When it comes to doing well in HSC PDHPE there is nothing that will help you achieve more than perseverance. Perseverance means to continue to the end even through struggles, difficulties and disappointments as you strive for success. It requires persistence and determination as you focus on the purpose of your efforts and the result you are seeking to achieve.
This time of year, when you have completed your first HSC exams (be it half-yearlies), and you begin to get your results. Often they will not be as great as you had hoped for. Many people cruise through years 7-11 and don’t really learn to study properly until their HSC year. I know I personally didn’t begin to study properly until this time during my HSC, but I still achieved a good result in my subjects as I picked up my efforts and learnt how to study properly.
The main thing I did to persevere was to turn all my summaries into flashcards and to test myself with them every week. It took time and at points it felt like a waste of time, but I wrote them anyway and constantly tested myself. I knew that come trials and HSC exams I was going to know my content well. I continued to do this until I was ahead of my class… that’s right, I had created flashcards and learnt content before my teacher had gotten around to teaching the class.
I remember sitting in class, with just my flashcards in front of me, and simply updating my information as the teacher covered the content. I did not switch off and ignore my teacher, instead I listened to see if I had missed anything in my own study.
My perseverance continued as I created posters (mostly mind-maps) to go up around my house. I stuck them up in the bathroom, and in my bedroom and went over them every day as I got ready for bed. Studies have shown that if you study close to going to bed you will retain your information longer (see here).
The last thing I did as I persevered to the end was to practice past papers and other HSC questions. It took me a while to understand the importance of doing these questions. I tended to think they were a waste of time. But they definitely helped me to improve my ability to answer questions, especially after getting feedback from my teacher.
(For more study tips click here)
There will be others of you who have done well in your half yearly and are on the right track. Perseverance will help you to continue to do what you are doing to maintain that vigorous study until the end. It can be demanding at times, and you may have to make sacrifices, but you also need to ensure you do not burn out. There is nothing worse than watching a student begin the HSC well, only to flop at the end as they run out of energy and begin to stop studying.
(You may also like to read this article from ATAR notes)
So, keep up your hard work, continue to study well all the way until your last exam is complete. Perseverance will be something you are required to do to get the results you want.
