• Matric learners can practise past papers under real exam time limits before using official marking guides to find their weak spots.
• Free online study material can help learners, but access to devices, data and a quiet place to study remains a problem.
Matric final exams are here and learners are under pressure to remember months of work and get the results they need.
But extra help does not always have to mean paying for an expensive tutor.
Teneo Online School Phase Head Tracey Clayton says some of the best study tools are available free.
One of the most useful is also one of the simplest: old exam papers.
The Department of Basic Education has years of past papers and marking guides available online.
But Clayton says learners should not simply read through them.
They should recreate the pressure of a real exam.
Set a timer. Put away the notes. Write the paper. Then use the official marking guide to check every answer.
“If you work through them under proper time pressure and then mark yourself against the memo, really honestly, seeing exactly where the marks went, that’s most of what a good tutor would have you doing anyway,” Clayton said.
Learners can also form small study groups and ask their teachers for help.
But instead of telling a teacher they do not understand mathematics, Clayton suggests identifying the exact question or calculation causing trouble.
Free websites such as Siyavula and Khan Academy can also help.
“The free stuff is genuinely good,” Clayton said.
But learners should not forget an old fashioned study tool: pen and paper.
Writing answers, calculations and diagrams by hand can help learners work through problems without immediately looking at the answer.
A notebook can also be used to keep track of difficult topics that need more attention.
There is, however, a catch with free online education.
Learners still need a cellphone or computer, data and somewhere suitable to study.
“For a lot of families here, that’s not a given,” Clayton said.
Learners who have internet access at school, libraries or other places can download material to use later.
Friends can also share downloaded resources and past papers.
Clayton said technology has made educational support more widely available, but inequalities remain.
“So it narrows the gap. It doesn’t close it,” she said.
“Access to the device, the data, the quiet corner is just as important as the content.”
