By Iman Talia Zahiri-Han En (24S03E), Alethea Liew Ziying (24S03E, peer helper)
Your resident Aunties and Uncles are back with our Ask Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset column, this time as a collaboration between Raffles Press and Peer Helpers’ Programme (PHP)! Ever wanted to rant about that someone you just can’t stand? Overwhelmed with too many feelings? Submit your confessions to https://tinyurl.com/RIAAUU and we’ll give them our best shot. This column will be published at the end of every month.
“How do we cope with the new format of schooling (such as online lectures)? How do we prevent ourselves from being distracted and complete the lectures?”
– Concerned Caleb
Dear Concerned Caleb,
You’re not alone; entering JC is typically full of struggle for many of us — major changes are happening all around, both social and academic. After all, moving from learning directly from our teachers in secondary school to self-directed learning is a big leap. Still, rest assured that this new experience is a meticulously thought-out and well-planned one by the school to make self-studying as manageable and as fulfilling as possible for each one of us here in Raffles. As students ourselves, here are some tips we’d like to share to make online learning easier and help you maintain your productivity.
First and foremost, we’d like to provide an outline of how the new schooling system functions:
How the lecture-viewing system works is simple—every Monday, lectures for each subject are uploaded onto Ivy, RI’s main website. At this point, you can first check the duration of each lecture, then plan out your time over the week. The charm of the new schooling format is what we call OTOT (own time, own target): view lectures at your own pace, with your own checkpoints. This can prevent both burnout and last-minute cramming.
For those with more heavy commitments like CCA-related training or extracurricular commitments, such a self-directed mode of learning is especially valuable to ensure you are not overworked and exhausted at the end of each day. Deadlines are also reasonably adjusted: teachers have allocated more time for students to view lectures on content-heavy topics. If this is still confusing, read below for our tips:
1. Familiarise yourself with the material
Just like secondary school, the subject content taught always focuses on the information provided in your lecture notes. Remember: your notes are key to understanding your topics! Diving straight into lectures without first skimming through your lecture notes might work, but it is always best to get a general idea of what will be taught before you begin your self-directed learning.
2. Ease yourself into learning
Furthermore, lecture-viewing is essentially just like Home-Based Learning — with patience, you will be able to adjust to it. If you enjoyed asynchronous assignments in secondary school, the lecture-tutorial system will definitely enhance your learning experience. Even if you struggled with online learning in secondary school, physical notes and worksheets almost always accompany recorded lectures. This familiar form of learning materials can supplement your studies, so there is no need to stress over missing out. Ivy-based videos allow you to absorb lesson content at your leisure, and the accompanying tutorials will reinforce this knowledge.
Though this seems vastly different from the study routine that you may be used to, give yourself time to become familiar with learning on your own first, then having the knowledge strengthened during the time in class by tutors. Eventually, you will be able to use the flexibility of the asynchronous format to your advantage: you get to plan your study time to fit your personal schedule to save yourself time and effort!
3. Plan your time
Outlining your day can be daunting, especially if you feel like you have too many things to keep track of. Even so, there are many methods of organising your time that are both simple and efficient!
An overall great way to track your assignments is to create a simple study plan. A time-blocking chart or to-do list can help you keep track of your tasks and how they fit into your day, allowing you to see your workload at a glance. Although a good plan is half the work done, the most important part is still sticking to your schedule and finishing your work for the day. Remember to check the duration of each lecture and note it down: lectures can range from 3 minutes to 30 minutes!
For those who prefer digital note-taking, consider this free study planner. Templates such as the one below can be digitally annotated or printed out for those who prefer physical planners.
4. Maintain productivity
Understandably, watching lectures can feel like a chore. Even the most studious of us might put them off or get distracted midway through. Well, for those who prefer studying alone, lectures are usually segmented into bite-sized clips based on sections in the notes, so you can always choose to view the topic’s lectures section by section.
We find this is a great way to keep focused for that short period of time, and you get to have short breaks in between to recharge. To supplement this, we suggest trying productivity timers like Pomodoro, which factors in both study and break times. Spreading out your lecture-viewing across the week is also a viable option! For those who prefer the company of friends, watching lectures together (or studying together) is a great way to hold each other accountable and stay motivated to focus together. Furthermore, you can always cross check with your friends if you have any questions!
If you often feel distracted while studying, it can be a good idea to try focus apps like Forest, a plant-growing phone timer or Flora, a free alternative. Should you still find yourself worrying about incoming messages or losing your Wordle streak, try isolating yourself through physically moving away from whatever is distracting you. The RI library is a great place to cut off distractions and focus on studying, with its abundance of natural light and lack of background noise.
We all know some lectures can drag on and on, so speeding up lectures can be helpful. Just change the playback speed of your lecture as you wish: we go for a modest 1.5x, but we know some who watch their lectures at 2x speed! As long as you are able to digest the content, do whatever makes your lecture-viewing experience comfortable.
5. Ask for help when needed
Even if you still struggle in JC with the new format of schooling, you will not be left to figure it out alone. For topics that you still cannot grasp no matter how many times you replay the lectures: ask your teachers!
In RI, our teachers are always happy to make time for individualised consultations. This one-on-one time is crucial for asking questions and clarifying confusing points that you may have. Consultations also give teachers the opportunity to provide you with personal feedback to chart your growth. Such advice from your teachers is integral for improvement and it can prove crucial as you attempt to untangle any mental webs that you are trapped within.
For confusion with system navigation: ask your friends or seniors! It is never a point of shame to still be figuring out the new format even as others have adapted — trust that there will always be people eager to help you. Seeking help from your seniors can give you the dependable perspective of someone who has gone through the system. Your seniors will definitely have useful tips to get you through online learning,from having navigated Ivy and the lecture-tutorial learning system for over a year. Getting your friends to help you can boost your morale and strengthen your bonds with one another. Either way, there is no shortage of assistance and advice regarding learning within this new system. Trust that you will be able to harness the benefits of the new schooling format as long as you utilise the support that you have.
We hope that these tips can let you ‘hack’ your studying and enjoy your learning!
Sincerely,
Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset
If you need anyone to talk to about any issues you might be facing, do drop by My Rest Space near Marymount gate and talk to one of our peer helpers! We’re open on Tuesday from 2.30 – 4.30 p.m, Wednesday 11.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m., Thursday 2.30 – 4.30 p.m. and Friday 1.30 – 4.30 p.m. If you would like to meet a peer helper on a regular basis, do email us a request at rafflesinstitutionphp@gmail.com or fill in our request form at our website https://rafflesinstitution5.wixsite.com/rafflespeerhelpers/peer-helping-request!
