6S Study Skills System

FEEDBACK from Year 10 Pupils at Deben High in Felixstowe

A small group of Year 10 pupils at Deven High School experienced the 6S Course as run by Alan David Pritchard on the 18 and 19th of May 2009.

98% of the students reported that they would definitely recommend the course to others, providing the followng reasons:

• It is great fun
• It is useful and handy
• Others could benefit
• It is really good. This course makes me feel confident
• The methods used are very easy
• It is beneficial to everyone
• It is very helpful
• It shows new ways to study
• It was very positive and great
• When I told my friends all the things we did in class, they were jealous!
• It is really good
• Get them studying more
• It is good
• Fun and useful
• It will help students – especially when it comes to achieving in exams
• It can help a lot
• It will be useful to me
• It helps you to revise and cope with exam pressure
• It helps us realise our abilities.

When asked what tools or ideas they found the most effective, they wrote:

• Linking things to pictures
• Number rhyme and journey system
• The Roman Room System was very helpful
• I think everything was relevant and useful. They will all be very useful tips and ideas for the coming months and years
• That small changes to your lifestyle can help your grades
• The mind maps because it was colourful and lots of pictures in it so I can remember easy
• All of the techniques are helpful because I can use them for exams
• Different ways and importance of memory strategies
• New ways of remembering information
• Sleeping and mental state as I did not know it has such an effect on my learning and health
• How much sleep affects you and your mental state
• The mnemonics and the number hook system because they are simple and easy to revise from
• The rhyming song idea was very fun and has helped me remember
• How to draw helpful mind maps
• Quick-fire Quiz and Roman Room System – I found them most effective
• The different memory skills and tips
• Everything was useful and fun
• Roman Room System
• The number hook system, really useful in remembering things
• Portrait summary posters and the number rhyme method because they were very good at helping me to remember things
• How to gradually put changes into action without any big side effects as I have always wanted to change my sleeping pattern as I now know I have sleep debt and I am used to waking up tired
• I felt it was all useful as now I have more than one way of doing revision and I know what I can change to make my brain work at its fullest

They were also asked to write about how the course changed their view of their ability to study effectively, and here are their responses:

• I am more confident
• Not to leave it till the last minute
• I was feeling so negative about the exams coming, but I am now feeling very positive about them
• I feel more confident in my revision techniques
• I think I am really confident for my exams
• I feel confident within myself
• I feel more confident with different study techniques
• I have been given a brilliant talk/speech/slideshow which has helped me a lot
• I know understand better ways to study
• I never revise and now I am more optimistic to do so
• Before I wasn’t very comfortable with my ability to remember things but I am now
• Before I would just read my notes and books, but now I have an easier way to revise
• Now I have more fun ways to study
• I will study a little bit more
• It has shown new ways to study and revise
• Studying is not that boring
• There are lots of ways of simple learning that I didn’t realise and it was good to know it is simple
• I felt confident in my ability prior to the event – this has just reinforced this
• I have discovered better ways to revise
• Before I believed I only had one learning ability but now I know there are many
• I will now study better without distractions and studying will be fun now

Additional comments by the students:

• Hello, I really enjoyed the sessions we had with you. They will be very useful for the GCSEs this and next year. Oh your jokes gave me the giggles quite a bit.- Michaela Frost
• You were absolutely mad, crazy but it made a change. You really made me feel positive about the upcoming exams. I had great fun and the tips are going to be very useful in the future.- Katherine Wilding
• Thanks. I really enjoyed it and I feel a lot more confident about my exams when I really needed a confidence boost. The pictures and clips were funny too. You are a really good speaker and friendly and bubbly. Thanks. – Grace Phillips
• It’s been a nice 2 days with the funny and knowledge. Thank you – Arya Dayanandan
• Cheers for the course – it will help me a lot! – Luke Goodwin
• Thank you. I was a very wonderful experience and very useful. I will be using the book and keeping a record. Thank you. – Talen Wright
• Thank you for taking the time to teach us these skills. It was very useful to me. I don’t have negative feelings about studying now! – Rebecca Loftus
• The course was very good and fun – Christian Bibb
• A useful workshop. Well designed. Good luck with it! – Luke Hammond
• It was fun. You are funny.- Amanda Wadsley
• You were really nice and I enjoyed the time I spent on the two days. I liked the funny pictures and the pictures you showed us in the breaks. Thank you for showing us how to study properly. It has really helped. – Maddy Smithers
• It has been a nice two days with the funny and knowledge bits. Thank you. – Ardra Udayan

