Tim Howe graduated in 2015 with an ATAR of 98.65. Over the July holidays, he’s presenting free VCE Psychology and Physical Education lectures. You go, Tim!

“What resources did you use in Year 12?”

It’s a question I often get asked by students at lectures looking for something new to help them study.

My answer to them is often disappointing – I used the textbook (just like everyone else in the state), created chapter summaries, and did lots of practice questions. Boring and monotonous, I know – and hardly creative.

But there’s one other resource I also used a lot. And this resource helped set me apart from the pack. My teachers.

Your teachers?!

So often, students get into a “me against you” mentality with their teachers. It’s one of the worst possible things you can do in Year 12. Absolutely one of the worst – and it will probably end up hurting you.

Yes, your teachers are the ones that mark your SACs, and the ones that make you do homework. But they are also experts in their subjects (hopefully!) and, at the end of the day, they want to see you succeed. Often, they’ll do anything they can to help you achieve success.

For me, my teachers were always my first port of call if there was a really tricky questions my friends and I couldn’t work out. Rather than stewing over a brutal question for an hour and getting super frustrated, I’d go and see (or email) my teacher. Nine times out of ten, they’d be able to put me on the right path in five minutes flat. At the very least, it’s a more efficient use of time.

Other than answering tricky questions, there are also a few other ways you can use your teacher to help you:

SAC strategy

Your teacher is responsible for marking your SACs. For that reason alone, it’s worth being on their good side. However, your teacher also writes your SAC – or, at the very least, should know what’s on it.

It’s not cheating to ask your teacher what’s going to be on the SAC. Not at all. It’s just being smart. If they choose to tell you, then good for you – you can make your study much more specific. If not, then there’s no harm done.

Note that often, the best way to do this isn’t to say, “Hey, what’s going to be on the SAC?” They probably won’t tell you. Instead, you can ask things like, “Should I study this concept before the SAC?” or “Do you think I’ll need to know this for the SAC?”. Typically, teachers – particularly if you’re on their good side – might just drop a little bit of information that’ll guide your study.

[Now, please don’t go away and pester every teacher about what’s going to be on the next SAC – be smart about it!]

Practice exams

I also got my teachers to mark practice exams I’d attempted – particularly for subjects like English and Psychology, when there often isn’t a clear-cut right or wrong answer. After they marked it, I’d then go through it with them (if possible), go away, and re-write the answered they’d highlighted as ones that lost marks.

Then, I’d check my re-written answers with them.

Again, I stress that it’s really useful to have a good relationship with your teachers at this point, as they’re often very busy at the end of the year, and may not want to mark 100 practice exams. So be specific with your questions – for example, “How can I improve this particular answer?” or “Do I need to mention this concept for this answer?”, rather than just asking how you can do better.

Other things

Finally, teachers can also be a valuable resource outside of academic purposes.

They’ve all seen hundreds of students go through school and deal with life. They can be a great source of general advice, and may have access to support services to help you if you’re struggling. If you approach teachers wanting to improve, it’s pretty likely that they’ll go above and beyond to help you succeed.

Your teachers are a hugely valuable resource. Instead of fighting them, work with them. Go to them with your questions. Work through your answers with them.

After all, they’re on your side – and they can give you a massive boost in Year 12.

For more, make sure you get around The VCE Discussion Group!