood. The left atrium receives blood from the pulmonary veins, which comes from the lungs. The right atrium receives blood from the rest of the body, arriving through the venae cavae (Singular: vena cave).

From the atria, the blood flows into the ventricles, which then pump it out of the heart. They do this by contracting the muscle in their walls. The strong cardiac muscle contracts with considerable force, squeezing inwards on the blood inside the heart, pushing it out. The atria simply receive blood from either the lungs or the body, and supply it to the ventricles.

 Ventricles

The ventricles pump blood out of the heart to other parts of the body. To help them do this, the ventricles have much thicker, more muscular walls than the atria. There is also a difference between the thickness of the walls of the right and left ventricles.

The blood in the left ventricle is pumped into the aorta, which takes the blood around the body. The left ventricle has an especially thick wall of muscle to enable it to do this.

The right ventricle pumps blood into the pulmonary artery, which takes it to the lungs, which is close to the heart. The blood flowing to the lungs in the pulmonary artery has a much lower pressure than blood in the aorta.

Valves in the Heart

When the heart beats, its muscles’ walls are contracting and relaxing. When they contract, the heart becomes smaller, squeezing blood out. When they relax, the heart becomes larger, allowing blood to flow into the atria and ventricles. There are one-way valves between the left atrium and ventricle and the right atrium and ventricle, which ensures the blood flows in the right direction. These valves are called atrioventricular valves. Their function is to stop blood flowing from the ventricles back into the atria. This is important, so that when the ventricles contract, the blood is pushed up into the arteries and not back into the atria. When the ventricles contract, the pressure of the blood pushes the valves upwards.

Heart Beat

You may be able to feel your heart beating if you place your hand on your chest. Most people’s hearts beat about 60 to 75 times a minute when resting. A good way to measure your heart beat is to take your pulse rate. A pulse is caused by the expansion and relaxation of an artery, caused by the heart pushing blood through it. Your pulse rate,

therefore, is the same as your heart rate. Two suitable places to check your pulse are inside your wrist or just to the side of the big tendons in our neck.

When a person exercises, their heart beats faster. This is because their muscles are using up oxygen more quickly in respiration, to supply the energy needed for movement. A faster heart rate means faster delivery of blood to the muscles providing oxygen.

Coronary Heart Disease

The vessels that supply blood to the heart muscles are called coronary arteries. This may seem odd when the heart is full of blood. However, the heart muscles are so thick that the nutrients and oxygen in the blood inside the heart would not be able to diffuse to all the muscles quickly enough. The heart muscle needs a constant supply of nutrients and oxygen, so that it can keep contracting and relaxing. The coronary arteries supply this. If a coronary artery gets blocked — for example by a blood clot – the cardiac muscles run short of oxygen. They cannot respire, so they cannot obtain energy to allow them to contract. The heart therefore stops beating. This is called a heart attack, or cardiac arrest. This blockage of the coronary arteries is called coronary heart disease (CHD).

Factors which may increase risk of coronary heart disease

A person may be at greater risk of coronary heart disease due to some of the following factors.

 Smoking cigarettes: Several components of cigarette smoke, including nicotine, cause damage to the circulatory system.

 Diet: There is evidence that a diet high in salt, saturated fats (fats from animals) or cholesterol can increase risk of CHD as the person grows older.

 Obesity: Being very overweight increases the risk by putting extra pressure on the heart in trying to pump blood around the body.

 Stress: We all need stress in our lives or they would be very dull and we would do nothing. However, unmanageable or long-term stress appears to increase the risk of developing heart disease.

 Genes: Some people may have a genetic disposition to heart disease. This means that their genes make it more likely they could develop heart disease, so they need to be more careful to reduce the other risk factors by living a healthy lifestyle.

Read your text again and pick out the keywords you need to remember. Keywords

OverviewKeywords

& Sketch

SUPERCHARGE YOUR STUDY WITH THE POKER STUDY SYSTEM

Draw a mind map that uses the headings and keywords.

OverviewKeywords Etch & Sketch Retest

the headings and keywords.

Draw a mind map/one-page summary that uses the headings and keywords.

What do I now know about the topic?

What do I now know about the topic?

