Revision Tips and Techniques Assembly 2 of

The truth about exams Exams are not designed to catch you out. They provide an opportunity for you to demonstrate your abilities. Examiners like giving marks to people who do what is asked of them. Exams can be completed in the allotted time. Everyone’s memory is sufficient.

Revision Success Revision is a means of going back over what you have been taught so that it stays in your long term memory To remember work you must rehearse it regularly Therefore, you must commit the time to your revision programme Make a plan and stick to it

How long do you revise for? Don’t spend too long revising in one go. There is the law of diminishing returns. If you just sit down to revise, without a definite finishing time, then your learning efficiency falls lower and lower, like this:

If you decide at the beginning how long you will work for, with a clock, then, as your brain knows the end is coming, the graph rises towards the end.

If you break up a 2- hour session into 4 shorter sessions, each of about 25-minutes, with a short planned break between them, then it is even better. Compare the next 2 graphs: One solid session 4 shorter sessions The yellow area shows the improvement.

Look at the graph below: It shows how much your brain can recall later. It rises for about 10 minutes …and then falls.

Even better... if you quickly re-revise again, after 1 day, then it falls even more slowly! Good ! Analyse the new graph:

And even better... if you quickly re-revise again, after 1 week, then it falls even more slowly! Great! Analyse the new graph:

What type of learner are you? Visual Auditory Kinaesthetic

Visual –flashcards –imagine story –posters –spider diagrams / mind maps –PowerPoint –Colour, font, highlighter CODES (not random!) –Videos VISUAL Learning & Revision

AUDITORY Learning & Revision Auditory –Say/record list aloud- ipod –Say spellings aloud –Teach your friends and family –Put to rhyme / music (Hey diddle diddle the median is in the middle……..)- create your own –Word link –Group revision

AUDITORY Learning & Revision Mnemonics " SOH - CAH - TOA! " Pronounced "...soaker toe-er..." where: Sin Ø = Opposite/Hypotenuse Cos Ø = Adjacent/Hypotenuse Tan Ø = Opposite/Adjacent sides " Some Old Horses Can And Have Teeth On Approval"

KINAESTHETIC Learning & Revision Kinaesthetic –write out (notes  summary  summary again  key words on cards  carry round and test yourself) –mini whiteboards / frames –Verbalise, talk things through in your own words –match flashcards, key words and meanings –Computer games

KINAESTHETIC Learning & Revision Kinaesthetic –get someone to test aloud (friend, family) - if you can explain it to someone else, you can explain it in an exam!) –ask questions –create poster/PowerPoint

Best revision technique? Ensure you know the subject material by revising fully using the techniques which suit you. However, the best way to revise, ultimately, is to complete exam questions under time pressure so you mimic examination conditions. Mark the questions using the exam board’s mark scheme.