Failing Year 11 student perfects problem-solving skills and receives a B+

 

Understanding the fundamentals of a particular subject is crucial to be able to comprehend extended topics and to be able to transition smoothly into different year levels.

Take Maths for example. All units are intrinsically interlinked. Without a basic understanding of algebra, how does one understand linear equations or be able to complete extended material taught in following year levels?

For student Zachary Green, this was exactly his dilemma. He lacked the fundamental skills that would allow him to excel on problem solving questions which prevented him from being able to achieve a grade above a D.

After failing his Year 10 Maths exam, Zac’s Mum Kim decided tutoring was the best option to help Zac with his struggles prior to his senior years.

“I googled ‘tutors’ like most people do, and there were quite a few to choose from. I did review searches and every review for A Team came up positively. I also liked what some of the reviews said. Apart from being academically strong, A Team had good interpersonal relationships with their students. Knowing Zachary as he is, being a little bit shy, I thought that this company would help.”

Zac was paired with our stellar Service Delivery Manager and experienced Academic Personal Trainer, Sam Adnett, to kick-start his transformation. After a few sessions with Zac, Sam was able to identify exactly what was stopping him from grasping those extra marks.

“When I first met Zac, I could see that he didn’t have any trouble understanding new mathematical concepts, but he kept getting things wrong because he lacked some fundamental skills. He could read a problem-solving question, understand what it was asking, but when it came to the working out, he was making errors.”

Sam jumped straight into filling the gaps in Zac’s knowledge and how to structure exam answers.

“We initially spent a lot of our time going over things like operations on fractions and solving for x; really getting to the basics of algebra.”

Once Zac started to revise and conquer these topics, Sam noticed a fast improvement.

“All of a sudden he started to get the answers that he struggled to answer before and apply his knowledge to almost every topic from then on. This really boosted his confidence and before I knew it, he was the one reminding me to give him homework!”

After a few week’s Kim also started to see changes in Zac and saw him adjust to the additional work.

“I think it was probably after the first couple of weeks when initially Zachary had to get used to the increased workload and the actual commitment of sitting down and doing 2 hours of maths and actually paying attention.”

Sam contributes a large portion of this rapid transformation to A Team’s Creating ‘A’ Student’s (CAS) program.

“Zachary stuck to the Creating ‘A’ Students Program religiously and it really worked for him. It taught him the habits of paying attention in class, taking good notes, and of course practice, practice, practice.”

By following the CAS program, Sam wasn’t just able to fill the gaps in Zac’s knowledge – she was also able to help Zac develop a growth mindset and open his eyes to the factors that students don’t consider when asking themselves why they’re failing at school; time management, assessment strategy, and effective note-taking during class.

Not only did this dream team stick to the CAS program and a personalised study plan for Zac, they also focused on ensuring Zac was retaining the information taught within sessions.

Reviewing the content and presenting it in different formats were just some ways in which Sam helped Zac remember the process to follow when answering exam questions.

Sam diversified how the content was delivered within each session and opted to show Zac educational YouTube videos which explained mathematical concepts in order to see which methods aligned with his visual learning language the best.

“I made many suggestions to broaden Zac’s study strategies to make it more interesting for him, such as exploring what YouTube has to offer education-wise.”

The pair also ensured that whilst Zac progressed forward each week, he was reviewing questions at the same time. Following sessions, Zac would independently choose a few random questions from chapters within his textbook that he’d already covered in class and re-do them for homework. This helped him to have a more developed understanding of the topics. Sam found that this strategy had an accumulative effect and helped Zac immensely during exam time.

“This strategy really helped Zac to understand the topics and retain the information, so when it came to exam time, there was no stressful revision because he already knew the content inside out!

What worked here, and allowed Zac to receive a B+ within one term of tutoring was distributed practice. Rather than trying to compartmentalise information into Zac’s brain right before his exam and simply cram the content, the extended process of reviewing notes throughout the term and learning at a steady place worked wonders for Zac and helping him achieve this magnificent result in the end.

Not only has Sam identified improvements in Zac’s academics, but also his beliefs in himself, his abilities and his confidence.

“Zac was quite shy when we first met. I remember he always quietly gave one worded answers to things and it took a lot of questioning to find out anything useful. Now, I can walk in and say hello and he greets me confidently, before sitting down and telling me everything about his week. Before I started sessions with Zac, he also didn’t really have much of a study routine. Now, he can address every aspect of his study routine without prompting. He knows exactly what he needs to do, and he just does it.”

