Victory Park twins prove benefit of studying together

OWN CORRESPONDENT

The loneliness combined with the pressure of having to achieve marks that will ensure an entry into tertiary education adds to the stress on young lives.

For twins Gaby and Josh Nossel, 2018 matriculants at King David Victory Park, the experience was very different. “We have always worked and studied together” says Josh. “I can’t remember a time throughout our school career where my brother and I weren’t doing things together. Homework, projects or studying was always a combined effort.”

The twins were also almost inevitably next to each other on the soccer or rugby field, creating a strong combination through their mutual understanding of each other.

It was obviously worthwhile, considering that they were King David Victory Park’s top achievers. The boys have always done the same subjects, and have achieved very similar marks. “There hasn’t been more than a 1% difference in our marks since primary school, but we have never competed with each other,” says Gaby. “We have slightly different strengths, with Josh preferring languages, and my preference for maths.”

They say that research supports the value of studying together. Students are able to absorb the work better by looking at their notes while a peer is explaining something to them. In addition, when a student has to explain a concept to another student, it ensures a better understanding of the problem.

“When we were in Grade 10, we ran a programme at a government school that we called Learn-2-Teach. We taught maths and science to a few other Grade 10s, which had us learning the work so we could teach someone else.” says Josh. “When you try explain a maths or science problem, you get a real sense whether you understand it yourself.”

Beyond enhancing the learning process, the stress-management benefits of having someone to chat to and not being alone are quite significant. “The two of us would study together, most of the time lying in bed with our notes lying all over the place. To be honest, it wasn’t particularly stressful for us. If we didn’t understand something, we would ask each other. Often we would argue about who was right. I would always remember our arguments and debates in the exams,” says Gaby.

“We also played a lot of Fortnite during exam time. It allowed us to switch off, and in a way, spend time with our friends,” Josh says.

There is no doubt that matric can be an incredibly stressful year, but these two teens make a pretty convincing argument for not doing it alone.