With only two weeks of Summer term remaining, the Year 11 and Year 12 examination and assessment period in week two of Autumn term looms close. For some boys, the mid-year assessment period may feel a long time away, after all we have two weeks of holidays between then and now - wouldn't that be the perfect time to catch up on study? The problem with leaving study until later is we have begun the process of procrastination. We have begun putting off an important task until tomorrow when it could have been done today.
In the case of study, putting off until tomorrow, Sunday or the school holidays has a greater negative impact than many of the other tasks that we tend to put off. We are bombarded with information daily, most of it of no long-term value or importance. Conversations we have had, people we have been introduced to, traffic conditions as we travel to and from school or work and so on. In managing all of this information, the brain has to get rid of information it no longer needs and keep only what is important. What our boys don't realise is that much of the information covered in class also gets lost in this pruning process. We remember only small parts of each one-hour lesson.
Hermann Ebbinghaus, a German psychologist, was the first to demonstrate that after one day we can lose between 50-80% of the information covered in a one-hour lesson. After a week we might only recall 20% and a month later only 3% to 5%. Importantly, the Year 11 and 12 assessment period is just over one month away. The solution is simple - study daily. By reading over notes at the end of the day, even if only for ten minutes, sends a message to the brain that this information is important. This revision also tops up memory and consolidates understanding of the material covered. One week later, we only need to spend five minutes going over the same material and one month later a three-minute revision of that particular lesson will bring a feeling of, "I know this". A daily study routine, separate from set work and assessment tasks, balanced with exercise and recreation is essential. If the boys are going to achieve results of which they are capable, they must start preparing today.
Dr R McEwan
Head of Senior School
