Back to School Tips: Your 3 Step Plan

For many, a new academic year has just begun and you are full of good intentions. You want to get the year off to a flying start which you can retain throughout the school year to avoid the panic around test time you experienced last year.

We’re here to help! GoConqr has put together a 3 step plan that will make it easier for those good intentions to become more than just ideas. We’ll help them become habits that stick.

So let us share with you not only some best practice for the new academic year with these back to school tips but also how some new features in GoConqr make it easier to improve your study game.

1. Define your Study Goals using a Mind Map

The benefits of students setting study goals are numerous. Your study routine immediately becomes more productive as you know exactly what you should be doing, when you should be doing it and how long it will take you. You will get a better return on investment than if you simply opened a book and started to study a topic. You become more productive and your study is of a higher quality – it’s a win-win.

Students who set study goals and objectives are guaranteed to perform better and improve exam results. The simple task of setting goals will help you focus on what you want to achieve and the actions you need to commit to on your journey to success.

Why not make this task visual by using our Mind Map tool. A number of students have already used SMART objectives to implement this technique by outlining what they want to achieve this year. Here’s an example:

New GoConqr Feature: Tracking

Most of us can set goals with no problems, where we tend to let it slide is the tracking of these objectives. GoConqr has added a tracking feature to help you easily follow your goals with a few clicks using a Mind Map.

Our original  tracking feature allows you to tick off your progress on each step on the road to success by clicking a node on a Mind Map. Now as you get stuff done, mark it off on GoConqr and you can proudly see your progress. Once you start seeing a little progress, there will be no stopping your momentum.

2. Set up your Subjects & Topics for the Year

For most of you a new year means new learning areas. Whether it’s new subjects, topics, authors, or languages, chances are when you look at your course outline for the year there is a lot of unfamiliar areas you need to tackle. That’s the beauty of learning, right?

So how do you get your head around all the new stuff? A good first step is to set out all your subjects and topics so you know what is ahead of you. This will help get you switched on mentally for what is to come. Build your subjects on GoConqr by creating topics within your subject folders to add more depth to your understanding. This will give you a more detailed overview of the study notes you need to know to answer questions on a topic area.

You can also try creating a Mind Map as a summary of your course outline for each subject. Even if you think you don’t know much about an area now, by visually outlining all the topics you need to cover, it will help set the context for the year. It even helps you sub-consciously connect ideas as you go through each topic!

New GoConqr Feature: Subject Analytics

Your learning will become even more informed with the new Subject feature on GoConqr – it’s like nothing you have seen before on our platform before!

The new analytics feature will help you understand your learning requirements better than ever. This clever new feature highlights how you spend your time studying so you can identify areas that you may be lacking. That way you will be able to spend your time working on the areas that need it most.

Visit your Subjects on GoConqr now to see how the new analytics gives you the ability to track performance on a subject level, manage your learning resources better and even suggests resources to help you fill in those learning gaps.

3. Create your Study Plan – and Get Going!

So let’s start moving towards action.

Ask any teacher what the most important thing needed to achieve exam success is and the majority will say a good study plan. Creating a personal timetable takes your study goals that you have defined (see the first point above) and helps you build a realistic and motivational plan on how to achieve those goals. By setting realistic targets and managing your time accordingly, you will surprise yourself on your progress. Plus those stress levels will be at an all-time low.

GoConqr’s free Calendar tool allows you to make your study plan in minutes by easily entering all your activities and how much time you have assigned to each task. When your plan is complete you can fine tune it by seeing how long you have devoted to each subject.

You can simply enter the time dedicated to classes, reading, studying, exercise and anything else you need to do – even hanging out with your friends! An ideal study plan balances social and educational activities, try it for yourself here.

New GoConqr Feature: Discover More Relevant Resources

At this stage you’ve defined your goals. You know your subjects and you’ve allocated the right amount of time to get those grades you’re striving for.

So why not get ahead of your follow students by dipping into the vast library of GoConqr resources? Delve deeper into a subject or get a new perspective by uncovering new information on the topic you’re studying. It’s a great way to impress your teacher or lecturer!

Over the summer, the number of learning resources added to GoConqr hit the million mark and beyond. We’ve even made it easier than ever to discover those great learning resources. In your subjects area, you will now find a related tab that will display suggested resources. When creating resources, you can now add tags. These tags allow us to find and match related resources and suggest them to you for more knowledge.

So let’s get started. GoConqr is continually delivering new features to make your study life easier. If your study intentions this year are to be more proactive, focused and engaged, you’ve found the right study partner with GoConqr!

Have a great learning year.