Feb 19 / by The Learning Liaisons

How to Create a Study Schedule for Teacher Certification Success

 Introduction

Are you experiencing big feelings about an upcoming teacher certification exam? Many do. We understand how challenging it can be to balance personal and professional responsibilities while studying. 

But we know that success is possible with the proper preparation, including drawing up a study schedule. It provides a roadmap to guide you through everything that needs to be covered in the run-up to the exam. 

We at The Learning Liaisons believe teacher candidates can succeed when given the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitude. In that spirit, we have created the following guide, which includes step-by-step tips and tools for building a study schedule.

Step 1: Assess Your Certification Timeline

Understand Your Exam Date

Ensure the exam date is marked on your calendar or scheduling app. The date and time should also be on your exam ticket. If not, you can go to your account on the website where you booked the exam and check the time there. 

Using the exam date, you’ll be able to work backward to see how much time you have to prepare.

Determine How Much Time You Have to Study

Determine how much time you have to prepare for the exam. As mentioned above, work backward from the exam date until you reach the current date. 

Next, review your calendar or scheduling app and mark all open spaces not taken up by personal and professional commitments. Use these open spaces to evaluate how much time is realistically available to dedicate toward preparing for your exam. 

If you have plenty of space, you can begin preparation closer to the exam, such as 3 to 4 weeks away. If you have incredibly limited free time, you may need to start preparing months in advance. 

Once you’ve determined how much preparation time you require, block out all the necessary open spaces like you would for a meeting with your boss. Scheduling your study sessions ensures that future commitments, like dentist appointments, car service, or a coffee with a friend, cannot eat up the time. 

Break Down the Exam Content

Review the Exam Blueprint

Review the exam blueprint by going to the site where you booked your exam, such as ETS Praxis. Locate the site’s official study guide and go to the section discussing the break down of the exam content. There, they go through crucial information like:

  •    Exam length. 
  •    Number of questions on the exam and the format (multiple-choice, essays). 
  •    Content areas of the exam. 
  •    The percentage (number of questions) for each content area. 
  •    Sub-areas of each content area. 


For example, The Praxis Core: Writing (5723) blueprint is:

  •    Exam length: 100 minutes.
  •    Number of Questions: 40 selected response questions (40 minutes test), 2 essays (30 minutes each). 
  •    Content areas of exam and percentages: Text Types, purpose, and Production (60%), Language and Research Skills for Writing (40%).


Return to your calendar or scheduling app and assign a content area or sub-area as the focus of the study session. Content areas that comprise a greater percentage of an exam typically require more study blocks.  

 Prioritize Weak Areas

Go through the content areas and sub-areas of the exam, highlighting your weakest areas, and mark any that you’ve mastered. Preparation time in strong areas can be reduced so you can prioritize your weakest areas. Return to your schedule and adjust the time blocks accordingly.

Later, when you take practice quizzes and full-length practice tests, you can review your strengths. Should it be revealed there are some holes in your strong areas; you can adjust your schedule again to address them.

Step 3: Set Clear Study Goals

Daily Goals

Daily goals should define the purpose of that period’s study session. Examples of daily goals include:

  •    Read one chapter of the study guide and go through flash cards. 
  •    Take a practice quiz and review the areas where I missed questions.
  •    Watch a video on a content area, followed by answering study guide questions for that section.

Weekly Goals

Weekly goals should reflect the accumulation of that week’s preparation. Examples of weekly goals include:

  •    Take a practice quiz for all content studied during the week. 
  •    Review flashcards for all content studied during the week. 
  •    Meet with a study group to discuss challenges and get ideas for new strategies and tactics.

 Long-Term Goals

Long-term goals should reflect the accumulation of preparation at scheduled intervals. Examples of long-term goals include:

  •    Complete the first half of the online boot camp. 
  •    Master all content areas by week 6.
  •    Score at least 85% on practice exams.

Step 4: Choose the Right Study Tools

Recommended Study Resources

Choose the right study resources in preparation for your study sessions. Some recommendations include:

Create Templates

Create templates or charts to stay on track. You can use Google Sheets, apps, or even a whiteboard. 

Ideas for valuable templates or sheets:

  •    Weekly and monthly schedule templates for study planning.
  •    Tools for tracking progress and accountability.
  •    Quiz and full-length scores and content break down to assess strengths and weaknesses.

Apps and Digital Tools

Apps and digital tools are excellent for exam preparation. Some to consider include:

  •    Flashcard apps (e.g., Quizlet, Anki).
  •    Time management apps (e.g., Trello, Todoist, Toggle Trac.).
  •    Improve focus during studying (Be Focused, Tide). 
  •    Reduce test-taking anxiety (Calm, Headspace,  Breathe2Relax).

Step 5: Build Your Study Schedule

Daily Study Blocks

Everyone is short of time, so ensure your study blocks are designed to be effective. Five hours sounds impressive, but at least four-fifths of it will be wasted. The University of North Carolina recommends keeping intensive study sessions to 30-45 minutes. 

After that, take a break, like taking a short walk, before trying to do more work. For example, if you took a study quiz, don’t grade it immediately. Instead, take that walk, come back, mark it, and review the areas requiring more attention. 

An excellent way to learn how to break up study blocks is by using The Pomodoro Technique.

Weekly Study Plan

Review your schedule and ensure you’ve structured your week to balance study sessions with breaks.

Example template:

  •    Monday: Read study materials for Topic A.
  •    Tuesday: Watch instructional videos for Topic A.
  •    Wednesday: Complete practice questions for Topic A.
  •    Thursday: Review notes and revisit weak areas.
  •    Friday: Rest day from study preparation.

Incorporate Rest and Flexibility

Resting when a deadline looms seems counterproductive, like taking an essential exam. However, avoiding rest is damaging to mental health, can cause burnout, and, as we mentioned above, can lead to unproductive study sessions. 

Tips to incorporate Rest and Flexibility include:

  •    Overschedule the number of sessions so that if an unexpected event arises, you can handle it without putting your exam success at risk. 
  •    Block out self-care time, such as exercise, meditation, meeting with friends, or watching a movie. 
  •    Adjust your schedule as needed. If you master a section faster than anticipated, take a rest day. Have an emergency? Don’t panic! That’s why you blocked out extra time. Just fix the schedule once you have a moment. 

Step 6: Monitor and Adjust Your Progress

Take Regular Practice Tests

Regularly taking practice tests and quizzes is a fantastic tool for monitoring your preparation progress. Using the results allows you to adjust your study schedule accordingly so your study time is used where you need it most. 

In addition, the mock tests help familiarize yourself with the exam format. The more comfortable you are with the exam format and material, the more you reduce test anxiety on the big day.

Track Your Progress

Track your exam preparation progress to ensure you are meeting your goals. Useful ways to keep tabs on your preparation progress include the following:

  •    Mark progress on an Excel sheet.
  •    Record results on a Google Sheet.
  •    Create a checklist.
  •    Enter data into a study app, like Study Tracker.

Review regularly, regardless of how you decide to track your progress. Consistent check-ins will ensure your progress stays on schedule, increasing your chances of success.

Conclusion

Passing your teacher certification exam is possible when following a well-crafted study schedule. The key to success is consistency. A beautiful plan is useless unless you are committed to using it throughout the study preparation process. 

Need help? Contact The Learning Liaisons. We have years of experience helping and guiding teaching candidates to achieve exam preparation success.