Preparing for Senior Studies

PREPARING FOR SENIOR STUDIES





As many senior students prepare to leave school at the end of
this year and embark on further education or a new career, a
whole batch of students are preparing to join the ranks of the
senior students next year.





As students approach the senior years, they are expected to start
taking more responsibility for their own learning. For many
students part of this is a realisation that they need to do their
schoolwork for their own sake, to keep options open for their own
future – so they start to work for themselves, not just because
their teacher or parent says they have to. Other students come to
realize that in order to cope with the increased workload in the
senior years, they need to work more efficiently at home and in
the classroom, small changes like changing who students sit next
to can make a big difference to how much work is completed in
class.





So for students who are commencing their senior studies next
year, the final term this year is important in taking stock of
your approach to school and your studies. Do you work well in the
classroom? Who do you sit next to? What are your listening and
research skills like? Do you have systems in place to manage your
homework and assignments? Do you know how to study effectively
and have you tried different study techniques?





It seems many students think they will wake up Day 1 of their
senior studies and suddenly have become a ‘super student’
overnight. This does not happen! Habits take at least a month to
change – sometimes longer if they are deeply ingrained.





So for those students commencing their senior studies next year,
use the last weeks of school this year to:


Reflect on how you approach your studies. What do you do
well, and what do you need to work on changing? Perhaps choose
the top 5 areas to work on and write these on a card and place it
somewhere at home where you will see it regularly and be
reminded.

Watch as many of the videos as you can on
www.studysamurai.com. This site can help you work out where your
areas of weakness are and teach you new skills to try in these
areas. In particular, click on the Study Skills Handbook link and
do the unit ‘Becoming a Senior Student’. There is a great quiz in
this unit that helps you see how ready you are for senior studies
This is also a great way to work out where your areas of weakness
lie.






You can learn more and find grids and planners to help you at
www.studysamurai.com