Never too Late!
As the GCSE and A level exams get closer it can feel like it is too late to make a difference to you results. Perhaps you have been putting off revising and now you are wondering if there is any point. Or maybe you are thinking if you don’t “get” it now you never will. You could be feeling overwhelmed by the work load of revising and are putting you head back under the duvet rather than tackling it.
But as Tesco’s will tell you “Every Little Helps” and even small actions can help you to gain crucial marks on your exam.
You can watch a short, fun video on scientifically proven study tips here.
So it is time to come out from under the duvet and take some small actions that will make a big difference....
No. 1: Break it down and prioritise – Rank topics on a 5 point scale with 1 being completely confident and 5 being no clue at all. Then tackle topics with a rating of 2 and 3 first. This means you are working on topics where you will make the most gains quickly. For topics with a 4 or 5 you are going to need help from your teacher, parent, friend or the internet. Tackle one of these every now and then but don’t use all your time on them.
No. 2: Use every minute – If you’ve only got 10 minutes before dinner you still have 10 minutes! Use those minutes to give yourself a quick formula quiz using your revision cards or to answer two exam questions under time pressure. Whilst it is tempting to write off small periods of time studies show they are more effective than long sessions; so use even 1 minute slots to test your knowledge.
No.3: Get creative and reprocess – If you just read through your exercise and textbooks you are setting yourself up to FAIL (even if you use 4 different highlighters!). Revision needs to be creative and active to engage every part of your brain in reprocessing the information. The more parts of your brain you involve the more pathways to the information you develop. Make double sided revision cards – e.g. Area of a Triangle/ ½ bXh so that you can test yourself by looking at one side and recalling the other. Draw mind maps of information. Answer exam questions under timed conditions. Sort information into categories. Create your own questions. Think reprocessing, reprocessing, reprocessing!
No. 4: Forgetting strengthens learning – Don’t be put off if you revise something only to find you have forgotten it the next day. This is normal! You need to relearn information several times to create new pathways in your brain that makes the learning permanent; forgetting strengthens your learning as long as you repeat the learning. Tutees often complain to me that they have difficulty remembering maths topics even though they understand it in the classroom. But the brain needs you to make an effort to repeat learning before it can move information from your short-term (working) memory to the long-term memory. It’s not that you CAN’T remember it is that you don’t remember it YET.
You have the power to make a difference to your grades. Start now and make the small changes that will have a big impact. Good Luck!