Feedback from Llantarnam Comprehensive, Cwmbran, South Wales

Here is the feedback gathered from Year 11 pupils at Llantarnam Comprehensive in South Wales after they had experienced the 6S Study Skills Course presented by Alan David Pritchard on 3 March 2009.

100% of the students reported that they would recommend the course to others, and they provided these reasons:

• It will help with their studying and their ability to learn.
• You learn about different techniques of learning.
• It gives tips on how to revise that I didn’t know before.
• It makes you realise there are many techniques to revise.
• It is helpful.
• Definitely very helpful.
• It helps a lot.
• It was good.
• It helps with revision.
• It can help everyone in a different way.
• It is good advice and you can learn from it.
• It shows that the ideas do work.
• It will help them with future exams.
• It makes it easier to remember things.
• It offers a great deal of help and support.
• It will help others.
• Easy to help remember.
• If it helps me, it will help anyone.
• It opens your eyes to learning.
• It is useful and helpful.
• I found some elements of the course useful.
• It’s brilliant.
• It’s a lot of fun.

When asked what they most liked about the course, they wrote:

• Everybody was involved.
• Fun that we had.
• The Roman Room System.
• That it showed me loads of different ways to study.
• It was fun and easy.
• It was enjoyable.
• Everything.
• The belief that we are not stupid.
• Remembering things.
• Finding out all the different ways to study.
• The study skills that I learnt.
• Making the songs up. It was fun.
• Learning new ways to revise.
• The different revision techniques.
• It was fun.
• I liked the fact that it was fun and not like normal lessons.
• I found it very interactive.
• All of it.
• They way it added humour.
• Everything was enjoyable.
• It’s not normal ordinary revision and it gives you good advice.
• Knowing now that there are various methods for revising.
• It was a fun way of learning.
• The jokes.

When asked to explain how they thought the course had changed their view of their ability to study effectively, they wrote:

• It has made me see how powerful the power of your memory can be.
• I now have many ways of being able to study.
• It has given me more fun techniques to do well.
• More ways to revise and remember.
• I feel more confident about revising.
• I feel I have a more dynamic view of learning.
• I have found new ways to remember things.
• You have given me advice on how to study and sleep.
• I now understand different techniques and how to remember things.
• You have changed my view because I can see that I can remember things easier.
• I feel more confident I can learn easier.
• I have learnt a lot about new ways to study.
• I understand how easy it is to study.
• I feel a lot more confident.
• Alan made it a good bit of fun.
• Alan made it seem fun.
• Because I will use most of the methods that I learned.
• I have found new ways of revising.
• I think I can do a little bit better.
• I now have more confidence.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS BY THE STUDENTS

“Thank you for today. We had loads of fun. I hope you had a good day at our school.” Chloe Copeman

“You are truly a star. Well done!” Emily Jones

“Thanks for coming to our school.” James Lloyd

“Thank you for the day and I hope other people enjoy the day as much as I did.” Andrew Neal.

“Thanks for a great session.” Jess Morris.

“Thanks for a lovely day. It really helped me organise myself.” Riley Barret

“Thank you very much for a wonderful day.” Jake Jones

“Thank you for a wonderful day.” Thomas Gibbins

“Thank you so much for a great day. I learnt about all the different ways I can study and how easy it is for me to remember things. I am not panicking as much about my exams. This will help me a lot. Love the slides.” Chloe-Beth Nicolaou

“Thank you for all the new techniques I have learnt which I know will be an amazing help during my examinations.” Scott McCarthy.

