Galway Advertiser 1996/1996_05_30/GA_30051996_E1_020.pdf 

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Step by Step Guide to S t u d y f o r Success in t h e L e a v i n g Cert.
by Therese Burns
WHERE TO STUDY Find a room that suits your study needs, this may be your bedroom, the living room.your school or the local library. Ventilation is important as is a good standard of lighting, your eyes will tire very quickly in poor lighting. Make sure you are warm and comfort able - ensure you have a good chair and a clear desk or table. Use wall space for study programmes and notelet reminders. Some people like to study to relaxing background music and this is fine but the radio or television turned on only serve as interruptions. If noise is a persistent problem try earplugs which can be purchased from your local chemist. GET ORGANISED Have notes and folders organised so that time is not wasted looking for those "lost notes". Organise subjects into separate bun dles or boxes and label these to cut down on confusion. Use colour codes in folders. Make sure you have plenty of biros, pencils, paper, index cards, markers etc. Keep a clock on your study desk. Use post-its on the walls to remind you of anything you've forgotten or to high light difficult areas in questions. Tell friends that you will be studying at specific times so that you will not be interrupted. STUDY REVISION PLAN Stick this plan on the wall in front of your table/desk. Allocate specific times to each subject, you may need to do out your plan a few times before you get it right. Vary times and subjects to suit you. Use the plan both for studying new material (which many no doubt will still be doing) and for revision. Review your plan daily, don't worry if you don't hit your study targets every day just revise your plan with more real istic goals. Do not spend 10 hrs studying one day and find tbat you are exhausted the next day and can only study for 2 hrs, strive for a balanced study plan. Remember that everytime we say "I must do something" it takes a huge amount of energy - far more than actu ally doing the thing" - so just do it! Try to spend a few minutes everyday on a task or topic you find difficult.this will help take the "edge" off it and it will be less daunting. Incorporate breaks into your study plan - these are very important, however there is little point in taking a break if you are going to spend the time talking or worrying about the examinations. Try to incorporate some group study into your plan, these group times should be used to help with subjects / areas that you find difficult, some of your friends may have a better grasp on the topic. EFFECTIVE STUDYING Make sure you have a complete picture of what you are studying. Study for approx. 40 minutes at a time then take a 10 minute break. The brain will use this 10 minutes to digest infor mation. During your break change your physical environment, go to another room or get some fresh air. On returning to study after your break you should spend 10 minutes revising what you studied in your last study time. Index cards are useful here for writing down key words and sentences - if you have problems recalling the informa tion, note this for another study period, this short revision should be carried out again after 24 hours before the final revision for the exam. For revision, work in short periods of say 20 minutes, take a break and use "mind maps" or index cards to recall what you have revised, compare your original notes or summaries with your recall notes, if you are not happy with your work - repeat. Remember you also need your "Big Breaks" to allow information to be fully registered in your mind. It is always easier to study something that you understand. Much of our exam culture promotes "rote" learning but in order to give good quality exam answers, it is essential to understand your topic. Use past exam papers to help give you a clearer picture of what you are study ing and what standards are required of you. Start with an overview of text or notes, this will give an overall perspective on what is to be covered, move through your material and then get a close look at your notes or text, divide notes into topics and write summaries. In your summaries use key words and key concepts, it helps to highlight those with luminous markers, remember to revise your summaries on index cards or by using mind maps/posters. Practise making your diagrams on index cards, use vivid colours that appeal to your senses, these are easier to recall. If you don't have past exam questions to practise on then devise your own questions around a topic. Eat a balanced diet, skip the junk food and eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, don't let your blood-sugar level get too low and do not neglect to eat. Regular sleep is essential - you may find that you study better at specific times, that is fine but get 8 hours sleep each night! Get approx. 20 mins exercise each day, this will help to clear the brain and is also great for releasing tension, swim, jog, hit a ball, the feel good factor is worth it. TECHNIQUES Different people learn in different ways, some people like to see drawings of information, some like to listen to infor mation, some like to act out informa tion... develop techniques for whatever learning style most appeals to you. For remembering poetry and quota tions repetition is essential so recite, on your own, or to a friend or sing or write notes. Technical and scientific information and formulas can easily be remembered using mnemonic devises, eg. this involves taking the first letter from words in a list or formula and using these to construct a more vivid memo rable sentence, e.g. Sin = opp hyp Cos = adj hyp Tan = opp ad SOH = salt on ham CAH = cabbage and ham TOA = tickle our appetites Use mind maps, this involves making mental pictures of what you are learn ing. Make a poster/drawing to answer a subject/topic - remember to use lots of colour and imagination. Make an audio-tape of a topic, poem. Get friends and family to listen to you explaining or answering a question. Try to incorporate colour and humour into your learning technique - it will leave a more lasting impression on you. STRESS BUSTERS

