KEEP LEARNING WHILE SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED

With education establishments closed for the foreseeable future, what does this mean if you are a senior phase student at secondary school? A few months off school may be quite appealing - no studying, no assessments, no homework and no exams to sit. Time to chill, hang out with mates and try to figure out what all this means for you and your future.

Or you might feel devastated that the school year has ended abruptly, without the opportunity to sit exams and get the grades that you have been working hard to achieve. You might feel a bit down emotionally and anxious about the next stage of your education. Things may be difficult in your household with stress and worry about Coronavirus.

In all this uncertainty there are plenty of reasons to hit the pause button on your learning. Schools are closed, exams are cancelled and teachers are trying to figure out ways of keeping classes going through online study. Students might be forgiven for thinking it’s okay to swap Maths and Science for Apex Legends and Call of Duty until schools are back open.

But it’s more important than ever to make sure you KEEP LEARNING over the next few months. Here’s why.

1. Schools will open again and education will resume

In a normal school year most National courses begin in May, not August. That’s because there is a lot for learners to cover in 10 months to make sure they’re ready for exams the following year. It’s really important that you find ways to continue studying your chosen subjects over the next few months. The more learning you can do while schools are closed, the better your chances of achieving good grades in next year’s exams.

2. Learning is good for your mental health

If you are feeling emotionally low or anxious with all that’s happening, it’s good to have things to focus on, targets to aim for and daily routines to keep you occupied. It may seem like everything is on hold at the moment, but that needn’t stop you from learning. It’s important to try to stay positive and learning is one of the best ways to develop a positive mindset and take control of what is happening in your life.

3. Your teachers will be doing all they can to support you

Teachers are as upset as you are about the disruption to courses and exams and they have a responsibility to make sure that students are supported even when schools are closed. All schools have ways of sharing resources digitally, through learning platforms, Google, Office 365 and other apps, and on their own websites. Teachers will be able to share course notes, activities and online resources that will support your learning.

4. Studying online will help you develop new skills and approaches to learning

Learning online means you have to take more responsibility for what and how you learn. There’s a huge amount of digital content available on the Internet and you will become more skilled in identifying what’s useful when it comes to your subjects. This makes you more empowered in your learning, rather than having to rely totally on your teachers. Online learning can help you develop skills and attributes that are so vital for learning, life and work in an increasingly digitised world.

5. You will learn something about yourself

How you respond to the challenges over the coming weeks and months will teach you a lot about yourself. In the future maybe you’ll reflect on how the events of 2020 changed you, both as a learner and as a person.

Were you motivated to keep learning during a time of adversity?
Were you able to remain positive and achieve the targets that you set for yourself?
Did you take responsibility for your learning and develop new skills?

HOW TO KEEP LEARNING

Keep in touch with your teachers. Make sure you know what you should be learning and how to go about it. If you’re not sure, don’t hesitate to contact them for help.
Establish study routines for and try to stick to them. Allocate time slots for different subjects.
Keep in touch with your friends and classmates, as learning together or collaborating online can help you stay focused and motivated.
Try to stay positive. Remind yourself that you’ll be back at school in a few months.
Keep yourself fit and healthy. Don’t sit around all day playing computer games or texting your mates. Keeping physically fit improves your mental health.
Take responsibility for your learning. There are many fantastic websites and apps that can help you. Check out our website and sign up for ACHIEVE which is completely free until the summer holidays. If you come across helpful resources, share links with your friends and your teachers.
Remember that studying is important, but it’s only part of your life. Make time for family and friends and for supporting others to get through this situation. Is this your chance to finally take up that hobby that you have never had time for?

Achieve Better Grades in National 5 Exams

There is a lot you can do to improve your grades in SQA National 5 exams.

One of the most important things you can do to boost your chances of success is to prepare properly for each exam.

Here are some National 5 study tips and techniques that will help make sure you are well-prepared and confident when you enter the exam hall.

Tip #1

Make sure you start revising for your exams in good time. This will mean that you won’t have to cram your studying into a short period of time. Don’t be that person in your class who always seems to be doing last minute revision on the way to the exam.

Tip #2

Draw up a revision study timetable. Make sure you know the dates and times of your exams. A timetable allows you to plan the subjects that you are going to revise, when you are going to study and how much time you are going to allocate to each. Record this information on a simple spreadsheet, or create a wall chart showing your revision timetable.

TIP #3

For each subject make sure you know the topics and areas that make up the course. Speak to your teacher if you’re not sure of all the topics on your course.

ACHIEVE – the online National 5 study toolkit breaks down SQA courses into units, topics and key themes.