“I want to thank you for taking your time to come down here and help us work. It really really helped me to remember things. I feel really confident now. Not being sarcastic, I do feel like I am going to be better at my exams. I hate revising, just sit reading a book for hours, but now I think I will enjoy learning. Thank you so much. I owe you.” Naomi Coombs

“Thank you. It has helped a lot.” Amy Foley

“Thank you for your help today. I will probably use most of the techniques.” Lauren Moore

“Just to say thanks for everything. I had a fab time and found the course very useful. You make learning more fun and I will use everything you learnt us to help with my exams. Thanks a lot.”  Shannen Humphries

“I just want to say thank you for everything today. It was fun!” Hollie Matthews

“Thanks for today and your time. I am sure this will help me a lot for my exams. Much appreciated.” Tiffany Parry

“It was fun!” Nicole Porter

“Thank you for coming to the school to help us to revise properly for exams and prepare ourselves.” Alex Lloyd

“Thank you for a good day and teaching me I can do anything.” Francine Clark

“Cheers for coming in today. This information and journal will help a lot.” Andrew Jordan

62% said their memories had improved as a result of the course

82% felt their confidence levels had been raised

79% felt that we had positively changed their view of their ability to study effectively

Feedback from Park High School, King's Lynn

 Year 11 pupils at Park High School, King's Lynn experienced the 6S Study Skills Course run by Alan David Pritchard on Tuesday 10 February, and here are some of their comments about the course:

100% of the students who were present on the course said that they would recommend it to others. Here are their reasons:

• It is helpful because it improves study techniques
• It showed easier ways to revise
• I have learnt a lot from today
• This is useful for people who think they are stupid and shows them that they are clever
• I thought it was fun
• It really helps you
• I enjoyed the activities
• I liked it a lot
• It is really useful and fun
• It makes you think in a different way
• It cheers you up
• It is fun and makes achievement easy
• It is informative but not boring

When asked what they most liked about the course, they wrote:

• Everything, especially learning new ways to study
• Alan was funny and made it a laugh
• It was fun
• The funny clips and videos
• It is useful for the future
• All the jokes and funny videos
• The group work
• It really helped me to remember things easily
• The involvement in different activities
• The idea of practising different ways of remembering information
• There wasn’t a lot of writing to do
• It was easy to concentrate
• The funny stuff

When asked to explain how they thought the course had changed their view of their ability to study effectively, they wrote:

• I felt it was hard to revise, but now I think it is quite easy
• Now I believe everything is possible
• It has shown me different ways to study
• You succeeded very well because you showed me how to revise and how to remember things
• I will find it easier to revise and I won’t need to make so many notes
• I will use new methods to study
• This day has taught me a lot about studying and how to remember things
• I will now study properly without music or other disturbances
• We have learnt to remember things better
• I have learnt a lot more ways of remembering things and learning
• I feel studying doesn’t have to be stressful, it can be fun
• It will help me remember things more clearly
• I now know different ways to study ... thanks!

63% said their memories had improved as a result of the course

81% felt their confidence levels had been raised

82% felt that we had positively changed their view of their ability to succeed

Feedback from Broadway School, Birmingham

We asked a group of Year 11 students who had experienced the 6S Study Skills Course at Broadway School in Birmingham in January of 2009 to provide feedback about various aspects of their training session, run by the course creator Alan David Pritchard. Here is what the students had to say:

WHY WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS COURSE TO OTHERS?

• So more people will have the ability to do better.
• It is extremely useful to know how your mind works under particular conditions.
• It has very helpful memory tips and will help you with revision. The course was excellent and I believe it will help me with my GCSE revision.
• Thank you very much. Your work built up my motivation and I am determined to use your tips to get the best of grades. I loved your way of teaching and your personality was fantastic. It would be great if you would visit us again for it was a pleasure having you here and I am honoured to have been in your presence.
• It gives you lots of ways to expand your learning abilities.
• It is very useful and helpful.
• It is an entertaining course.
• It will help people improve their memories. The presenter is a very amusing, funny man who has made studying much more fun.
• The course is very effective.
• I am privileged and enjoyed today’s session. I feel it has helped me a lot. The presenter was brilliant.
• The course has changed and helped my view towards studying.
• The course gets people involved.
• It is fun and educational and can help people a lot.
• The course will get more people thinking better. The presenter is a very bubbly teacher, very entertaining and I enjoyed his company.
• I think others should learn what we learnt.
• I think Alan is wonderful and I will always remember him.
• It has helped me and I am certain it will help others. I can honestly say it was a great experience, giving us a lot of benefits. Thank you!
• It will help others to remember things. People listen in class but forget everything.
• The presenter is very good and I enjoyed what he taught us.
• It will help other pupils to study better.
• The course is fun and you learn a lot.
• The presenter has good jokes and was entertaining and enthusiastic.