Sam isn’t the only person to notice this shift in attitude with Zac himself reflecting on how tutoring has changed his perception.

“I feel more determined to do well than I did before.”

Kim couldn’t be happier with Zac’s transformation and the support provided by A Team.

“He doesn’t argue about maths. I used to try to help Zachary a lot but I’m not a teacher or a tutor. I would get frustrated and I think he got frustrated because I was getting frustrated. So, to take me out of the whole process and just have someone neutral, it just made both our lives a lot easier and our relationship. He now knows he has someone else that he can depend on to help him with his maths.”

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How To Deal With Exam Stress

 

For those of you currently in high school, you will definitely experience the dread ‘exam block’ period, wherein you undertake a series of exams for some, if not most, of your subjects. Whilst it’s a common belief that it is normal for students to experience stress during exam periods – especially since it’s such a significant and sudden increase from your typical classes! – it doesn’t mean that that stress should be debilitating and overwhelming.

 

Academically, exam stress is defined as a “common physiological condition… in which individuals suffer from intense worry and discomfort during the exam period”. Being apprehensive about exams is completely normal, since it helps raise your focus levels (both physically and mentally) and stops you from becoming complacent about your learning.

 

However, that can turn ugly fast if you are overly stressed and worried about the outcome of the exam, or find little to no relief in completing it – especially if it is to the point that you count yourself as a failure before the exam even begins. Too often I’ve seen this in my students, and it honestly breaks my heart.

 

The great news is, however, that there are practical things you can do to improve how you handle your stress, and prevent it from becoming as serious as chronic performance anxiety. In this blog, I’ll be going through a few techniques that you can use to help yourself out of stress, and into a healthy, functional mindset.

 

1. Study healthily

 

The foundation of a healthy study cycle is the maintenance of a healthy body.

 

Think of your body and mind as a delicately balanced set of scales. The connection between the two is incredibly powerful, with balance resulting in extreme resilience; likewise, when they are out of balance with each other, you may experience immense disharmony in your life.

 

Our brain perceives all the sensations that our body’s receptors deliver – so, if we don’t look after ourselves through adequate nutrition and exercise, we may feel sluggish, lethargic, anxious, and even depressed. Exercise however has been proven to increase your attention span, boost your decision making skills, and improve your memory.

 

Similarly to how our body affects our mind, the opposite also occurs. If our brain is overly stressed or anxious, it may create responses in our body to convince us that we are in danger (for example, a heightened heart rate, sweating, or increased sensitivity). This can lead us to avoiding our tasks or, if left for too long, our immune system can become depleted, leaving us at the mercy of frequent illness, thereby reducing our ability to complete higher order thinking.

 

Keeping this balance is paramount, especially during exam season. While you may be tempted to stay inside and cram all day, it’s actually important for you to get outside and be active. Go for a run, or even a walk, do some yoga, play some footy or soccer with your friends, or sign up to a recreational sports team that competes every week. Make sure that you have three meals a day, and that you are actively incorporating fresh ingredients into your food – particularly fruits and vegetables, red meats, and one or two forms of grain.

 

 

2. Plan in advance

 

One of the greatest arts you can master in life is the art of preparation and organization.

 

Many of the things that stress us out during the week take up space in our brain simply because we decide to store it there, rather than dedicating specific, purposefully planned time and effort to it.

 

To combat that, I would recommend proactively planning various elements at a consistent time and rate. This can range from picking out your clothes to wear to the exam on the day before (or, if you have a uniform, picking out a special item to take in your pocket, like a lucky bracelet or a special exam pen), making your food in advance, or writing down anything you have to do the morning of the exam so you don’t scurry around last minute, trying to remember if you’ve forgotten anything!

 

This reduces something that people refer to as ‘decision fatigue’.  We make so many decisions every single day, and if we are focusing too much on decisions that have little impact on our lives, we are unable to muster the attention and effort to focus on the important ones.  Often these people feel the pressure of an important decision but can’t think enough to make it properly, and end up with a ‘this will do’ attitude, not something you want when it comes to performance time!

 

Of course, it would also be incredibly useful for you to plan out your week, and any major details, study times, or important notes in regards to the exams and assessments you have ahead of you. Strange and silly as it may sound, taking the time to plan gives you exponentially more time to execute and will actually take a ginormous load off your shoulders!

 

3. Utilise your support networks

 

This is another tip that will be useful mostly in advance of your exams, but can also be utilized during exam block itself. Make sure that before you undertake any assessment that you actively use the support networks that are available to you!