Therese Burns is a native of Galway and comes from a line of 5 genera tions of educators/teachers in County Galway. She originally started her career in the area of engineering but found that she had a love for education and returned to U.C.G. to obtain a primary degree in English and Sociology. She specialised in the Sociology of Education. Therese taught for a number of years in Fr. Griffin Vocational School (now Galway Technical Institute) before moving on to lecture in the R.T.C. Galway. She com pleted a Masters in Education in U.C.G. and the focus of her final thesis is on "the lack of social and personal education in second level schools in Ireland." Therese believes that education should have a wider focus than developing the intellect and training for jobs. Therese also has qualifications in coun- t selling, communications and occupational | psychology and now works freelance as a * career counsellor and educational consultant. Therese will this summer be acting as a facilitator to a person with special needs who is sitting the Leaving Certificate in Dublin. She is no stranger to exams.

to see this time as a stage in your life, it is not all your life, this time will pass, so try to get some perspective on it. If things are bothering you don't bottle them up - sharing your troubles is a great stress releaser, if there is no one around write down your feelings. Physical exercise is one of the most effective ways to reduce stress, aim for 20 minutes every day but try for a little longer. Replace negative thoughts with posi tive ones, if you find those negative thoughts creeping back in say STOP to them and focus on something nice. Do not take on any other responsibili ties during your study and exam time, you have enough to cope with. Use prayer to help cultivate a positive attitude. Try relaxation tapes, these can be help ful also if sleeping is a problem, a few drops of lavender oil on your pillow is an effective aid to sleep. Try deep breathing exercises, a typical one would be to: sit in a comfortable position where your body can get relaxed, concentrate on your breathing for a few minutes, try to become aware of its rhythm, make this as regular as possible by counting. After a few moments begin to repeat a certain word or phrase. It doesn't matter what word you use as long as it works, some peo ple use the word SERENITY. This word becomes your mantra and your mind learns to recognise it as a sign for relax ation, when your mind begins to wander just call it back again to your mantra

Read all the questions carefully, makej sure you see compulsory questions, take I 10-15 minutes to do this. Pick some or all your questions and map out the time requirements for each question. Plan your answers, do this either for one question at a time, or for all ques tions together - whatever suits you, use a pencil and as much paper as you want. Re-read all the questions. Start with your 1st or 2nd best ques tions to get you into the swing of things. Attempt to answer the number of ques tions you are asked to answer - don't ignore a full question. Don't worry about going blank - it hap pens us all - take deep breaths, it will pass. If you are stuck in one question, leave some space to return to it and go on to another question. Stick to the question asked, don't wan der off on some unrelated topic. Don't worry about making a mistake we all make them! If you are running out of time, make notes to show the examiner how you would have answered the question, use buzz words, headings. Avoid the post-mortems - they serve no useful purpose. Move on to the next goal... the past is gone. Stick to a study/ revision plan during exams. After the exams have a treat - maybe a nice dinner/visit. Students often report a sense of anti climax after an exam and this is natural, your whole being has been psyched up for this exam and Repeat this for 5 - 2 0 minutes. know it will take it some time to adjust Stay calm, don't panic - ask yourself what is the worst that can happen to you to more time and less stress. Enjoy your and then see the reasons why this would holidays and good luck. not be so bad (and they do exist); try not PARENTS AND to take yourself too seriously and hang FAMILY on to your sense of humour. ON THE DAY The last day before your exam - you should spend half the day studying, then relax, have a bath or go to the pictures and bed early, check you have your exam location right. Make sure you have your exam num ber with you, pens, pencils, calculator. Bring a few sweets to suck. It's a stressful time for everyone so be patient and make allowances - it's only for a short time. Nagging achieves nothing. Offer lots of support/ encouragement, offer to listen to that poem, question or topic. "Let go" it's their exam - not yours. Give lots of psychological space. Organise their favourite dinners/treats. Make sure your son/daughter knows that you love him/her, no matter how he/she gets on. If you are excessively worried about how someone is coping - seek profes sional help.

STUDY REVISION PLAN Devise a study/revision timetable for each day up until the examination begins and for the times between examinations, try something like the following Mon Morning Afternoon Evening Tues. Wed Thurv Fri. Sat Sun.

Do not arrive too early at the examina tion hall, you'll just be standing around picking up the "hype". Once in the hall synchronise your This is a stressful time so it is only nat ural to feel moody, tense and angry - watch - remember that deep breathing to there are however way to help min relax you. Read all instructions on exam papers. imise the anxiety.