WHAT DID YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THE DAY?

• The different ways to remember things
• I will be able to revise and study more efficiently
• The funny videos and the fun methods
• We liked the presenter the most
• The jokes and how they related to the course
• It was funny
• All the tips given to me to help with my revision
• Alan was fun, vibrant and funny all while educating me in a good way
• The jokes
• The PowerPoint presentations and our mentor
• Playing games and listening to the jokes
• I found the videos very amusing and the different jokes
• The techniques and activities
• Alan, because he was awesome
• The presenter
• Memory tips and sleep benefits
• The skills that we were taught about learning and the power of our memory
• It was enjoyable and I learned a lot through the day

HOW HAVE WE CHANGED YOUR VIEW OF YOUR ABILITY TO STUDY EFFECTIVELY?

• I study well anyway but I have been given a broader outlook of different ways. Most of them are really useful and I will use them
• I have always felt the same way – school and success is extremely important
• There was some very useful memory tips
• I now know a range of different ways to study
• I feel a lot more optimistic
• I now know different techniques which will help me to do better
• I now know how to use all my senses to help me
• I no longer have negative thoughts about studying
• I have more faith in myself and feel more confident
• I feel more confident towards studying
• Studying can be fun instead of menial
• I think that by doing this I feel good about revising and doing well in the exams
• I now feel very confident about getting a good grade and sitting my exams
• You taught us some ways of memorising things that I have not heard of
• I think that I can use my Art to learn and not just for fun
• The event has helped extremely with a lot of benefits alongside a few laughs
• Today I practised techniques to help me remember things
• It gave me ideas on how to revise
• You have made it fun to revise

We asked teachers on the 6S Course in Wales to write a brief review of the course. Here is a selection of their comments.

“Excellent course. I enjoyed it very much. Most useful comment was this is about brain and remember – not how to motivate disaffected kids (though this would come using these techniques. Thank you.”   (Jo Lewis, LSA, Glan-Y-Mor)

“An inspirational well-planned course which presents lots of new ideas.” (Jackie Amey, ESOL Lecturer, Swansea College)

“A fantastic day, full of exciting workshops and great clips on the screen.” (Kathryn Evans, School Support Officer, Glan-Y-Mor)

“Excellent.” (Elin Davis, Glan-Y-Mor)

“A bubbly enthusiastic presentation with a good assortment of study strategies.” (Tracey Elsdin, Learning Coach, Morriston Comprehensive)

“A very energetic and confident deliverer. Some of the exercises were other ideas that have been around for a while – but differently delivered.” (Clive Williams, Programme Leader, Llanelli Rural Council Training)

“A very good idea for a course by a very enthusiastic presenter.” (Gemma Morgan, Assistant Head of Year 9, Cumraine Comprehensive)

“It was amazing. For years I have wanted this type of learning and I attended it today and it feels great.” (Sabina Islam, Learning Mentor, Bishop Gore)

“The course was very interesting and useful. It will be interesting to see how the children at my school work with some of the methods.”  (Cheryl Thomas, LSA, Ysgol Gyfun Y Strade)

“This course was really useful for teachers who like to do changes and want to get success.” (Shaily Jain, Teacher, Glan-Y-Mor School)

“This course was very interesting and I have learnt many tips about revision.” (Emma Latlam, LSA, Ysgol Y Strode)

“An excellent day. The information delivered was interesting and enthusiastically delivered.” (Christopher Wyn Davies, Head of Year 11, Ammon Valley School)

“I really enjoyed the course and will plan some activities for my learners using these techniques.” (Fiona Neill, Team Leader: ESOL, Swansea College)

