How to plan our time? Keys to academic success

Educational learning activities at Casvi do not only consist of giving information, explaining concepts and proposing exercises to check if they have been understood. We also work on the different study techniques or methods that can be used to make the effort used profitable. The question is: How can we plan our time? Starting from the premise that our IB methodology favours it, it is a fact that the teaching of study skills has a marked effect on students’ learning.

Our Guidance Department at Casvi, as well as our teachers and students, offer us these keys to plan our time:

 “One hour of class equals one hour of study”. In addition:

To plan our time:

1. Very important: the study space has to be fixed. The timetable should also be fixed.
2. Also, the temperature of the room should be between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius. It should also be ventilated from time to time, as the brain’s performance is very sensitive to the level of oxygen.
3. The study table should be clean and tidy. It should not have any distracting elements. It should be spacious, i.e. it should be able to hold all the necessary material, which will allow for active study.
4. Finally, the chair should be comfortable but not too comfortable, as too much comfort can have a negative influence on performance.

Not all students need to devote the same amount of time to study. It has to be adapted to personal possibilities and limitations.

If we do it, we have advantages to plan our time : it clarifies ideas, helps to fix them in the mind, allows them to be placed in sight, reinforces personal commitment to carry them out.

To plan our time:

1. If there is something you don’t remember… Go on!
2. If you are in the middle of the exam and there is a question you don’t know or don’t remember, continue with the rest of the questions and leave this one until the end.
3. To plan our time, keep track of time during the exam, but don’t pay attention to how long your classmates are taking.
4. Set aside some time before handing in the exam to go over it.