 

Teachers will be your one-stop source for revision sheets of exam content, as well as advice resources. After having taught you for however long in the year, your teacher will be very aware of your strengths and weaknesses alike; it is your responsibility to meet up with them and ask for any advice from them as to how you can improve and smash your exams.

 

Likewise, your parents and guardians will be keenly aware of what your possible strengths and weaknesses are – but most importantly, your parents will be able to keep you accountable to the work you need to do. I would recommend making your proposed study schedule public in your home, and encouraging your parents to check if you’re on track. Even better, with a little communication, you can express to them how you would best feel comfortable and supported in the time leading up to your exam, and they will hopefully be able to accommodate for you!

 

 

Parents and guardians, if you’re reading this, make sure you yourself stay proactive in your support of your children! If you would like help in that area, make sure to check out our blogs regarding our top parenting tips, and look out for our parenting eBook coming out soon.

 

The last piece of your support crew we believe should be your Academic Personal Trainer! Not only are they great mentors and motivators (not to mention incredibly intelligent and knowledgeable), but our tutors are also most often University students themselves, and constantly take exams! Being such high achievers, they will all too often have their own exam stress tips up their sleeves, and will be ready to share them with you whenever you need it.

4. Configure your coping mechanisms

 

Now, let’s chat about the actual experience in your exam. You may have prepared perfectly, had a great healthy breakfast and a good morning run, and your teachers and family would have encouraged you every step of the way – yet, you can still be sitting in the exam, and feel a giant hole beginning to form in the pit of your stomach.

 

This is where your coping mechanisms should come in.

 

Coping mechanisms are small but deadly, and they attack your exam stress directly by helping calm you down into a focused mindset. Here are a few examples of some useful coping mechanisms to use when you start feeling anxious or stressed during an exam:

 

• Positive reframing: Essentially, take a negative thought captive, and shift your focus onto something positive. You may think that just because you can’t find the answer to a Maths question, you’re a failure; but you may be able to focus instead on the fact that you’re able to still construct the method properly, or that you can complete a whole other set of questions with ease.
• Breathing and visualisation: While it may feel like the pressure is on in regards to how you spend your time, if you are struggling to stay calm in an exam, it is in your best interest to take a few moments out to breathe. Close your eyes, focus on breathing in and out deeply, and picture something you find calming and relaxing – or focus on something you’re looking forward to. I know, I know, it sounds like a weird thing to do – but trust me. It actually, genuinely helps.

 

5. Don’t sweat the small stuff

 

Like I mentioned in regards to positive reframing, it is absolutely necessary for you to take negative thoughts captive – and in an exam, where the pressure can be intense simply because of your environment, it is very easy to turn a small detail into a giant life-crushing problem.

 

Firstly, you have to realise that the stress you’re experiencing is actually an overblown version of something that is, essentially, a natural feeling. Stress is actually your body’s way of helping you meet the demands of your task by increasing your mental and physical focus levels, helping you run at top speed. Recognizing this, instead of deeming yourself incapable, will stop you from freaking out at the first sign of stress, and push you towards managing it properly.

 

 

After realizing that, you must tell your brain the absolute truth that is in front of you. This means looking at the test’s contents, and focusing on what you do know, instead of what you don’t. It means looking at giant questions and highlighting the small parts that you do understand, and working on understanding them together as a whole – rather than writing it off as “too much of a mess” or “something we didn’t get taught”.

 

Most importantly, the greatest stress relief comes in constantly reminding yourself that you are not the mark that you receive from an exam. All too often I hear students say that they have to get a certain mark, or else their futures will be on the line – they won’t get into their chosen university, or a specific program, or achieve anything with their lives.

 

That is not true, and it never will be true.

 

You are so, so much more than simply a result on a paper, and you will accomplish things far beyond the reaches of school! Our responsibility as educators is to assist in being your best self, yes, and helping you achieve to the best of your ability; however, very little elements of this life are permanent or life-changing, especially when it comes to subject exams!

 

6. Destress with a debrief

 

Finally, once the exam is over and everything is done, you can relieve any left over anxiety or stress over your results by performing a personal debrief. This can be done either with a close, trustworthy, and encouraging friend or family member, or it can be done all by yourself!

 

The idea is to actually set aside time after the exam to write down your original intentions and goals going into the exam, followed by your thoughts and experiences during it, and then finishing with how you feel afterwards.