We asked students at George Salter Collegiate Academy, West Bromwich, if they thought the course had changed their confidence levels. Here are a few of their responses:

• It will help
• Doing it in a more enjoyable way
• Doing it in better ways
• I feel more confident in myself
• It has made me understand more
• I have different views about learning
• I had a problem remembering things. This has helped.
• Had a fun time
• I know how to do better in my exam/ studies
• I have grown more confident
• It was easy to understand
• I have different views now about learning
• I can understand things better
• Very good
• It has helped me to find ideas to help in exams
• Because I now know how to study in different ways

We asked students at Cyfarthfa High School, Merthyr Tydfil if they would recommend the course to other students and why they would do so. Here is what they said:

• Fun and effective. Immediate results! Rewarding to your future
• Yes, it taught me a lot and was fun
• Yes! Because I know they would take on board the information
• Yes, definitely. I have picked up loads of tips that will really help me study
• Yes, I would
• Yes. It makes revision much more easier
• Yes, definitely. I would recommend it to help revise or even just a fun day!
• Yes, it has different ways of revising
• Yes, because it shows us how unique our brains are
• Yes, because I now know how to revise
• Yes – it helps you find different ways of revising and helps you be more confident
• Yes, it helps a lot. It gives us good ways to revise
• Of course, because it can teach you a lot and help you with lots of different things
• Yes, it is helpful and understanding
• Yes, because it will help them revise in their subjects
• Yes, funny and will help you revise
• I would because the tips are useful and you can remember things more easier
• Yes, because it gives  a new insight into revision
• Yes, because it helps you out a lot
• Yes, good value for money

Some fabulous feedback from King Edward VI, Spilsby

Thank you for such a fabulous and positive session on Thursday.  As expected Alan made a great impression with the students who seemed to hang on to every word!  The day was so far removed from the general expectations the students have of ‘standard revision sessions’.  The day allowed the students to explore their strengths and capabilities in a fun and engaging manner.  Students who started the session saying “I can’t do it”, “I’m not clever”, soon realised that with the right techniques they are a lot more capable than they give themselves credit for.
 
The group was a real mixed bag with some typically confident students and some quieter, more reserved students.  The structure of the day allowed all students to work together and to express themselves in ways they would certainly never normally feel able to.
 
All the feedback we have received from the students since the day has been glowing.  We have also looked at some separate evaluation forms that indicate that the day has had a positive effect on the attitude of the students towards FE and HE which is brilliant.
 
From a staff point of view it was great to be involved in such an engaging session, watching the student’s reactions and confident contributions was fantastic.
 
I hope we can work with Positively Mad again in the near future.  Thank you to you all for providing such a vibrant course.

Kind Regards, Cheryl Pawson, King Edward VI, Spilsby, January 2008

We asked students from schools in Spilsby, Crewe, Birmingham and the Isle of Wight to provide feedback on The 6S Success course. Here are a few of their comments.

“This has helped me know what I need to do when I study.”

“Now I will prepare myself a lot more and not leave it for the last night before an exam.”

“I used to put studying aside, but I believe I will do it from now on.”

“I didn’t realise how easy it is to study.”

“I have found more easy and different ways to study.”

“It has given me new ideas to get things to stay in my head.”

“It has shown me different ways and has inspired me.”

“I have learnt different ways to study and think it will help me.”

“I will now be able to take in more information.”

“I now know how to change styles of learning.”

“It was simple to learn things that teachers would make hard.”

“I now know how to revise what I have learnt.”

“You have made it fun and given me new ways.”

“It made me a lot more confident than I was.”

“I found it hard to take in things before.”

“I feel that I have learnt a lot about different learning methods.”

“I now know loads of different ways to learn and memorise things.”

“I have confidence as now know more ways to study and to help me study.”

“I feel a lot more confident to do well in my exams.”

“Because I have learnt different strategies of how to study.”

“Because I understand how to revise.”

“I can remember things better now.”

“I feel more capable of remembering facts.”

“Because now I can revise very easy and with no hassle.”

“You have succeeded because you have shown me lots of easy ways for me to learn.”