It’s midterms season at Charter, and this time of year can cause sleepless nights and endless overthinking. Everyone wants to make sure they’re as best prepared as possible. Luckily, our staff of passionate and dedicated teachers has lent us their advice on how to do as well as possible every time midterms come around.
Getting a head start
Many students have probably heard that procrastination will threaten their studying success, but starting midterm prep weeks in advance can feel impractical. A heavy workload and challenging courses often demand preparation for other projects, tests, and homework, so midterms tend to feel like a more distant issue worth tackling “once you have the time.”
But brief periods of studying over a stretch of time can help your brain’s adherence to the material much more than one long study session. “Study in advance,” Mr. Kohl reminds students. “It’s human nature to wait, but it’s better to get it out of the way.” Mrs. Watt shares the same: “My advice would be to break it into manageable parts.”
Some have even cautioned against spending too much time studying the week of midterms. President Bartnik recommends, “Start studying in advance, and then take a break from it the week of.”
Studying strategically
Unfortunately, many of us fall subject to procrastination and end up having to brush up on lots of information in a short amount of time. Luckily, Mr. Oakes advises his students, “When it comes to studying, quality is better than quantity.” Adopting effective study habits can skyrocket your performance on exam day.
Ms. Trainer reminds students to depend on their natural strengths when it comes to preparing for tests. “If you are a visual learner, use it–create graphic organizers.” But for the more abstract learners, options like Quizlet or flashcards can boost memorization and active recall. Besides starting in advance, President Bartnik also suggests these resources: “If you’re starting late, I’d say ‘use notecards’.”
Mr. Satalino offered his tried and true, three step method for midterms: 1) “Organize all of your first semester summative and formative assignments.” 2) “Correct any mistakes you made on them.” 3) “Focus on the areas that you struggle with.”
Even during midterms week, helpful opportunities exist. Mrs. Watt tells students, “It’s beneficial to use the async day on Wednesday to reach out to a teacher and use the day to the best of your advantage.”
Correcting your mindset
No matter when and how you study, the stressful workload this time of year can get overwhelming and even limit your performance. Obsessive studying can cause you to panic, in turn lowering your academic acuity. Mr. Greenberg suggests, “don’t cram. Don’t stress yourself out.”
Mr. Oakes also uses the base of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to emphasize the importance of taking time to rest: “You can’t outrun your psychological needs–they are your priority.”
Remember that overthinking midterms can cause you to overestimate their importance and even undervalue yourself, as demonstrated by Mr. Oakes’ “you are not your grades” refrain. “This is 10% of a class grade for one year of your entire life,” Ms. Trainer assures students. “This grade will not define you.”
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