20
A Café with a
Difference
‘Studying is important because it helps you achieve your academic goals' is a common belief of many parents, teachers and students but the big question for many of us is ‘what does it mean to study and how can you do it effectively?’ Cognitive psychologists have confirmed with decades of research that there is in fact a science behind studying effectively and optimising your recall in tests and examinations. As educators, we believe learning how to study is just like other subject areas and needs to be explicitly taught. The importance of learning how to learn and study is recognised at Toorak through our Growth Mentoring subject and supported in the senior years with study cafés and interactive workshops. Study cafés in the VCE years allow students to identify their area of need and attend small group workshops facilitated by teachers with specialised expertise. This year, our Year 12s started 2021 with a lecture from Mrs Kendall on how to maximise their time and work together as a team. This was followed shortly after with a series of cafés on topics such as beating procrastination, stress management, preparing for a test and mastering multiple-choice questions. Years 10 and 11 students have also worked on their ability to study effectively by building on their understanding of the study cycle, the power of a ‘pomodoro’ (working in 25 minute focussed blocks), creating study schedules and preparing for examinations.
Our VCE students have also been spending time in study groups as an alternative to individual study time. Study groups help build a student’s academic support system and promote peer-to-peer teaching and learning by leaning into the strengths of others. For our students, these groups are already proving to increase their motivation to study with the ultimate goal of achieving their best as a cohort. Mrs Kate Brown Deputy Head of Senior School, Academic Growth
