The Higher School Certificate is a stressful time for everyone involved, but particularly the student who is taking their final exams.
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For many students, they've been studying for their final exams for last two years.
With the first of two English papers on Wednesday, parents might be wondering how best to support their child through some of the most stress-inducing weeks of their life so far.
The Central Western Daily spoke to Director of Clever Cookie Academy and presenter of Hello HSC, Self-Paced Online HSC English Courses about what parents can do.
Here's what she had to say...
Your child must be intrinsically motivated in order to succeed
The mojo? The want to succeed in exams? It's got to come from your child. Despite all of the ills of standardised testing, one thing final exams impart on our children is an opportunity to build intrinsic motivation. Help your kids to develop their own personal definition of success and to shoot towards this.
Know that your child has no idea how to study.
They don't know how to study effectively because this is not a main focus for classroom teachers. Absolutely NO teacher bashing intended here, but teachers are flat stick getting through the content itself and aside from the odd bespoke study skills day, students are generally expected to know how to forge a study regimen and what to do during study sessions.
Pimp their study space and eliminate distractions
Think natural light, quiet, clutter free. De-electrification is a necessity, so phones away, ipads, laptops - they've got to go!
Tell them to stop reading and writing notes over and over
Point blank. It doesn't work. Yes, the methods that rewarded us back in bygone syllabus' no longer work for today's rigorous exams. Nowadays it's all about 'Active Recall,' or the student's ability to use their knowledge in context. This means bah-bye 'death by highlighter' and hello timed writing and past paper extravaganzas.
Make sure they are crystal clear about what they need to get out of their next study session
They have to have clear goals! 'In my session after lunch I need to revise the first three biology syllabus dot points.' THIS versus 'I'm going to study PE'. See how that statement lacks a specific goal about which area of PE they'll be smashing? STUDY WITH PURPOSE!
For Exam Day
Encourage them to develop a pre-exam routine. Just as great athletes like Serena Williams have pre-match rituals (she wears the same socks all tournament) they must find a way to manage exam anxiety. It goes like this - if they are focusing on your routine as opposed to stressing over the exam they WILL PERFORM BETTER
Final exams are the academic measure of your child on one day. They are not the measure of them as human beings!
- Peita Mages
On Exam Day
Get them to put their exam 'blinkers' on. When we are working with students post exams, we always know how they have gone by asking these questions 1. Who sat next to you 2. Who went to the toilet during exam 3. Who looked stressed 4. Who finished early. If they were truly running their own race, with blinkers on, they'd have NO idea how to answer those questions.
Put final exams in perspective
Final exams are the academic measure of your child on one day. They are not the measure of them as human beings! Rebrand exams as opportunities for them to show their knowledge, rather than high-stress indicators of their future success in life
Stress will massively impact their results and is clinically proven to affect working memory and problem solving, so don't be a contributor to their stress! Help them fortify a growth mindset, by sticking the word "YET" after comments like "I can't do this..." and remind them that they are so much more capable than they give themselves credit for.
Bottom line - if your child has an initial goal and doesn't achieve the university pathway their first time through ATAR/final exam results, and they persist, they will find an alternate pathway! And on results day...if you're confident your cherub has given their personal best, support them no matter the result!
You can find advice like this and more from Peita and her team at Clever Cookie. Find their courses here, their Instagram here and website here.
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