Tip #4

When you have identified the main areas of a course, break each area down into smaller chunks or topics. Once you see all these areas and topics in front of you, it will be easier to decide what order to tackle them in, and how much time you are going to spend on each. Again, ACHIEVE can help you with this process.

For each subject ask yourself which are the most important topics? Are there some that seem to appear more than others in past exam papers?

Tip #5

Make sure you are clear about what to expect in the exam for each subject

How many exam papers will there be for this subject?
What is the format of the paper - essay questions, multiple choice, interpreting information, calculation?
Are there compulsory questions, or is it free choice?

Tip #6

Get hold of exam papers from previous years. Working through past papers gives you an idea of the kinds of questions likely to be asked. Ask your teacher how to get hold of past exam papers. ACHIEVE contains every exam question for the past 5 years, plus the solutions.

Tip #7

Think about how you learn best when you are revising. Some people revise by simply reading over their course notes. This works well for those who are good visual learners and can take in a lot of facts and information through their eyes.

Tip #8

Some people learn best when they hear the information rather than see it. If this approach works for you then try reading notes out loud or repeat them over to yourself. Some students make audio recordings of their study notes and then listen to them again by playing them back on a mobile device.

Tip #9

Most people prefer to DO something with notes rather than just read over them. For example using a highlighter pen to mark the key points or ideas about a topic.

Tip #10

Another good way to revise is to make your own notes or summarise the most important facts and information about a topic. Try to jot down a list of key areas that you think are important. Breaking the topics down into a list of bullet points makes it easier to revise an entire course.

Tip #11

Use symbols and diagrams where possible. The brain takes in pictures more quickly than words, so mind maps, flow charts and spider diagrams are excellent ways of helping you remember how things are connected. Flashcards can help you memorise facts.

Tip #12

Make essay plans and practice writing answers to typical exam questions. If you are working your way through past exam papers, it’s a good idea to practise against the clock – that means trying to answer questions within the allotted time.

Tip #13

At the end of a block of revision, give yourself a quick test on what you’ve learned, even if this is simply jotting down key points or going over them in your head without looking at your notes. You can get a friend or relative to ask you questions.

Tip #14

For some people, studying with others is an effective way to prepare for exams. Revising with a partner or as part of a group enables you to talk things through, share ideas and test each other’s knowledge.

Tip #15

Identify any areas that you have problems with or don’t understand properly. Make sure you don’t leave it too late to get help from your teacher. ACHIEVE will help you traffic light the areas of the course where you are confident and those where you are not.

Tip #16

Find out if there are revision or study skills classes at your school.There may even be revision classes you can attend in another school.

ACHIEVE

Check out how ACHIEVE can help you achieve better grades in your National 5 exams this year by visiting the ACHIEVE website:

Five National 5 Study Tips to Kickstart 2020

Follow our five National 5 study tips to increase your chances of a higher grade.

1. Start now

Don’t leave revision to the week before your SQA exam! It’s much better to start during your course, as early as possible in the New Year.

You may think that there is a lot of time between now and the final exam, but there is not when you consider:

many schools have prelims up until the end of January
most subjects have practical assignments running in February and March
the Easter holidays start at the beginning of April, and after Easter it is a matter of days until the start of study leave

You should make a start on your National 5 exam revision now.

2. Be honest and realistic

Don't say you are going to study for 4 hours every day when you know that's never going to happen. Set yourself a realistic study target and stick to it.

3. Start small and build up

Begin by setting yourself a small target to beging with, say 1 or 2 hours a week. Gradually build up the number of weekly study hours as you move through 2020. By the time you get to study leave you’ll already have an effective system for revision.

4. Identify your weaknesses

It is the easy option to study those topics in which you are already confident. It's a much bigger challenge to tackle those topics which you find harder. But how do you know your strengths and weaknesses in a subject?

With ACHIEVE each course has been broken down into a range of topic statements, each of which can be rated red / amber / green to help you identify and prioritise your weaknesses.

Carry out a self-evaluation and focus on those areas that most require improvement.

5. Past paper practise

There are many different study techniques, and we will highlight some of the most successful strategies in a future blog post. No matter how you choose to revise, don't lose sight of the fact that working through SQA National 5 past papers are the key to success. Each topic statement in ACHIEVE links directly to any related SQA past paper questions and solution.

Use this feature to link the topic you are studying with any relevant past paper questions.

A word of warning: SQA National 5 courses changed in 2017, and whilst pre-2017 past papers are still available on the SQA website, some of the questions may not be part of the revised National 5 course.