Transcript NCEA study skills presentation 2015

Pakuranga College
How can we support our children
to prepare for NCEA exams?
Text me a question: 021948442
Aims for this evening
• To consider what are the issues relating to teenagers and
study
• To consider how we can support our children to study
• To learn some study techniques
• To learn where we can access study material
• To learn different subject specific study strategies
How does NCEA work?
3
Level 3 (60 credits at level 3 + 20 at any other level)
2
Level 2
1
Level 1
(60 credits at level 2 + 20 at any other level)
(80 credits at level 1 or higher
10 must be literacy credits + 10 numeracy credits)
Students and study…The issues
The students tell us:
“Im not organised in my study”
“Im not sure what to study”
“Im not sure how to study”
“Nobody has taught me how to study”
“I find it hard to get motivated”
Organising study: Plan ahead
“Im not sure when my exams are”
“I’m not sure which subjects I have exams in”
“Im not sure how many exams I have in each subject”
“What is the difference between the exams in September and
the ones in November?”
Organising study:
How can parents help?
• As a starting point. discuss with your child how many credits
they currently have in each subject and are they at achieved,
merit or excellence level?
• How many credits do they still need to pass NCEA this year?
• How many credits do they still need to gain merit or
excellence endorsements?
• In which subjects are they aiming to gain subject
endorsements?
• With your child set goals for each subject in the exams
Organising study:
How can parents help?
• Take home tonight/download the prelim and NCEA exam
timetables
• Ask your child in which subjects do they have exams and how
many papers are they sitting in each exam
• If they are unsure, ask your child to check with their teachers,
check moodle with them or email teachers directly
• Help your child to design a study plan with specific goals for
each session – don’t forget to add the exams
A study plan
• Count how many days your child has until each prelim/NCEA
exam
• Taking into account their other commitments between now
and the prelims, work out how many 1 hour blocks of study
time they have
• Divide the 1 hour blocks between the papers that they will be
sitting and identify how many study hours that they will have
for each paper or subject
• Sketch out a plan on a calendar with a clear goal for each
session or day
Exemplar study goals
In this hour, I will aim to:
Complete a practice exam paper for the English visual text exam
Learn 30 chem. cluster questions by repeating them and
covering them up until I know them
Read a German newspaper and underline words I do not know
Study plan exemplar
My exam plan – stuff I need to do for exams
Sun
Mon
Tues
7-8pm
Practice
film essay
English
Thurs
12-1
Learn
elements
7-8
practice
essay
Health
Other
Sat
9am
Exam!!
Science
Music
Fri
7-8 Note
summary
on film
5-6
Complete
online trig
quiz
Maths
Weds
Listen to
3 x music
Go bed
early
Eat
healthy
Organising study: Study space
• Help your child create a study routine. It takes 3 weeks to
form good habits
• Help your child organise a place to study
• Help them to avoid distractions – other children occupied or
asleep? Turn off the TV, internet and phone?
• Music?
• Offer to help
How to study
What the students tell us when we ask
HOW do you study:
“I study…I go back through my books”
“I don’t know”
How to study
• Practise answering questions from previous exams
• Make summary notes
• Rote learn vocabulary, equations or other information
• Read articles or books related to the topic
• Explain what you have learnt to another person
Practice exam papers & exemplars
Go to the website: nzqa.govt.nz
Click on the: Search tab
Choose: Search NCEA standards
Choose: The subject you require
Choose: Exams and exemplars
Choose: The NCEA level that you require
Practice exam papers & exemplars
Download the APPs:
Practice exam papers & exemplars
Students will also be provided with past exam papers by their
teachers.
It is only worthwhile students completing practice papers if they
get clear feedback, either from their teacher or by comparing
their answer with previously marked exemplars.
Make summary notes
Students should use their notes from the year to create
summary notes.
Students should aim to get the notes for one exam paper onto
one page of A3 paper.
Use colour for each section of the notes
Use shapes to identify different topics
Stick the summary sheets up high on the wall
Aim to redraw the summary sheets from memory
Parents could test their children how much of each set of notes
they can remember
Summary notes: The Blindside
Main character: Big Mike
• Homeless
• Low IQ but high
compassion
Visual techniques
• Sc 1. Close up + up beat
music
• Sc2. Long shot + dialogue
Key messages:
•
•
If we help each other we can achieve
great goals
Friendship
Key scenes:
• At the park
• Training
• NFL scouts
• Car crash
Key quotations:
“Smile at them, then they will
want to be your friend”
“What is in it for me”
“Can SJ come too?”
Rote learning
The students have told us that they learn things in different
ways:
•
•
•
•
•
“I just repeat it over and over again”
“I write it out 1 line at a time and keep repeating it”
“I record myself on my phone and listen to it over and over”
“I down loaded a flip card app on my phone”
“I get my brothers to test me”
Parents can discuss with their child the different methods above
and which one they find the best.
Offer to help test them at the end of a 30 minute study session
Read texts related to the topic
• Excellence grades in many subjects are about being able to
relate the topic studied to society, student’s own experiences
and other similar texts or topics
• Students should aim to read ‘around’ their topic – Use google
scholar; TED; academic journals or youtube
• Parents can support their children by discussing topics with
them or by asking them which topics could they help find
articles about
Subject specific study tips
All subject heads of faculties (HOFs) suggest that completing past
exam papers and writing summary notes are the best preparation for
exams. Beyond these two activities HOFs also suggested:
Music: Listen repeatedly to the significant music works
Sciences : Rote learn key information and use websites such as
‘hyperphysics’ and ‘studyit’
Languages: Talk to friends in your target language, read in your target
language and use the ‘Language Perfect’ or ‘Quizlet’ websites
Mathematics: Make use of vodcasts and quizzes available on
Pakuranga Moodle
Detailed subject specific study tips and web links are available on
Pakuranga Moodle http://moodle.pakuranga.school.nz/ under the
academic tab and study tips
What motivates us?
What the students told us:
“High grades”
“Praise, not hassling us”
“asking us if we have studied, but not having a go”
“Achieving my goals”
“Money”
What motivates you
Think back to the last time that you attempted to change a
habit. What was it that motivated you?
Success? Praise? Support of others? Achieving a goal?
Celebration? Rewards? Or was it someone nagging you?
Everyone has different things that motivates them
Discuss with your child what motivates them to study and how
can you help them
How can we support our children to study?
• Help them identify a goal for each subject + NCEA level
• Help them work out how many exams they have in each
subject
• Help them design a study plan with clear goals for each
session
• Discuss with your child who can support them and how
How can we support our children to study
• Set up a study space for them and help keep study
time quiet and free of distractions
• Print resources for them such as practice exam papers
• Find out what motivates them?
• Praise…praise…praise!