Study Tips – Page 2

The HSC is Almost Here – Are You Motivated to Study?

September 26, 2011 By Nicole Feledy

The sun is shining, cicadas chirp summer’s song and the sweet scent of frangipani mingles with the salt air. Summer beckons and you realise the HSC is almost here. Are you motivated to study or do you;

A) Grab your surf board and head down to the beach?

B) Reach for a towel and head down to the pool?

C) Shove your wallet into your pocket and hit the shops?

D) Bury your head under a pillow and wish it was tommorow?

Ok, so perhaps none of those options appeal. Perhaps you leap out of bed, land at your desk and fire up the computer ready for a day sitting in front of a screen chatting to friends or playing games.

Or, just maybe, you are geared up, energised and motivated for a couple of hours study.

Regardless of which option you would choose, which option would you like to choose and, importantly, do you realise it is your choice to make?

Can you imagine being motivated to study? Do you think being motivated to study would make studying easier, learning fun and remembering a naturally occurring process?

Sound like a dream? Is it a dream you would like to live?

Hopefully you are intrigued because intrigued is a good place to start. From this place of curiosity it is possible to find a reason to want to know more. When you want to know more, you have a reason to study. Once you have a reason to study (one you value) the motivation to study naturally follows. When you want to study, and when you believe that study can help you can achieve your dream, you will enjoy the process of studying. And, as you know, when your emotions are positively engaged, you remember.

So, what are you curious about? What do you want to know? Write a list; be imaginative and allow your mind the freedom to dream up whatever questions it likes. The aim here is to allow yourself to believe you can learn about anything you want.

Now take a serious look at your list. Can you see any links to the subjects you study? These links may not seem obvious at first; however as you allow yourself flexibility of thinking you may start to notice a pattern. Use arrows, circles and coloured pens to take note of places where your curiosity intersects with your subjects. The links will be there, even if you need to use some lateral thinking to recognise them. For example you may want to know more about how to make money. This could link to Business Studies or Economics. You may want to know how to communicate more effectively with girls /boys. Can you can see a link to English (or the themes in your prescribed texts). Do you want to improve your skill at a particular sport? Maybe you can find a link to Biology or Physics.

This exercise aims to teach you something about your own interests, values and motivations. It is simply a slightly different way of identifying a study goal. You may even find yourself discovering a path which will lead you to a university or career choice. It is important to write down what you are thinking so that you accept this is a commitment you make to yourself. You may like to write commitment statements such as I will study ________ because I know it will help me on my path to learn how to _____________.

Be flexible in your thinking and happy to accept that some of the links are likely to be a stretch. This is a good thing because it will help you realise that sometimes, even if the benefits of a particular process or event are not obvious, with imagination and determination you can find a reason to delay immediate gratification. This is possible when you are willing to trust that the work you do now will yield rewards in the future. So even if learning ‘how a sense of belonging is conveyed in your prescribed text’ may not seem useful now, your study can create a knowledge and skill base which is likely to be useful when you need to develop a cohesive team environment later.

Begin to imagine the exams are simply a step to be climbed as you walk determinedly toward finding answers to your own questions and studywill become personally relevant.

Meditation: A Breath Away From Balance

August 7, 2011 By Nicole Feledy

How often do you think you have ‘the answer’ only to find you’ve changed your mind?

We’re encouraged to identify who we are; we are told to set goals and decide what we want from life. However, this is challenging, especially when everything seems to be in a state of flux. Yet, if we can find balance we can recover a sense of stability and achieve harmony. I realise this is beginning to sound a lot like Mr Miyagi or Mr Han (depending on which version of Karate Kid you’ve seen) but what I find interesting is that this movie was re-made within the space of 26 years. Perhaps it highlights, or rather reinforces the message that young people (and not so young people) are struggling to find a path of peaceful co-existence.

Meditation may be described as a practice of focused breathing that helps you find a sense of balance. It has the potential to increase your capacity to concentrate, retain more of what you learn and access your inner creativity. Meditation offers you an opportunity to develop a focused, relaxed state. Over time, you are likely to notice yourself becoming aware of how your thoughts and emotions effect your beliefs and actions.

This is what mediation helps you do – it helps you connect to your ‘inside self’. This is why meditation is useful. It is particularly helpful when you feel as though you’ve been cast adrift. As you become more aware of yourself and your surroundings, you’re likely to feel calmer, more in control and more confident in your ability to respond to what lies ahead.

This state is often described as being ‘in the flow’.

How Effectively Do You Study?

February 27, 2011 By Nicole Feledy

Do you have a specific study strategy that works? Many students claim they study, but do they really follow a system that is efficient, effective and focused?

One of the first tips students are given when they start to ask questions about effective study habits is; Identify your learning style

The most commonly identifiable leaning styles are;

Visual – see
Auditory – hear
Kinaesthetic – do

In simple terms,

Visual learners encode (or learn) more effectively when they;

Read, view pictures, charts and graphs etc
Visualise ideas and concepts as images within their mind
Use imagination and creativity

Auditory Learners encode (or learn) more effectively when they;

Hear information aloud
Discuss information

Kinaesthetic Learners encode (or learn) more effectively when they;

Physically engage or actively manipulate the information
Take notes or draw while learning
Physically move while learning

You can assess your preferred learning style by doing online tests such as the ones found at http://www.metamath.com/multiple/multiple_choice_questions.html

BUT!!!!!