 

It is important that you don’t just focus on the negative, but that you are specific in focusing on the positive, and shaping the rest as constructive feedback for your next exam (either in that subject, or in a different one!). Write about what you were proud of, what elements surprised you, and what you believe you could do better.

 

Doing that for each of your exams will actually develop a skill that you will take with you all your life: self-reflection. Whether you realise it or not, self-reflection will, with time, help relieve you of many anxieties and worries, specifically because it provides a positive outlook on both your strengths and your shortcomings. When you know your strengths, you are able to celebrate them consistently, especially when anxiety starts to attack you; and when you are aware of your shortcomings, you can work towards improving them over time, thereby eventually turning them into strengths.

 

Doing this consistently, and encompassing the other elements outlined above, will set you on the right path towards a healthy, happy mindset – not just during exams, but in any stressful situation in life.

 

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The 5 Big Myths About NAPLAN Tests

Success Spotlight: Brittany McEvoy and Ethan Reiser

 

Often, people can underestimate the impact that a boost of confidence can have on a person – especially if that person is a young student who is finding their footing in the world. For A Team Tuition, building a student’s confidence is intrinsic to creating transformation in their lives and academic careers.

 

When hiring our tutors, we focus specifically on their mentoring and motivational abilities for this very reason, rather than merely focusing on their content knowledge. This means that we can guarantee that every student will feel supported, motivated towards their goals, and will experience exciting new learning experiences that are positive and fulfilling.

 

Brittany McEvoy, one of our incredible tutors, was highly focused on these exact things when it came to tutoring her Year 8 student Ethan Reiser. Ethan was on straight B’s for all of his subjects, but his mother Sharon knew that he could achieve even more.

 

Like so many students before him, Ethan was an incredibly talented young man, who had everything he needed to accomplish wondrous things – except the ability to see that his own potential.

 

“Ethan couldn’t see what I could see – that he had the ability to understand content that is not only on his learning level, but also way beyond him!” Brittany commented. “So my focus was to help him that he actually did understand what he was doing, and developing a friendship that allowed him to feel comfortable and supported.”

 

“However, I was also very focused on becoming like a ‘sister’ figure to him, so that he would respect what I had to say – especially when we had to have those honest conversations about his effort and motivation. I think doing that, especially near the start of tutoring, really helped us establish the right expectations, and lit that fire of motivation under him for the rest of the year!”

 

 

The first step towards lighting that fire was shifting Ethan’s learning environment from a typical seat and desk into an atmosphere that was fun and exciting for him. To do this, they sat down in beanbags; from there, Britt focused on making Ethan’s learning experience fun.

 

They used a whiteboard to create visual representations and explanations of Ethan’s work, and had multiple debates about science and its elements. These debates were a great tester of Ethan’s science skills, as it pressed him to go beyond simply recounting information, and towards developing a solid understanding of content and all it entailed.

 

“As with most Year 8 students, motivation was definitely hard for Ethan to maintain at times – which is totally normal, and had to be accepted for transformation to take place!” Britt remarked. “I accommodated for this, by ensuring that each session was inviting and fun for Ethan, rather than simply sitting down and doing work in a way that was boring to him.”

 

Doing Ethan’s work in such a way not only allowed him to boost from straight B’s to primarily A grades, but also helped him achieve the Principal’s Academic Award! Most importantly, Ethan was now aware of his true abilities, and that itself unlocked countless opportunities for him.

 

“I remember Ethan talking about how he couldn’t decide if he wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer, and I reminded him that if he really wanted to, he could be both!” Britt recalled.

 

“He now knows that school doesn’t define his future, but that he can view school as a sport that he can ‘win’ at if he ‘trains’ hard enough. I hope that in the years to come, he knows that he has the potential to be whoever he wants to be if he puts his mind to it.”

 

 

Brittany herself was incredibly proud of Ethan’s efforts, seeing a small bit of herself in her young student.

 

“Ethan had very similar struggles as I did in high school – you know, being the student that did incredibly well in junior school, but didn’t adapt as well as expected going into high school due to the new pressures and difficulties,” said Britt. “It was awesome to help someone like Ethan, because I know I definitely wished to have the same help – and he did so well to take it on board so quickly, in such an effective way.”

 

“He definitely did an incredible job, with some really great support from his friends, family, and I’m so honoured I got to play a part in that!”

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7 Tips On How To Get An A In History

Success Spotlight: Nick Faulks And Sam Robinson

 

At A Team Tuition, we know that establishing healthy study habits as a foundation for learning is not simply ‘important’ – it is absolutely vital for developing success.

