Students – my approach is no longer working and I don’t know why? This is a regular phrase that many of my senior students (generally Year 10 and up) say to me when they start working with me 1:1. Many of these students have cruised through the early years at secondary school, doing what they need to, but usually not much more. They complete all their work but usually when preparing for a test or exam they don’t do much more than read over their notes and maybe a little bit of revision.
Unfortunately this approach only goes so far and it invariably comes to a head in Year 10 and upwards. The work load and content difficulty increases and they are see their marks go down and wonder why. The reason being is they actually need to do more and have had a false sense of security to date when it has come to their school work and marks. It can be a confusing time for students and unless they take action and make changes they will possibly not succeed in the way they want to.
A common example to share with you is one of my recent students was dux of his school in Year 11. You are now probably thinking then why would he be working with me in Year 12? The reason being is that he recognised that he had pretty much cruised along previously. In Year 12 he started to see a big jump in the work load and found it more challenging than in the past. He also recognised he hadn’t been very good with his organisation and time management either. Both of these are also such important skills in the senior years and for those students who want to do well academically. We spent time earlier this year working together on tools and strategies that will work for him and see him achieve & succeed now to pass Year 12. This will then set him up for further studies he plans to do next year at University too.
So what do senior students all need to be doing?
In the senior years (Year 10-12) students need to be doing so much more than they may have been doing in the early years at secondary school including:
- using a planning tool to help them manage their workload – in order to manage time and tasks you need to see them.
- being self motivated to achieve.
- doing more than completing the set coursework.
- focusing on the quality of their work.
- reviewing the subject content and interpreting/putting it into their own words.
- putting together summary notes.
- creating study and revision tools as they go.
- utilising study/spare periods to complete work and revise.
- regularly testing themselves on what they do and don’t know.
- spending more time on what they don’t know than what they do know.
- regularly reviewing the course content.
- being a good self advocate and seeking help & assistance.
- regularly seeking feedback and redoing any work in order to keep learning and improving.
- being familiar with the course content and being familiar with the study designs provided by the relevant education body website in their state ie VCAA in Victoria, NESA in NSW, QCAA in QLD.
- being effective with their time and not getting too distracted or procrastinating on a regular basis.
At the end of the day if a student is trying their very best, and putting into practice the majority listed above, then we really cannot ask any more of them. For others it might be time to get more serious and start putting more effort across these areas listed to ensure they succeed and achieve what they want to. There is usually still time to make changes even if they are in Year 12 – just don’t leave it to close to end of year exam time!
As I regularly say to my students you don’t want to look back and wished you had done more!
If you would like to know more about my programs you can visit my website or get in touch via email or give me a call – 0409 967 166.
