- Striking a balance between fun and study productivity during summer break is achievable with this 3 step method! Read to find out more.
Summer Holidays are here – every student’s favourite time of the year. It is the time of the year when students go out to create memories with their friends and families. Many students tend to drop the ball in their academics over summer break. It can feel like a chore to study during summer break when everybody is out playing. But it does not have to feel like a chore! In this article, we will share with you how studying during summer break is doable and not as daunting as you would imagine. We have a 3-step method to ensure your summer study productivity is high, easy, and fun! Let’s begin.
1 – Scheduling study sessions and planning ahead
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” — _Benjamin Franklin_
It is a smart move to plan study sessions ahead of time, especially during the summer break when students pile up plans to have fun. By setting up a routine or scheduling study sessions ahead of time, students are already setting themselves up for success.
For example, if you typically have plans in the afternoon and evening, spend the morning doing some light revision. It is easier to get tough things done earlier in the day, in case of any impromptu plans. In addition, you will get a rise in dopamine for completing your study session early in the day, and you will be riding on a high the rest of the day. It also allows you to enjoy your day with one less thing on your mind.
Let’s talk about planning a routine or scheduling a study session. How do we start?
First, identify a free time block during the days of your week, then the time of the day. Then, the duration and frequency of your study sessions will be determined by the amount of free time you have – yes, you can still study even if you only have 30 minutes! This is how we balance fun and studying!
Then, voila, you have some time to do some studying.
Let’s talk about where to begin for the study sessions. It can be difficult to start since students have so many subjects and chapters. To start, students should identify subjects in which they are weaker and rank their top 3 weakest subjects. Then, alternate study sessions for these subjects and tackle them, chapter by chapter.
Next, we don’t want to be spending hours on end during our summer break with our textbooks. Let’s learn how to optimise our study sessions to get the highest returns without spending more than 2 hours a day studying.
2 – Incorporating active learning techniques to improve study productivity
To have a healthy balance of fun and study, students need to first learn to maximise their study sessions. By maximising and ensuring high productivity levels during study sessions, students can cut short their studying time and have more time to spend outdoors exploring.
So, how can students study effectively during their study sessions?
Firstly, remove passive learning and focus on active learning. Students are on a break during the summer semester, meaning they have studied up to 40 to 50% of the year’s subject syllabi and chapters. Hence, summertime is a great time to review these chapters.
When reviewing chapters, students should avoid passive learning like re-reading their textbooks, copying notes from textbooks or even re-listening to lectures. Students should instead practice active learning.
Active learning requires students to engage directly with study materials by applying knowledge. For example, practising exam-based questions, explaining concepts with your own words, and teaching someone.
Think of passive learning as inputting knowledge into the brain, and active learning as taking the knowledge you have learned out of the brain. Active learning requires students to retrieve information from their brains; with this learning method, students are more likely to retain the information better and connect the concepts learned seamlessly.
Active learning also requires students to stay engaged during their study sessions, resulting in a high productivity level. In addition, study sessions can be shorter since no time is spent on re-reading chapters and copying notes.
Self-studying can be overwhelming and tedious, as some students may not be aware of their own weaknesses and knowledge gaps. With Tutopiya and a subject tutor, students can leave the guesswork to our tutors and team. Our platform offers progress tracking, which gives our tutors a clear overview of the student’s learning progress and potential knowledge gaps. With this knowledge, our tutors can curate specific lesson plans to meet students’ studying needs. It can be difficult to schedule and plan on your own, but with Tutopiya, scheduling a session with your tutor is straightforward. With a simple click to book, you will be able to see your tutors at your and their convenience.
3 – Make learning fun
The main goal here is not to make learning a chore during the summer – hence, we must keep learning fun during this time. Students can find different ways to spice up their study sessions, such as gamifying their learning.
Gamifying coupled with active learning, students will find it easier to get through and may even feel encouraged to sit down for these study sessions. We have a detailed post about gamifying your learning – if you would like to learn how to incorporate fun into learning. Gamifying learning is a study technique that has been widely adopted by learners and educators around the world to keep students engaged. The main idea is to make studying feel like a game by incorporating game-like features into academics. For example, setting up point systems, creating quests, missions and setting milestones with relevance to academics. Shifting the mindset to structure learning this way keeps learning fun and engaging.
Let me give you an example. Let’s take the summer break as an example, think of it as your avatar is “going on a mission”, during this mission, you need to complete several quests (completing 10x study sessions, 3 exam papers, etc), and at the end, you get a reward for completing the mission (you can define the reward). By incorporating game-like structures in our academics, it feels less daunting to complete study-related tasks.
To Conclude Study Productivity and Play
Summertime is when students go out to make the best memories of their teenage years. Hence, studying could feel like a chore during this time. However, it does not have to be, when you incorporate the right methods and techniques to ensure your academic growth does not stagnate during the break.
It can be even more difficult for graduating students to find a balance between the two, as academics will soon play a role in their future endeavours. Hence, this guide is written to help our students reach their academic goals without sacrificing their summer break to enjoy the fun.
By intentionally planning for a study session, students are already reinforcing this plan in their heads. This makes study sessions easier to delve into when it is time. Then, by learning how to incorporate active learning during the study sessions, study sessions are more productive and effective. Last but not least, by making study sessions fun during the summer break, incorporate game-like features to entice and encourage positive learning behaviour. This way, students can fully enjoy their summer break, and there is no dread in studying at all!
