Study Skills

1st Year

We recognise that secondary school is a very different kettle of fish to primary school. The skills that students need to harness to do well in assessments here need to be explicitly taught and learned.

Each class teacher prepares students of their subject in how to specifically study their subject throughout the year.

Students will have formal assessments with reporting home at the following times

• Week 10 - The week after students return from Halloween break
  • Usually 1 hour long in 1st year
• Week 20 - The week before February midterm
  • Usually same length but with extra content included
• Week 30 - The 2nd or 3rd last week of school to allow for corrections and feedback.
  • All 1st year content included.

There will be shorter assessments given in class in between and you can check in with teachers at any stage for an update on student progress. Approaching the week 10 and 20 assessments, 1st year students receive two lessons dedicated to preparation for these exams.

Content covered is shared below.

1. Making a Study Plan >>CLICK HERE<<

2. Making Revision Notes >>CLICK HERE<<

2nd Year

The content covered in 2nd year is considerably harder than the introductory elements of 1st year. Students can find this the hardest academic change in secondary school. It is expected that results even take a little dip in 2nd year as students adjust to the faster pace.

To help with this, it is important that students develop a routine about study and not just homework.

Flashcards are a great resource which can reused over and over to improve memory of key terminology. New languages and key terms must be practiced to be recalled in later assessments to help at home is a great idea.

Assessments in 2nd year are similar to 1st year but students will also have a CBA in most subjects. This is a Classroom Based Assessment and completed like a project which the teacher assesses. More information can be found here: JUNIOR CYCLE CBAS

• Week 10 - The week after returning from October mid term.
  • Varying length and content; 60 - 90 min exams
• Week 20 - The week before February midterm
  • Increased amount of content and again 60-90 min exams
• Week 30 - 2 weeks before end of term so corrections and feedback can be completed.

Again students receive two study session lessons before their Week 10 and 20 exams to build on their skill set for studying from 1st year. The material covered is shared below;

1. Flashcards for Study >>CLICK HERE<<

2. Cornell NoteTaking >>CLICK HERE<<

3rd Year

Junior Cycle year can seem very daunting. Consider it a great opportunity for students to settle and apply their learning in a more structured setting. The real goal with Junior Cycle is to bridge the gap from introductory concepts to the trickier concepts at Senior cycle and prepare the students with a skillset they can apply to get their best potential out of their Senior Cycle programme.

Students in 3rd year at CBC will have the following major assessments

• Week 10 (one week after mid term break in November)
• MOCKS (Just before February mid term)
• The Junior Cycle begins in the first week of June.
  • Exam timetable can be found here JUNIOR CYCLE EXAMS

The students will of course have multiple assessments in class between these exams to prepare them. At any stage you can get in touch with the teachers for an update on their progress.

The start of the year is key to preparing well so we deliver the following assembly to 3rd years early on each year.

Making the right start for your JC year

>>CLICK HERE<<

As part of the SPHE programme, 3rd years will also receive 2 further lessons as covered below;

Growth Mindset and Spaced Practice

>>CLICK HERE<<

Using the Active Revision Cycle

>>CLICK HERE<<

Transition Year

Transition Year students will all complete an 8 week rotation called Learning to Learn in which they will engage with the Why and How of Learning in detail.

The students will produce a study skills scrapbook which they will take with them into 5th year using all examples of the best study practices.

The final assessment part of the project is that they are to teach one of the strategies to a 2nd year class so students get really hands on with one strategy.

5th Year

5th year students often take a few weeks to settle into routine. The jump to senior cycle learning can be sharp. We try to assess all students twice in their optional subject in September to be able to advise them if they have chosen a well suited subject or not.

Students will undergo structured assessments at the following times;

• Week 10 - The week after returning from October mid term.
• Week 20 - The week before February midterm
• Week 30 - 2 weeks before end of term so corrections and feedback can be completed.

As in all years, they will receive 2 lessons in SPHE to help them strategise their study well but they will also receive an assembly in the area of study which is shared below;

The Why-What-When and How of Study

>>CLICK HERE<<

This presentation outlines how to start study on any topic and how to make the most of your time. It covers the following

1. Why: Considering intrinsic and extrinsic motivators for study and success
2. What: Topic listing and ensuring you have a bird's eye view of what you need to cover before beginning
3. When: Spacing your study well to beat the forgetting curve and what a good study plan should look like
4. How: Overview of the 3 key factors in any study session; Attention, Revision and Retrieval as well as a case study of one topic for OL maths for L

6th Year

It is common for students to panic in the first few weeks of 6th year - I'm behind! I haven't worked enough in 5th year! I don't know what I need to know! We will do our best to reassure the students that they are on track and to guide them in how to revise effectively and build a routine of study if they don't already have one. We do this in several ways;

1. Study Hub
2. Assembly Workshop
3. Available Study Support 1-1
4. SPHE study lessons x2

The structured exams for LC students will take place at the following times and will be held in similar conditions to their LC exams.

• Week 10 - The week after returning from October mid term.
• MOCKS - The week before February midterm
• The LC begins in the first week of June.
  • The timetable is available here LC TIMETABLE

Assemblies

September - Study Skills and Revising Effectively >>CLICK HERE<<

This presentation looks at the best revision techniques and advice on how to get the best start in 6th year.

December - Making your study count >>CLICK HERE<<

It looks at how learning happens and reminds students to focus on the 3 pillars of learning; Attention, Revision and Retrieval

SPHE Resources for Study Skills (Term 1)

All students received one of the lessons below this term as part of our Study Skills initiative. Each lesson is targeting a different year group so they will be cumulative over the student's time in the school. However, students can dip in and out of any lesson here as all content is relevant to all years.

• How to Study >>CLICK HERE
• Flashcards >>CLICK HERE
• Growth Mindset >>CLICK HERE
• Retrieval Practice >>CLICK HERE
• Interleaving and Spacing >>CLICK HERE

SPHE Resources for Study Skills (Term 2)

• Making and Using Foldables for Revision >>CLICK HERE
• Cornell NoteTaking >>CLICK HERE
• Developing an Active Revision Cycle >>CLICK HERE
• The Benefits of Dual Coding and Sketchnoting >>CLICK HERE
• Why What When and How of Study (with tasks) >>CLICK HERE
• The three pillars of learning: Attention; Revision and Retrieval >>CLICK HERE

How to Best Support your Exam Year Student in Study

In late September, we hold an information session for parents detailing how to best support a student who is studying at home. While this is mainly focusing on exam year students, there are relevant information points here for any interested parent.

How to Support Exam Yr Students Presentation.pdf

Supporting any student to study well at home

This information session is held in March and designed for a student in any year. It contains practical strategies to tackle conversations and routines in the household to compliment the work we do in school and to best serve the students.

Supporting your child in study at home Parents Presentation 2024.pdf