By Flora Lepage, Year 11
The final stretch of the academic year is not only considered the most important, but also the time where students are put under the most pressure. With exams approaching quickly, our school shows the students different study methods and schedules that could be used. Each individual student has their own personal preferences when it comes to studying depending on how their own brain learns and retains information. Still, teachers have shared some useful tactics that may be valuable for students in this stressful time.
One key recommendation is the adoption of a well-structured study schedule, which can wield considerable influence. Instead of deciding daily what one may want to study and wasting precious time on organising the work and subjects, a schedule where the student distributes different subjects and subtopics that must be studied daily should be created in order to avoid this. Many students have shared that they struggle with juggling school and studying every subject to the fullest extent. While there is no shortcut to avoid all of the hours of studying required for exams, a study schedule can make the difference between studying for five hours and completing a few subjects and only studying three hours but completing almost double the amount of subjects. Studies have clearly shown that as the human brain is under intense stress, a strong structure of the day containing every task can help contain the stress and fuel it as motivation.
One mistake that penalises numerous students is seeing stress as a negative factor instead of a push for greatness. It is very easy to simply succumb to the overwhelming pressure that stress puts upon a person, specifically us as students, instead of welcoming the feeling and learning to work with it. The first step is to recognise the presence of stress and understand the specific factors that cause this stress to be present within the student’s studies. Once we understand what our brain is worried about, it becomes increasingly easier to base the studies on the factors that the student may be worried about and concentrate on proving to themselves that they know the subjects. Once it becomes clear that the stress that we put on ourselves is partially irrational, it becomes easier to study with the pressure of performing well instead of the overwhelming fear and anxiety.
Lastly, the study method itself plays the most important role in a student’s success. As previously mentioned, each student has their own personal approach to their studies that they have learnt to bring the best results for themselves. Yet, there is one main factor that students should base their studies around and that is active recall. Now, what is active recall and why can it be life changing for students? Active recall is a method where instead of re-reading the same pair of notes over and over again, the student uses interactive methods such as flashcards, teaching the topic to another person, or asking themselves questions on the subject. Doing this activates the brain whereas simply writing notes keeps the brain very passive and the student will ultimately not retain the information. It has been proven that people who use active recall methods retain about 80% of the information whereas those who use passive recall only retain about 34% of the information. This method can truly be life changing for many students who struggle with retaining information and will ultimately ensure very successful outcomes in the upcoming exams.
Studying can be very challenging and exhausting for students who lack the proper methods and tactics, and it is therefore extremely important to consider and apply the different methods that the teachers have suggested as it can truly make a difference. Reigning in one’s stress and using it as something positive instead of folding under pressure will change a student’s mentality towards studying, which along with the positive approach of active recall is a recipe for success in the final exams.