 

This is especially important for junior high school students when transitioning into their senior years. With QCS, OPs, increasing content difficulty, and the added strain of an ever-expanding workload looming, students need to feel confident about their learning processes and academic strategies to be successful even when under pressure.

 

For Sam Robinson, nearing the end of his junior school journey at The Southport School (TSS) brought this need into the foreground, and his mother Kim soon jumped at the opportunity to provide Sam with a supportive mentoring system.

 

“Sam was finding in Grade 9 that the work got progressively harder. He was struggling with how to revise and study effectively, so I thought that A Team would create a more mentoring environment where he could learn these skills,” Kim remarked.

 

Sam himself admitted that he regarded school as a place to socialize and hang out with his friends. However, the entry of A Team Tuition tutor Nick Faulks helped change that drastically.

 

“When I first began tutoring Sam, I knew I had encountered a kid with tremendous academic ability,” Nick remarked.

 

“He struck me as expressive, intelligent, witty, and sarcastic, but he just didn’t seem to see what the big fuss was all about with school!”

 

Most importantly, Nick realized that Sam need help developing essential skills and learning processes in a way that was best suited to his personal needs.

 

 

“What many teachers had told Sam was his ‘lack of ability to focus’, I knew was just a misguided expression of energy, enthusiasm and humor present in most young men attending school.”

 

“Sam may struggle with paying attention and pushing himself to focus on content he does not personally take a liking to,” Nick admitted.

 

“But by crafting a fun, yet effective learning environment that is suited to his visual learning style, that struggle to focus transforms into a pure drive to achieve.”

 

Adapting Sam’s learning environment to his specific learning language was a pivotal part of educating him on how to learn smart.

 

Sam himself mentioned this:

 

“One thing that I’ve learnt from Nick that I’ll keep with me forever is that process is the most important factor in achieving success. You can work incredibly hard, but without having a clear process to follow along the way, all your hard work can go to waste.”

 

“I know now that hard work is important, but that working smart is just as important as working hard!”

 

Evidently, the fact that Sam’s learning process was now better suited to him and allowed him to work smart did not eliminate the need for working hard. That is one thing that students often forget – and one thing that, even with a tutor, is not always easy!

 

Sam himself found this quite difficult at first, especially before he was able to see results.

 

“I’d never even really spent time studying after school before, let alone writing several pages of summary notes about my weekly topics and answering in-depth questions in time that I normally spent watching YouTube and playing video games.”

 

“Adjusting to the level of intensity of having to do any work outside of school was tough, but it has taught me a lot along the way,” Sam noted.

 

And his hard, smart work definitely paid off – Sam ended up achieving his very first A+ in English after a few months of tutoring with Nick.

 

“Nick is the best thing Sam could have hoped for,” noted Kim. “He pushed Sam to achieve his potential without being overtly bossy. He is reliable and courteous, which helps as Sam has gained no only a tutor, but a role model as well.”

 

“Along the way all the hard work seemed tedious and challenging,” Sam remarked, “but in the end it was worth it to achieve an amazing result.”

 

“I feel like Nick has helped me through a lot of hard things and work, and although he sets some pretty high standards, I know that what he has shown me as a tutor helps me manage all my responsibilities – at both school and at home.”

 

 

Having Nick as a tutor has provided relief as well to Sam’s family by helping to remove any stress or anxiety, as Kim herself noted:

 

“There’s no more need for me to constantly check if Sam is up to date with everything, as Nick has taken that burden from me and ensures that everything is under control.”

 

“It was important to us that Sam was in a good study routine before he started senior school, and that goal has certainly been achieved.”

 

“I feel that I was very lucky to contribute to Sam’s life so far,” Nick himself notes. “The most significant thing I think I have contributed to Sam’s life so far is a new outlook on life, and a new approach to school.”

 

“Teaching young men, in particular, the importance of taking ownership of what you do, accountability for what you have done and responsibility for what the future holds is something that schools can struggle to instill in young people these days due to time and curriculum constraints,” Nick remarked, “and this is where I feel privileged to be able to fill the gap!”

Sam himself is incredibly proud of his own progress, and has a new spring in his step.

 

“I feel positively about school now as somewhere where I can now go to focus and learn, as well as reinforce the process that guides my academic success.”

 

“Having tutoring has changed my view of the world. I now look for opportunities to make my self accountable and responsible even in situations where things are not ideal.”

 

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