This article first appeared in Queenwood News Weekly 3 August 2018.

In order to make a decision the brain has to do a lot of work. The striatum is the key part of the brain involved in decision-making. According to research conducted by neuroscientists in Japan (Ito and Doya, 2015), there are three regions in this area of the brain working together in a co-ordinated hierarchy to control functions associated with motivation, adaptive decisions and routine actions. Each plays a discrete part but also needs to harmonise effectively in the different stages of decision-making. The pre-frontal cortex is also known to play a part in all decision-making processes. Essentially these studies shed light on the very complex and powerful tool we have inside our heads!

The brain is working hard because it is processing new information, speculating about the consequences of making certain choices and processing the associated emotions that arise throughout the experience. A quick Google search will tell you that the average number of decisions a person makes each day is about 35,000; a staggering thought. Of course not all of those will be life-changing (Do I have Vegemite toast or porridge for breakfast?) but many are significant.

We are very aware of the burden such decision-making places on our students at key stages in their schooling. This is particularly evident in Year 8 when girls are choosing electives for the first time, and again in Year 10 when girls select both their learning pathway (HSC or IB) and their associated subjects. It arises yet again for some girls in Years 11 or 12 when adjustments might be made to patterns of study in the HSC program or in the selection of Higher Level and Standard level courses for our IB students. At the time, these decisions can certainly be perceived as life-changing. Girls may feel overwhelmed by the options before them and are burdened with the speculation about the consequences of their decision in the short and long term.

With this context in mind, we have developed a number of processes to assist girls in easing this cognitive and emotional load. The first thing to ensure is that girls have all the information they need to assist in making their choices. They need to know their strengths and weaknesses, their abilities and interests, and they need to know requirements universities may have for further study options. It is also important to pace the distribution of this information so it does not feel vast or difficult to interpret and can be applied to their own unique circumstances.

We deliberately space out the steps towards senior subject selection across two terms for our Year 10 girls. An overview of the process is shared in Term 1 at the Information Night. This is followed by the online Morrisby testing and Academic Services Testing. The reports produced by both of these tests provide girls with insights into their abilities and interests and give some general suggestions for post-school study and work. Our Careers Advisors lead the girls through the Morrisby Report to make sure they understand how to interpret the recommendations. The girls may feel the report merely affirms what they are already thinking or throws a curve ball into the dreams they have been cultivating; it is important they see it as one of many sources from which to draw information.

One of the key themes the girls will hear repeatedly during the subject selection process is to do what you love. It may seem like a tired cliché but it is really an essential truth. Passion and positivity are good places to start when you are considering your options. You are more likely to be willing to work hard and spend long hours of study on something that genuinely interests you and sparks curiosity. It is also important because for the first time, the possibilities are unlimited. As they come to grips with both the possibilities and the uncertainties, a positive disposition will help that very tired brain map out a brighter, imagined pathway as it speculates what might come from this choice, or that choice…or this choice… or that…

Mrs Kim Elith
Director of Curriculum