How does this topic break down?     GET THE STUDY SKILLS YOU NEED TO SUCCEED IN YOUR EXAMS! Visit www.thesupergeneration.com © The Super Generation This resource is free for Overview SAMPLE

The Heart

Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary arteries = blood to heart muscles Need constant nutrients + oxygen Artery blocked i.e. blood clots muscles short oxygen Stop beating = cardiac arrest Blockage = coronary heart disease (CHD)

Ventricles Bottom Pump blood body Thicker muscles Left ventricle more thick = aorta body Right ventricle less pressure = pulmonary artery lungs

Factors increasing risks

Smoking Diet Obesity Stress Genes

Valves Heart beats contracts squeezing blood out Relaxes blood into atria + ventricles One-way valves stop blood ventricles to atria Between left atrium + ventricle and right atrium + ventricle Heart Beat 60 -70 times/minute Measure pulse rate Pulse expansion + relaxation artery Pulse = heart rate Wrist or neck tendons Exercise faster heart rate more oxygen needed muscles

Function

Pump blood

Cardiac muscles contracts relaxes

Structures 4 Chambers upper atria lower ventricles separated septum Atria

top Left from lungs pulmonary veins

Right from body venae Cavae

Atria to ventricles then out cardiac muscle contracts squeezes out

This Study Journal is designed to help you take positive steps to success in your assessments by giving you the tools that are needed to get the results you want.

The decisions you make between now and the start of your assessments can have a positive impact on your future. This journal, along with showing you what study is, provides you with an organisation system, a study methodology and memory techniques which will make study easier for you.

You will be able to break down what is important for any assessment, organise it and transfer it into your long-term memory. If you’re organised and if you learn to use your memory, your study experience will be a positive one! Most students struggle with studying because they are unsure of what they should be doing, but not you now!

The Brain and Memory

Our brains remodel and remake themselves on an ongoing basis right throughout our lives in response to our experiences and what we learn. If we repeat these activities, those parts of our brain become stronger. Learning is the process where we gain new information and skills, and memory is the process where we retain that information over time. The more we practise, the stronger we are at making those connections in our brain.

Memory Techniques

Our memories have a great capacity for remembering, but if we do not REINFORCE learning, we will naturally forget! The Forgetting Curve shows how much we actually do forget, in the absence of regular review to reinforce memory. After just 24 hours, you will have forgotten 80% of what you have learned in a class, for example. After one week, you forget up to 90%.

There are three keys to accessing our memory and strengthening it:

Association

Creating a link or association between what you are trying to remember and an image or feeling or experience.

Imagination

This is where you use your imagination to again associate words with images in your mind.

Repetition

Frequently repeating something over and over again.

Memory improvement aids known as mnemonics are very useful to know. One or two are enough to improve/enhance your particular way of memorising short pieces of information like lists, procedures, dates etc. Like any other skills, they take practice and dedication

Here are two simple ones:

1. Acronyms

An acronym is a system whereby you take the first letter of a group of words you need to memorise and create a catchy new word. Then practise the individual words so that you know what each of the letters mean. A common example would be FAT DAD… the counties of Northern Ireland.

2. Silly Sentences

Using humour and imagination can really help when trying to remember lists or facts. This is very like acronyms, but instead of creating a new word, each first letter is converted into a word in a sentence.

Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset

Mindset is about the approach or attitude that people take to success, especially when it comes to their learning. If you have a Growth Mindset, you value what you are doing and focus on the process of achieving, whereas with a Fixed Mindset, if you fail or are not the best then it has all been a waste of time.

What kind of Mindset do you have?

The Growth Mindset

I can learn anything I want to. When I am frustrated, I persevere, I want to challenge myself. When I fail, I learn. Tell me and I try harder. If you succeed, I’m inspired. My efforts and attitude determine everything.

The Fixed Mindset

I’m either good at it, or I’m not. When I am frustrated, I give up. I don’t like to be challenged. When I fail, I’m no good. Tell me I’m smart. If you succeed, I feel threatened. My abilities determine everything.

Introducing the Concept of Stress

Stress is a feeling we get when struggling to cope with the pressures of life. Most scientists agree that some stress is good for you. We all need some stress to get up out of bed in the morning. It can help to motivate us and perform at our best, stimulating our body to produce an important hormone called cortisol.

