A practical guide to support effective revision
Preparing for Mock & Real Examinations It is very normal for us to tell ourselves that “everything is fine”, or that “I’ll get started tomorrow”. The biggest challenge is getting started - NOW
Positive Behaviours & Marginal Gains: small changes that make a big difference
The ‘marginal gains’ approach is really helpful in supporting students to be more effective - just by making small but significant changes to daily routines and habits, a great deal of progress can be made over time.
Advice to pupils: ● Make sure that you have a list of all topics and sub-topics on the syllabus - y1/L6& y2/U6 ● Create a realistic plan of when you will revisit each topic ● Make sure that you have all the suggested study guides and textbooks ● Do something active, DON’T JUST READ. It won’t stick. ● Make notes THEN apply to a past paper ● Mind your language!
Promoting effective activity Weak learning
Strong learning
Fitting revision in
A planned timetable
Working for 3 hours non-stop
Work for focused bursts of 30-40 minutes at a time
‘Bits and pieces’, jumping around topics Reading over the textbook Using phone to access the internet Secretive or isolated work Fear of failure
Use of checklists and syllabus guides Making notes, a diagram, cue cards, mind maps Agreed periods where phone is away Talking through, checking Visualising success
How parents can help STEER revision Space - quiet, undisturbed, not isolated Time - planned, short & frequent Empathy - listen, reassure, offer perspective Exercise - daily activity combats stress Resources - stationery, IT, food & water!
Make a Plan for “Little & Often”
Stage 1 Pupils revising need to start by revisiting content. This needs to be based on reliable resources (e.g a textbook or study guide) Pupils then need to DO something with the information. For example, they could create: ● Mindmaps ● Revision cards ● Notes ● Knowledge organisers
Stage 2 Pupils then need to bring their knowledge together and apply it to past questions. This is important rehearsal, because this is where other factors such as timing, technique, sequencing and structure can also be significant. Pupils can use online platforms such as ‘Dr Frost’ or ‘Seneca’, but should also attempt past exam papers and example questions from study guides.
How to Make a Knowledge Organiser
What is a knowledge organiser? ● ● ●
Allows you to put the key information for a unit of work in one place Creating your own organiser helps you to learn information by sorting, prioritising and then writing it out Having the organiser helps you to revisit the information frequently, and complete practice questions:
Why knowledge organisers work: The theory behind this approach (from Neuroscience, psychology, and education research) ● ●
●
Dual-coding - using both words and images to reinforce one another Schemas - creating mental pictures, webs or maps of information that your can visualise and use to make sense of information by putting it in context of other related information Spaced retrieval - You need to keep going back over each subject and unit, and not revise all in one go. Pupils can keep adding to their organiser for each topic, each time they revisit it.
Key tip: Although knowledge organisers can be found online and downloaded, or bought in study guides, encouraging pupils to make their own is when they are most powerful for understanding and memorising a topic.
Steps to make your organiser:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
M emory takes practice N ever rely on just reading E asier to learn when you M ake links or do something new O rdering information makes it more memorable Never use someone else’s organiser Individual memory needs individual work Carry your organisers with you for revision throughout the day!
Choose the subject that you want to revise Get a list of units or topics for that subject Starting at the beginning of the list, create one organiser per unit. Take one sheet of A3 paper Fold it into four sections Label each section: a. Key vocabulary b. Key facts c. Key diagram or evaluation points (strengths & weaknesses) d. Key examples / experiments / quotes (as relevant to subject) Fill in each section using your textbook, revision guide and exercise book Now fold the sheet back in half, with the information already completed on the ‘inside’ On the outside half, add typical exam questions with the command words in bold. Add sentence starters that support each type of command word Fold in half again - on one quarter, add a title and a picture relevant to the unit On the back quarter, add the most important five key words for the unit OR create a mnemonic to help you recall the key points in that unit.
Key facts, formulae, vocabulary
Key people or processes
Topic: Key examples & quotes
Diagrams or pictures to illustrate
Use your organiser!
1.
Now find a past paper or some exam-style questions from your teacher.
2.
Before you start the questions, read over your organiser.
3.
Try to get a picture in your mind of the way the organiser looks
4.
Now cover the organiser
5.
Run through each section or list in your mind
6.
Now turn to the past/example questions and try to apply your knowledge
7.
Always check the marks available to guide the amount you write
8.
Always check the command words in the question to write in the correct style
9.
Check your answers, either using a mark scheme or ask your teacher to mark your work
10.
If you missed out information from your answer, do you need to add this to your knowledge organiser? Review your organiser and add any extra required info.
You also need to plan to keep going back to each unit on a cycle, don’t just revise each topic once. This is where the revision plan comes in. Plan a two week cycle of subjects and topics between now and the exams