SchoolWise
Study Skills & Exam Technique
Course Overview
Mastering Study Skills and Exam Techniques is an intensive two-day program designed for students across all year levels who want to transform their approach to learning and academic performance. Despite increasingly difficult examinations like the HSC, ATAR, VCE, and IB, along with complex curriculum content, Australian schools provide little to no instruction on how to actually study effectively or perform well in exams.
This is not a subject-specific revision course—it's a foundational program that teaches students how to learn effectively and perform in examinations. Day one focuses on mastering study techniques tailored to different subject types, exploring how memory works and leveraging this knowledge. Day two concentrates on strategic exam performance, covering time management, question-type specific techniques, and anxiety management strategies.
Every student receives a Wise Minds bespoke course book featuring clear explanations grounded in cognitive science research and practical frameworks for immediate implementation.
📚 Years 9–12 + University
📖 Course book included
👥 Small group tutorials
📝 Practice examinations
Who Is This Course For?
This course benefits students at any stage of their academic journey:
Year 9 Students
Year 10 Students
Year 11 Students
Year 12 Students
Students about to commence university
This is the course we think will benefit all of our students in high school through to university. Despite the high expectations, no formal teaching occurs on how to study the content.
What You'll Learn
Day 1: Study Techniques
The Science of Memory and Learning
- How memory works: encoding, storage, and retrieval
- The forgetting curve and spaced repetition principles
- Active learning vs passive reading techniques
- Cognitive load theory and information chunking
Study Skills: Mathematics and English
- Mathematics: building conceptual understanding before procedural fluency
- Mathematics: effective use of worked examples and pattern recognition
- English: text analysis and quote bank development
- English: essay planning and structure templates under pressure
Study Skills: The Sciences
- Content-heavy subjects: comprehensive note-taking for biology and similar subjects
- Content-heavy subjects: memorisation techniques and visual learning methods
- Conceptually heavy subjects: understanding vs memorising formulas in physics and chemistry
- Conceptually heavy subjects: problem-solving frameworks and practical applications
Study Skills: The Humanities
- Humanities: source analysis and argument building techniques
- Humanities: timeline creation and comparing multiple perspectives
- Cross-subject integration and study technique selection
- Comprehensive exam strategy development and goal setting
Day 2: Examination Techniques
Exam Technique Fundamentals
- Reading time strategies and exam structure analysis
- Time management: marks per minute and strategic allocation
- Question ordering strategies: confidence building vs high-value approaches
- Managing exam anxiety and emergency protocols
Multiple Choice Examinations
- Systematic elimination and distractor identification
- Educated guessing and special option handling
Short Answer Questions
- Maximising marks with minimal words
- Structured responses
- Partial knowledge demonstration
Long Answer Questions
- Rapid planning techniques
- PEEL/TEEL paragraph structures
- Command word interpretation and response planning
Essay Writing Under Pressure
- Quick planning and argument development under pressure
- Adapting prepared material to specific questions
- Understanding advanced marking criteria
- Source integration and demonstrating original thinking
Questions?
We are always happy to answer any questions you may have. Please do not hesitate to reach out.