In real terms, even though it is useful to be aware of the existence of learning styles, and to have an idea about the ones you feel most comfortable with, to truly be an effective learner, you need to use strategies from each style when learning and encoding new ideas, information and skills.

It has been suggested that the more learners integrate and develop the skills favoured by each learning style, the more information they will retain.

WHY!!!

Information is more easily retrieved when the environment in which that information was encoded matches the environment in which the information is decoded. In other words, if you need to produce material in an examination situation (quiet, seated on a chair behind a desk) you should also study in an environment that is quiet, while seated on a chair, behind a desk.
Recall is usually improved if information is heard out aloud, particularly when we say it ourselves.
Similarly, we tend remember things we have done.

So it can be very useful to;

Teach someone else the skill or information (do)
Read your notes and record them, then play them back (see & hear & speak)
Complete practice or past papers (do)

Carefully consider what you have just read,

Did you see that learning and encoding theories require a combination of visual, audial and kinaesthetic skills? And did you hear how improving the efficiency of your learning involves utilising visual, audial and kinaesthetic skills. So, do you feel more confident knowing that blending visual, audial and kinaesthetic skills can improve your recall ability?

Now, have you noticed the techniques used to help you encode information?

Repetition
Using each learning style
Questioning

Repetition feeds Recall

The KEY point here is that when each learning style is activated, you are learning. You are encoding and cementing new information because you are actively involved in the learning process.

THE MORE ACTIVELY YOU ARE INVOLVED IN THE LEARNING PROCESS, AND THE MORE ACTIVELY YOU ARE INVOLVED WITH THE MATERIAL THE MORE YOU WILL LEARN!!!

Be Mindful of Expression

October 10, 2010 By Nicole Feledy

What does this statement actually mean?

I’ve heard mindfulness described as ‘being in the moment’. It involves recognising the present, rather than guessing what will happen or, obsessing about what has happened. The term mindful implies being aware. It reminds us to focus on the task at hand, to recognise our emotional response to a situation and distinguish our thoughts.

So, how does this apply to expression?

On one level it suggests being conscious of what we say and understanding that just because we said something, doesn’t mean it’ll be interpreted the same way. I’m sure we have all experienced times where we spoke in good faith but were misunderstood. These mismatches in communication occur when we have one story in our mind and the person we are communicating with has a different story. In other words, different experiences and different emotional states give rise to different perspectives.

‘Be mindful of expression’ is a comment I often write on student’s essays. Am I asking them to be conscious of what they say? Yes! I am asking them to be conscious of the way their sentences may be interpreted by the reader. Yet I am also asking them to focus on the task at hand so they may write coherently and cohesively.

At a purely mechanical level I make this suggestion so students can develop and improve their writing skills. They need to focus on the words they choose, the way they arrange words in a sentence and the way they link sentences together. They need to be conscious of spelling and punctuation. Similarly, after they have written, they need to edit and draft their work. This is arguably the most productive part of the writing process since it facilitates improvements in writing style.

How?

Because the process of editing requires a person to reread what they have written. At this point a student is checking for both accuracy and clarity. In other words, they are asking themselves, does this make sense? As a result of this self-correction the student is training themselves to recognise how to write effectively.

At a more profound level I make this suggestion to encourage students to reflect on their ideas and how they share those ideas with others. When we are present in the moment, our energies are focused on what is at hand, we are paying attention and are aware of our thoughts and emotions. We are here rather than guessing what if.

Enjoy the Experience of the HSC

September 28, 2010 By Nicole Feledy

It has been 25 years since I sat my HSC, and even though I remember thinking I would always remember the experience, a tentative exploration through the files of my mind reveals only remnants. Not surprisingly the most vivid memories are sensual; the piercing chorus of the cicada, the sweet scent of frangipani and the hot, sticky, humidity of a Sydney summer. Emotions also waft subtly through my inquisitive awareness; the utter dread of realizing I had missed a whole question on my English paper (the consequence of a careless mistake) is counteracted by the gleeful joy, shared with two of my classmates as we exchanged furtive smiles across the examination room when the content on the biology paper was reassuringly familiar.

As I reflect, I realize, as I have always known, that tactile experiences and relationships with people have a far greater impact on our future than selected facts gleaned from texts or the ether.

This is message I have for year 12 students earnestly swotting and organising and reorganising their sock draw. Enjoy the experience of the HSC. It is worth all the effort; there is much to be gained from being in a position where you are accountable for your actions. So;

See the HSC as a positive opportunity; it is your ‘grand final’.
Stay focused on the moment (rather than looping on ‘what if’ scenarios).
Examine the emotions you feel. They may seem like nervousness, but, with a little positivity, you will notice how alike they are to excitement. This adrenalin, when purposefully focused, will help you remain alert and proficient.
Expend restless energy, walk, run, swim – enjoy being in the fresh air.
Eat a healthy, balanced diet and drink plenty of water.
Remember to breathe – meditation is a valuable way to relax and re-energise.
Finally, perceive study as fun – this is easily achieved by spending some time revising with reliable friends.

The HSC is a beginning; in 25 years, when you reflect back, I wonder what you will remember.

Choose to Be The Author of Your Life

The HSC is Almost Here – Are You Motivated to Study?

Meditation: A Breath Away From Balance

How Effectively Do You Study?

Be Mindful of Expression

Enjoy the Experience of the HSC

Live a Mindful Strengths based Narrative

Free Mini Mindfulness Poster

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