Inspiring Young Minds

Study Mindset

Raise Your Mean

What is a mean? We use it as a measure of centre of a set of numbers and find it by adding them all together and dividing it by the amount. What do we get from it? Well, as a measure of centre, it tells us roughly what value most participants received. by. Simply put, it is the middle. We often think of averages and means as a measure across a group of people performing the same task. In tests, for example, the average tells us what roughly what the middle score was in the exam (actually the median, I

Eamon Kelly 25/05/2020

Study Mindset

Carrot or Stick

Which one of these gets you out of bed in morning? Do you constantly snooze your alarm and only get out of bed because you might be late for class? Because mum or dad is pulling the blanket off you so you will finally get up? Or do you wake up on time because you are keen to get to school? To see your friends and learn new things? What about assignments? Do you only finish them because they are due tomorrow, today, or even yesterday? Or do you start it immediately as soon as you get it, excited by

Eamon Kelly 21/05/2020

Study Tips

How To Be Engaged

Is it surprising that the things we remember best are the most ridiculous events, the most colourful sites or the most sensational experiences? If it is, it should be equally unsurprising when we spend so much time in school, bored, and find that we do not manage remember anything. What I would like to focus on today is creating a habit of being more engaged, more creative with the opportunities we have when we are learning. I know how hard it can be to push ourselves to study, let alone enjoy it but even the simple act of smiling and

Eamon Kelly 18/05/2020

Study Tips

The Jigsaw Method

The other day, in the midst of all the other fantastic things this lockdown has brought into my life, we were sitting around completing a jigsaw puzzle. The initial excitement slowly waned and it dragged on for the next few days, sitting unfinished on the dining room table. As it sat there uncompleted, there were mixed feelings; scrap it or power on. When the final few pieces fell into place, I could not help but notice the similarities between completing this puzzle and completing other tasks, from day-to-day chores to big assignments. One-by-one, the pieces fit together and slowly, the

Eamon Kelly 11/05/2020

Study Tips

Hard is Doable

An important step in becoming a better student, a better learner or even a better person is coming face-to-face with the tasks in our lives we find hard. In this post, I would like to explore the feelings and attitudes we have towards those tasks through the lens of a student faced with another assignment. Do not get me wrong, there are still plenty of tasks that I do not want to do, either because they are hard or I am just lazy but sometimes it is important to take a step back and understand why it is we feel

Eamon Kelly 04/05/2020

Study Tips

Learning to Learn

Learning is a skill. Just like throwing a ball, baking cookies, playing an instrument or even public speaking, it is something that we can practice and refine. Just like those skills, we have to start somewhere. If you have never thought about your ability to learn as a skill, then a good place to start is by finding out what is the most effective way to improve and get the most out of it. And to do that we should aim to practice under the best conditions. So what are those conditions? How can we get the most out of

Eamon Kelly 27/04/2020