Top tips for students learning from home
There’s no doubt that the last few weeks have been difficult and with a lot uncertainty for the coming months it’s important we maintain a level of structure in our lives and continue to work towards our goals.
We’ve pulled together some tips and tricks for continuing to learn from home, exams might be off but keeping up with your education will help you in the long run.
- Create your study space
First things first, create your study space. Whether you have a desk in your bedroom, or you set up a space at the dining table, it’s important to have a space where you can focus. Try and make your study space somewhere separate to where you relax and if you find that one place doesn’t work, try somewhere different. It might be difficult to find a quiet place with all family members at home, but there are plenty of playlists on Spotify that you can put on to help you focus.
- Structure your learning
Maintaining a level of structure is important and creating a timetable for your learning will help you plan out your day. Work out what subjects and units you’re going to focus on and work that into your timetable, try to break it up and build your timetable around your learning style, make sure to include regular breaks too.
This will also help you to get up in the morning. Treat the day as if you’re still going to school by getting up, having breakfast and getting ready for a day of learning. As much normality as possible is key.
- Gather your resources
Now you know what you want to study, you can gather everything you need to help you with your learning. Your teachers have worked hard to pull resources together to help you learn at home, make use of these as they are likely to be similar to the lesson structure you are used to. They will also point you in the right direction for you to continue with your own research and learning.
In addition to this on the WJEC website, you can access all out FREE resources, including Past Papers and Question Bank .We’ve also pulled together some student-focused resources that you might find handy too, they are all there to assist you with your learning.
- Try something new
If you work well in the morning, focus on the subjects you’ve identified and then in the afternoon try something different.
- If you’ve never baked before, try it.
- If you’ve always wanted to learn a new language, there are apps such as Duolingo which are free.
- Practice your writing skills by writing a daily journal or writing a short story. If you like to draw and be creative, make the most of what you’ve got at home to create something.
- Have younger siblings? Help them with their learning out in the garden or doing something creative, you never know, they might teach you something too!
- Take a break
If you’re feeling frustrated and don’t think getting anywhere with your learning, the worst thing is to do is to panic, which we know is easier said than done.
Take a break, reset and unwind. There are so many ways you can do this.
- Use apps such as Houseparty to connect with your friends, play an online quiz or a game of charades to take your mind off it and to have a laugh.
- Get active, there are a LOAD of apps available for free to help you get active. From yoga apps (a few of the team are using an app called 'Down Dog') to a Couch to 5k running programme (the NHS has a great one called 'NHS Couch to 5k') or even join in with 'PE with Joe' every morning on Youtube. There is something for everyone to help you get moving.
As a bonus tip, we’d also suggest limiting your news intake. There’s a lot of negativity on the news and whilst it’s important to understand what’s going on during this time, you don’t need to hear about it every hour. This also means limiting your scrolling time, so much of the news you consume comes from social media and sometimes it’s best to switch it all off… and…relax.
If you’ve got anything to add, we’d love to hear your top tips. You can get in touch with us over on Facebook or Twitter.