‘Study
Skills for SCHOOLS’
- CONTENT
AND FURTHER TESTIMONIALS
'Study Skills for Schools' course content -
introduction
‘Study Skills for Schools’
gives help and guidelines on all the study problems
that have been identified by learners, parents and teachers.
A comprehensive workbook is supplied
to each learner at the beginning of the course.
Personalised actions are formulated by each learner for their
own priority use.
'Study Skills for Schools' - content
The full list of Study Skills
topics is given below. These topics have been designed and edited
at the appropriate levels for the different Grades. However, the
content is flexible to meet the specific needs
at your school.
- A bigger picture
- The importance of effective study skills, now and in future studies
- Awareness, choices, action, consequences
- Positive classroom attitudes and behaviour
- Creating a good learning atmosphere
- Overall skills needed for learners to progress and succeed
- Self rating, and improvement priorities for each learner
- Left and right brain
- Logical and creative sides—working with our brain
- Working with the creative side of our brain
Enhancing creativity
Do you see a face of a woman or do you see a musician
playing saxophone?
- Mind pictures and ideas
- Keywords to capture ideas, association of ideas
- Creative mind-mapping
- Creative mind-mapping procedure
- Collecting ideas for essays and speeches
- Selecting and organizing ideas logically
- Enhancing creativity
- Awareness of the sources of our ideas and learning
- Seeing through ‘miracle eyes’, enhancing curiosity
and a desire to learn
- Effective reading strategy
- Enhancing understanding of study material
- Memory mind-mapping
- Keywords, memory mind-map procedure
- Revision for test/exams, speech notes
- Classroom
- Listening, positive attitude/behaviour review
- Classroom and self-study
- Affirmations, concentration
- Self-study
- The ‘pain’ and ‘pleasure’ plan, energizers
- Homework, revision—self-rating, and individual actions
- Planning and time management
- Weekly and annual planners, use of diary
- Improve homework and revision time management
- Memory techniques
- Memory mind-maps, mnemonics, visualizing, association
- Test/Exam techniques
- Leading up to the test/exam, managing nerves the night before
- Caution: read instructions!
- Planning and writing the test/exam
- After the test/exam
- Motivation
- The numbers game, motivation lessons—self-rating, and
individual priorities
- Setting school goals, and planning improvement actions for studying effectively
- Final thoughts for reaching potential
Methods and energisers
Our methods involve promoting learner
participation, providing motivation and encouragement,
and giving constructive feedback. We strive to build up positive
learner attitudes towards working hard, but smart,
by using the various study skills and techniques—there are
significant benefits for the learners!
During the course we use ‘energisers’
every now and then. These include deep breathing, physical
exercises, ‘dancing’ and singing. The learners are
energized, and this enhances the more serious
work thereafter.
More information on 'Study Skills for Schools'
- Each learner gets a comprehensive workbook
for use during and after the workshop.
- Usually Study Skills are run for two consecutive
full school mornings. Variations can of course
be discussed.
- Some schools have a ‘Parents
Support Program’ (for parents and children
together) often on a Saturday morning. The aim is to help
parents further reinforce the children’s skills
at home.
- Class teachers are very
welcome to attend, at no charge. They will also be given a
workbook. They can thus reinforce the Study Skills
techniques in the classroom.
- The Study Skills workshop costs R440 per learner in 2015, which includes
the workbook. The ideal number of learners is 20-30 per class,
but this is flexible.
- Should you wish to purchase
the Study Skills material
for your teachers to use, this would be no problem.
Study Skills for private groups
Schools cannot always arrange study skills
courses. However, should any parents wish to arrange
a private group of learners, that can easily be arranged. A group of learners often come from the same school,
but it is no problem to have a group drawn from various schools.
Just phone Linda on 083 457 7587 to discuss options.
'Study Skills for Schools' workbooks
The ‘Study Skills for Schools’
workbooks are also sold separately, for internal use
within the school. Please contact Linda
for more details.

Further Testimonials
Testimonials from HeronBridge pupils
Over 6700 learners in different schools have attended
‘Study Skills for Schools’ courses since 2010.
The verbal and the formal written feedback from the learners
was outstanding. An important attitudinal question on the learner
feedback form is: “How have your feelings towards
studying changed?” Some responses from our
recent courses were:
“I am now much more confident with my studying. It was incredibly helpful.” Khuliso
“I feel really positive about my studying techniques.
It was great, I enjoyed it. Thanks a lot.” Tristan
“Drastically—now I will be able to improve my marks. The course was very interesting.” Tebogo
“I feel confident. Thanks for an awesome time and all the help.” Jack

A further testimonial from Brescia
House School
Brescia House School is an independent girls’
school in Bryanston. The school places emphasis on the development
of study techniques which the learners can
implement throughout the course of their school years
and into their careers.
We find that the ‘Study Skills
for Schools’ course offered by this team
serves such a purpose and the educators are able to
continue with the techniques and the development of
the skills once the learners have completed the course.
The ‘Study Skills for Schools’
course is presented to the Grade 5 and 6 learners at Brescia
House School and the feedback from the girls is always
positive. They find the course to be fun but they also
find that their teachers remind them of the skills and use the
techniques in tasks. As a result, the learners realise the value
of such a programme. The parents are also encouraged to become
part of the process and a Parent and Daughter Study
Skills Workshop has been implemented at Brescia House
School. This workshop is held on a Saturday morning and Linda Cave has adjusted his programme to involve the
parents. Such an endeavour has also received positive
feedback.
Christine Booyse
Intermediate Phrase Co-ordinator
Testimonial from Christ Church
Deputy Principal
We first introduced this course at our school
in 2008. We decided to send our Grade 4 learners on this course,
as this is the year that they start writing tests.
The study skills course has been very
beneficial to our learners. The course material
is applicable and relevant to the learners. The course is presented
in a relaxed and fun manner
and instils confidence in the learners. We
often hear our learners talking about "What we've learnt during this course."
This after doing the course two years ago!
Writing tests at this young age is frightening
for the learners. With this in mind, we hold the study skills
course in the first term and only introduce formal testing in
the second term. Our Grade 4 learners know how to study
and how to write tests because they have participated
in the course.
We have found this course to be of
immense value to teachers, learners and parents.
I do not hesitate to recommend the
study skills course to any school.
Lisle Twaddle
Deputy Principal
|