The hype is building up. You can feel the pressure mounting. Family and friends are beginning to prepare you for this "once in a lifetime" experience. The pundits are lining up to offer advice and guidance. The whole country seems to be talking about these vital two weeks in June. Yes, the World Cup is upon us again - and it does have to clash with your Leaving Cert exams!
At this stage of the school year, the final exams begin to loom large. You will probably have completed the "mocks", the oral exams are in the near future, the CAO form has been completed and posted and the weeks seem to slipping by at an alarming rate.
Just like Republic of Ireland soccer manager Mick McCarthy preparing his squad for Japan, your personal management skills will be put to the test over the coming months. You know the dates and times of each fixture, there is a wealth of information available on the opposition and you've done a lot of training over the course of the year - what is most needed now is to build up the motivation, set clear targets and get the tactics right.
Being a successful manager is largely about being focused on results and preparing in the smartest way for tests. With 12 weeks available to you, it is an ideal time to clarify your goals, to start thinking positively, to identify the key areas to attack, make out a realistic revision schedule and get a system working for you.
This series of articles on study skills aims to provide you with practical help to meet your needs at this stage of the school year.
While it is useful to have an understanding of the learning process, what is needed at this point is not theory but practical help - tips and advice that can be implemented immediately without trying to revolutionise your entire study pattern.
Over the coming weeks, some of the key aspects of study and revision will be covered - time management, concentration, organisation, reading, note-taking and memory skills, and exam technique. In each case, the emphasis will be on practical help to complement your schoolwork and your home study. The aim is to show you how to save time and improve academic performance, thus reducing stress levels and helping you achieve your goals.
These articles are intended as signposts for your journey. They will suggest the best routes to follow so as to avoid delays and difficulties, but they won't get you there - you will have to do the travelling yourself!
HITTING THE TARGET
What exactly constitutes good study and how can you maximise its effectiveness? If study is "the systematic pursuit of understanding", then this gives us some clues as to how best to approach the task of learning. Throughout this series, reference will be made to the key characteristics of effective study as they apply to the various aspects of the job. To be effective, study must be . . .
ACTIVE
Always work with a pen and paper, look for key points, test yourself. Never just sit down and read for a set period. Focus on tasks, not time.
ORGANISED
Always ask yourself at the start of a study session "what do I want to have completed in this session?" Have a plan for what you want to cover this week and this month. Have an overview of the priority areas in each subject.
AIMED AT UNDERSTANDING
Always look to build material into patterns and associations that make sense to you. Link new information with your existing knowledge of a subject. Make use of graphic examples and illustrations. When you understand something, you will have little difficulty in remembering it.
GETTING SMART
If a goal is "a dream with a deadline", then it is time to wake up to the realities of exam preparation. As a Leaving Cert student, your dream may be a college place or career oportunity next autumn, but the deadline is June.
All your training should be geared towards being properly prepared on the day. But this large goal will be achieved only by meeting a number of smaller goals along the way. As the Chinese proverb says: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Be sure the bigger goals are your own such as the choice of college course you are targeting. Do what means most to you. Goals that you set for yourself are better motivators than those imposed by others.
For the shorter term goals, remember that to be effective they must be SMART.
SPECIFIC: Don't have as your target: "Read up on physical geography." Do have as your target: "Revise physical geography - rivers, and sketch a model answer to the question on last year's paper."
MEASURABLE: Measure your progress towards your goal. Use a revision planner for each subject and tick off each topic as you study/revise it. In this way, you'll literally see your progress.
ACTION-RELATED: Break down your study goal into a set of specific tasks: e.g. do background reading of research material, draw up essay plan, complete writing of essay. Base each study session on tasks, not time.
REALISTIC: Don't set goals you are unlikely to achieve. Make realistic demands on yourself, in consultation with teachers and guidance counsellors. Otherwise, you will quickly lose heart and lose interest.
TIME-BASED: Avoid panic before a deadline. Always time your study tasks, working back from the deadline. If you have a test in three weeks time, set blocks of revision work for each of the three weeks.
ONE GAME AT A TIME
Using Revision Planners
The old football cliché is to "take each each game as it comes", i.e. successful managers aim to keep their players focused on getting the points from the next match without being distracted by what may lie ahead in the next round of competition.
In your study, it also helps to break the job into smaller pieces. You'll get more done if you can do it piece by piece.
Each subject that you are studying can be broken down into its constituent parts, with main sections, sub-topics and supporting details.
A very useful start is to list out all the topics on the course according
to this hierarchy and use this framework as a revision planner for the subject.
Revision checklists for all major subjects may be downloaded free from www.skoool.ie simply by registering on the site and choosing your subjects.
You can tick off the boxes as you cover the topics in class and as you revise them in your study sessions. It is a useful device that has the effect of giving you an overview of the subject and a means of monitoring your progress relative to the time available.
•"Study Skills" is written by Keith Rowe.
A former secondary school teacher and principal and an expert on study skills, he is a partner in PUC.net Ltd, an educational consultancy and web publishing company working in association with skoool.ie to produce the website's Exam Centre.
