Imagine walking into an assessment task, feeling smug in the knowledge that you've spent the last week solidly studying for it. But when reading time begins and you eagerly start searching for the concepts you seemingly worked so hard for, confidence fades, and panic sets in. The realisation that all the blood, sweat and tears you invested into this SAC simply wasn't enough hits hard.
Unfortunately, this scenario might be a familiar one for many VCE students, frustrated that their good intentions and genuine effort seemingly go to waste when faced with the dreaded red pen.
However, giving up isn't going to do you any favours in the VCE game. To give you a much better alternative to try, I'm sharing the principles I taught myself and my students to apply to studying. These tips will help you to level up your efficiency, deepen your understanding and, overall, reap greater rewards for your hard work.
If rote-learning doesn't cut it for you, you're definitely not alone. Instead, try to restructure and reorganise concepts and make cognitive links between them in the process. This can be achieved through rewriting and reordering your English notes, actively attempting SAC or exam-style responses to consolidate your Biology or Physics knowledge, or even constructing the humble mind-map from a pre-existing textbook or set of notes.
These techniques serve to expose your brain to the same content but in fresh formats, keeping you interested while deeply ingraining the information into your memory.
The mad scramble of studying that occurs before every SAC (and is amplified further when exams come around) was never my cup of tea. In fact, starting revision as early as possible and sustaining it throughout the year is recommended by neuroscientists around the world.
This means attempting relevant VCAA exam questions a week after you've learned the relevant content, and not waiting until the exam is 3 weeks away and trying to cram. This approach of breaking exams down into specific questions that can be attempted at a consistent, regular pace throughout the year can work for many VCE subjects. For example, a Biology student who learned about photosynthesis in class the week before can quickly and easily go through the 2009 VCAA Biology exam, picking out relevant multiple choice and short answer questions about this exact topic to try.
Aim to study regularly and consistently, rather than putting yourself under unnecessary pressure when SACs and exams are around the corner. Check out spaced repetition for a neat technique to reinforce your learning this year.
consistency is key in VCE. Consistent attendance, consistent study sessions, consistent note-taking format. If you’re not sure how to get started on taking notes, or if you’d like to try another approach that you can make your own, consider this tried and tested GRASP method:
Firstly, it’s important to prepare your brain for the information it is about to receive. Glance through the pages you’re about to summarise, paying attention to subheadings and bolded words to get an idea of what concepts are going to be addressed. That way, your brain will have a schematic of the topic, making it easier to assimilate new information.
Next, it’s time to read the section you’re summarising. Read with care and really focus on what concept the textbook is trying to impart to you, and how it connects with other things you’ve already learnt. Don’t take any notes at this stage, just read!
Stop and have a think about what you’ve gained by reading the section of your textbook. Is there anything that didn’t quite sink in? Now’s the time to look to other resources (such as Connect Notes or good old Google) for clarification on any tricky concepts. Ensure you fully understand what you have read before continuing. Additionally, consider the order it makes the most sense to organise the notes in — the order in which information is presented in the textbook may not always be the most logical order to you personally, so don’t be afraid to mix it up!
Now you’re ready to start writing notes. Succinctly summarise the main ideas in dot-points, and define any terminology in your own words. Where appropriate, think of some mnemonics (such as acronyms, abbreviations, and rhymes) you could use to remember slabs of information, especially processes or structures. Consider also drawing some mind maps or diagrams to visually summarise information.
We’re not done yet! Once you’ve finished writing, read over your notes and cross-reference the textbook to ensure you’ve covered all key points and that everything makes sense. At this point, you can also highlight your notes methodically; for instance, highlight subheadings in one colour, definitions in another, and examples in yet another colour (and keep these colour-codes consistent across all subjects you summarise). This will help you easily orient yourself when you’re looking back through your notes in the future.
And now that you’ve put in all the effort to create these meaningful notes, make sure you take the time to review them regularly — spending 15 minutes a day looking back through a section of your notes will help consolidate knowledge in your brain and keep it fresh, meaning you won’t have an avalanche of information of process come exam time.
While it's tempting to pull a desperate all-nighter once in a while to just get things done, it's important to remember that to study at your best means to balance study with the rest of your life. Getting enough sleep and breaking up your study sessions can heighten brain recall. Regulated breaks are really important, and provide a form of “planned distraction” that enhance your focus when you return to study.
Even sleeping allows you to consolidate your learning, so try learning a new concept just before bed to maximise your learning while you get a well-earned rest.
To see that your study schedule incorporates some fun whilst simultaneously ensuring you don't over-indulge, planning your study sessions to include rewards and breaks (for example, watching one episode of your favourite YouTube show after you finish three body paragraphs of an essay) is a great tool.
It’s easy to say, and can be so hard to put into practice. Your motivation will rise and fall over the year as you ride the highs and lows of VCE, but it’s super important to maintain whenever possible.
It's interesting to note that internal motivation – where the desire to learn is internally inspired – has been shown to be more effective than any rewards-based system. That is, employees of big companies tend to achieve better results when they're driven by passion and determination arising from within themselves, rather than a pay-rise or promotion.
Try to capitalise on this knowledge by focussing on the topics or subjects you really love or setting realistic, inspiring goals for your studies, and using this enjoyment to motivate the rest of your learning.
The student who understands concepts and can link them together effectively, who revises consistently, who gets a good night's sleep and who is passionate about their academic goals is the student who goes places.
Like many of our SuperClasses students are already doing, don't hesitate to put this theory into practice.
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