Throw in a high-stress event and we can end up with a seriously unbalanced amount of it. Under stress, either real or imagined, our body responds by producing it. However, the body cannot distinguish between a physical and psychological threat. So if we have a fight with a friend, or are late for class, we can react as if both are life and death situations. Although stress isn’t the only reason that cortisol is secreted into the bloodstream, it has been termed the ‘stress hormone’ as it is released when the body is in ‘fight/flight or freeze’ mode. When you encounter a stressful situation, your body will start releasing other hormones too such as adrenaline within seconds to prepare you to fight – or, more likely, take flight. You are a walking, talking, chemical-making factory!

However, if you stay stressed for too long, it can have negative effects. Cortisol inhibits some of your immune responses, meaning you’re more likely to get sick and it may take longer for wounds to heal. And because cortisol acts on a part of your brain that controls appetite, it also increases your desire for fatty and sugary foods.

Remaining stressed for too long a period of time is not advisable. It is where stress may cross the line to become distress. It is recommended to eat healthy, nutritious food, exercise, practise mindfulness and get plenty of sleep to beat stress. There is nothing good to say about chronic stress. The ability to view stress as a challenge instead of a threat is a crucial skill to develop. The more time we spend imagining what might go wrong, the less time and energy our brains have to spend plotting for things to go right.

Developing Resilience

Resilience is simply your ability to bounce back and continue after you have met an obstacle or setback, like a failure or low score in an assessment. Success is about having the resilience to keep trying.

Five ways for examination students to build resilience

Express

Relax

Work to your strengths –celebrate your successes

Nourish yourself – diet, sleep, exercise and positive self-talk

Sunny side up – an attitude of gratitude

Learning Learning is a 3-step process:

Applying this information, i.e. doing something with it

The processing of this information, i.e. thinking about it

What is Study?

Study is the time and attention that you devote to gaining knowledge in preparation for assessments; it involves creating your own notes and regular revision. There are three key stages to

Divide your subjects into topics and record how many times you have reviewed each topic throughout the year.

Follow the ‘POKER’ study system, which shows you how to create effective notes.

Review it

Regularly review each topic for five minutes to enhance recall and memory.

Plan it

Academic success is not about grades or achievements. It is about trying your best. One way to get the best out of you is to organise your time. Successful exam students have a weekly study routine throughout the year, not just in the weeks running up to the assessments. The amount of study you should do every week varies depending on how focused and energised you are, your state of mind and the time of year. The most important thing is that you consistently work throughout the year.

Make things simple:

Use our subject study planner for each of your subjects.

Divide each subject into key topics.

Indicate how important each topic is for your assessment.

Record when you create your study notes and complete POKER.

Tick the box to indicate when you have completed each of your review sessions for the topic.

Go to page 35 now and write the names of your subjects if you have not already done this. Break each subject into topics and indicate the importance of each topic for your exam.

SUBJECT OVERVIEW EXAMPLE

Do it

Some students feel they need to know every little detail of every section of every subject to be really prepared for the exams. This is not so!

Ploughing through piles and piles of books and notes is not an efficient use of study time. Instead, your past papers should become your best friend. You should be totally familiar with the structure and layout of each paper.

Studying is what you do to help you remember and prepare for assessments.

When you decide to sit down and study, you will need the most effective tools to organise and recall information for the exams. In the next few pages we have provided a step-by-step guide for studying using the best tools.

POKER

Step 1: IDENTIFY YOUR TOPICS

It is important that you identify which topics you need to study in each subject.

Step 2: ORGANISE YOUR NOTES

Organise your notes for each topic using the ‘POKER’ study system.

Step 3: FILE IT

Once you have followed the POKER system, file your new one-page summaries or mind maps for each topic in an organised folder. You may have an individual folder for each subject or alternatively a larger folder with subdividers for each subject.

POKER is a simple 5-step methodology which you can use to create notes on any topic you wish to study.

Here is how the POKER system works.

There

(In the workbook section, you will be brought through a worked example for the Heart, from Junior Cycle Heart)

Your first task is to focus your mind on what you are about to study by quickly finding out how much you already know about the topic. Simply take a piece of paper and write down everything you think you know about the topic, do not worry about whether it is right or wrong or even in the correct order at this stage.

Overview

Go to your book and class notes you already have for this topic, and pick out the main headings. They may be divided into different subtitles and subheadings. Take note of them all, so you have a good idea of how this topic is divided up. You are giving your brain a structure to what you are trying to learn.

