Study

What is study?

In the journey to becoming self-regulated independent learners, students follow a structured programme of study. The structures provided instruct students in how to build knowledge in each of their subjects over time and will support students to develop purposeful and productive independent study habits.

The process of moving from a novice to an expert takes time and involves a number of distinct modes of study:

• Securing – learning the key vocabulary/terminology and essential facts/rules of a subject that underpin a topic or unit of work. These should be seen as the initial building blocks or component parts of a topic / subject.
• Processing – engaging in lots of practise or processing and transforming information requires further thinking and repetition and aids transfer into long-term memory.
• Exploring – accessing additional relevant subject material, whether written, audio or audio-visual, helps students to place the knowledge they’ve learnt in a wider context and also to follow their own lines of interest which can inspire.
• Reviewing – self-evaluation involves learners checking which knowledge is secure and embedded and which is not. It exposes any learning gaps so that they can be addressed through an action plan.

Students are taught how to build knowledge through each study mode. As students develop greater confidence over time, they start to take greater ownership over the direction of their study.

How does study work?

Each student undertakes a minimum of 5 hours of independent work outside of the classroom per subject, per week. This independent work comprises of:

• Home learning tasks set by teachers for specific deadlines.
• Study work which is guided and supported by resources provided by subject areas.

Students have allocated supervised study periods built into their timetable to support and structure their study time. Subject-based study tasks are accessed through shared folders available to all students, and the undertaking of productive study is checked by subject teachers on a regular basis.

Students may use the Sixth Form Study Centre or Learning Resource Centre beyond 3.30pm, but no later than 5pm as long as a member of staff is present in the Sixth Form/Learning Resource Centre.