If you are frustrated, no doubt your child is too. Spending hours and hours at the desk ‘studying’ does not necessarily translate to improving exam results if the hours of studying are ineffective in preparing for the actual exam environment.
Our brain craves certainty and the exam room provides lots of uncertainty. If our brain feels too greater ‘uncertainty’ in the preparation for the exam room and in the actual exam room itself, it is inevitable that the student will underperform. Many HSC students find themselves disappointed by their marks and become disheartened as a result. What many of these students don’t realise is that their preparation might not be as effective as they think it is.
To be well-prepared for the exam room, we must train our brain to work in exam conditions. This means testing ourselves, attempting closed-book questions and working against the clock. Students that regularly undertake exam-style tasks in advance of their assessments perform better than those who avoid these types of tasks. This is because they familiarise themselves with the appropriate thinking, pressure and methods of applying and communicating content before taking the final exam.
If a student avoids working under exam conditions before the exam, the pathways and connections required to respond to the questions will not be strong enough. This means that the exam room will be a unfamiliar and highly challenging experience for them. Walking into a situation that you’ve never been exposed to means there is more to consider and more to be overwhelmed by.
At HSC CoWorks, we regularly encourage students to engage in exam-style tasks in and out of sessions throughout the year as well as running mock exams before trial and HSC exam periods because we know just how important exam-style tasks are. Through providing students with challenging unseen exam papers and replicating an exam environment, our students are encouraged to get outside of their comfort zone before taking the exam. This means that they can walk into their exams feeling more confident and prepared, as their comfort zones will have expanded.
We do exams to find out what we know, but more importantly, to find out what we don’t. The most successful students are those that commit themselves to the process of exam preparation, through completing exam-style tasks, seeking feedback from teachers and markers on their responses, and collaborating with coaches and working independently to address gaps.
If a student takes responsibility for their exam results through active and challenging preparation, they will be rewarded with the results they’ve dreamt of.
Our mock exams are currently running for our Year 12 students, with us moving into closed-book exams next week. Current students can reserve their place via the ‘bookings’ function on the portal to capitalise on this opportunity to improve their exam ability!
Please note – enrolments are closed for HSC 2018 students.
Get your child exam-ready with us. Call us now on 1300 967 890 for HSC 2019 enquiries!