Keywords

This is where you select all the relevant and important keywords using a highlighter. Don’t just read it, actively read it! Pick out the good stuff and leave the rest behind! The important thing is that you are highlighting the words important to understanding this topic. For example, words such as ‘was’, ‘so’ or ‘about’ are not as important, you don’t need to learn them.

Once you have your keywords, it’s time to put them into note form. Notes can be recorded in many different ways. Colour and images help us to remember notes. For example, creating a mind map will help you retain a lot more information. It is easier for your brain to remember information when it is in the form of a mind map.

Retest

When your mind map is complete, memorise the key points from it. Then retest yourself on this mind map to see if you know it. If you’re having trouble memorising the key points, why not try a memory technique like the example given below?

Etch & Sketch

Pre-test

Review it

Now that you have created your notes in the form of a one-page summary, you have this knowledge of the topic in your short-term memory.

BUT it won’t be there forever, it’s up to you to review it and make sure the knowledge goes into your long-term memory.

WHY DO I NEED A REVIEW RECORD?

Why do we find it so easy to remember things like our parents’ names or our phone number?

The reason is because we use them so often that they are implanted in our long-term memory. Wouldn’t it be great if what we needed to know for the exam was that easy to remember?

When you learn something new in class, you may forget about 50% of it by the time you go home. This forgetfulness is normal but highlights the importance of regular review.

The chart shows how your recall (memory) diminishes over time and how regular review enhances recall.

Without review you are lucky to remember 10% of what you have learned after the first three months. This explains why many people get poor results in their exams or can’t remember the name of a person after meeting them just once. However, if you review the material on a regular basis, you dramatically increase your recall (memory).

HOW TO USE THIS RECORD

To help with your regular reviews and to learn faster, we have created the 5 x 5 Review System. This requires you to review your notes five times in 5-minute sessions. The first time you create a one-page summary using the POKER system and then you review the topic five times.

IDEALLY, YOU COULD REVIEW EACH TOPIC AS FOLLOWS:

» After 1 Hour

» After 1 Day

» After 1 Week

» After 1 Month

» After 3 Months

The best way to study is to make it a habit!

The best way to record your study is at the end of each study session. Our Subject Study Planner allows you to plan your study, record your study sessions and track your own progress. Use the following step-by-step guide to use our Subject Study Planner on page 30:

Fill in the subject title for each of your subjects.

Break each subject into topics (look at your books, exam papers and speak to your teachers about the topics).

Indicate the importance of each of the topics for the exam (look at past exam papers and speak to your teachers).

Record your study session on the Subject Study Planner with the date the mind map was created on.

Plan to review the topic after 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month and 3 months to commit to your long-term memory. Record each session in your Subject Study Planner.

4.

1. 5.

2.

6.

3. Study the topic using POKER and create a one-page mind map.

Flash cards

Flash cards are a set of cards with information for a particular topic or subject. The cards are very useful to quickly revise before exams, allowing you to revise the main points in a short space of time, which will help overcome stress and ensure success.

How to make and use flash cards

Light card that is strong is best to use because you will handle the cards many times over the next year or two. Flash cards are easy to store and carry around. You and a friend could get together and test each other.

Each card contains information relevant to a particular topic. On one side you have your key question and on the other side you have your answer.

You can create a set of cards for the key questions in each subject area. You should read three to four cards every night.

It is important to record how often you are reading and testing yourself with each flash card to make sure you are not missing any. So, make sure you number each card, then on a separate master sheet, write down the numbers on one side. Each time you read a flash card place a tick beside the number of that card. After a few weeks, you may notice that there are some cards you have not read in a while, so you can focus on those cards.

Other Study Aids SAMPLE

THE STEPS TO MAKING A FLASH CARD

1. Read the material slowly.

2. Identify the key words and phrases.

3. On one side of the card have the key question and on the other side have your answer.

4. Transfer the key words and phrases to the flash card (write as clearly as possible). Use colour.

One storage method is to perforate two holes into each card, allowing you to bind them into a circle. Read three or four cards, then flick them over so you will revise all cards on a regular basis. Remember, it is essential to test yourself.

Example of a flash card from Geography

Side one Side two

What are the causes of globalisation?

5. Add some memory aids, e.g., mnemonics, pictures.

• Improvements in transport

• Improvements in telecommunications

• Development of global banking system

• Increase in free trade

• Growth of MNCs

SAMPLE

Notes SAMPLE

Notes SAMPLE