Revision and Study Skills

The conversation……… Why should you revise? Where should you revise? When should you revise? How should you revise? How often should you revise?

What the students say: Keep your nose out ‘coz it’s so annoying Stop nagging Leave us alone – if s/he left me alone I might actually do some revision Keep the house quiet and siblings under control Don’t force us to make a revision timetable Money/biscuits to revise please!

The most effective revision time The concentration span in minutes of a person is their age, plus or minus one. This means that the concentration span of a 16 year old is 15 to 17 minutes – bitesize chunks Take a break, “All work and no play…” Begin revising as early as possible, the more they do the easier it becomes. Optimum is 6-8 weeks

How should they revise? If you just sit down to revise, without a definite finishing time, then your learning efficiency falls lower and lower, like this:

If they decide at the beginning how long they will work for, with a clock, then as the brain knows the end is coming, the graph rises towards the end How can they improve this?

How can you improve this even more? If you break up a 2-hour session, into shorter sessions, for example 17 minutes, with a short planned break between each session, learning is more efficient. Compare the next 2 graphs:

One solid session 4 shorter sessions The yellow area shows the improvement.

The Curve of Forgetting! Look at the graph below: It shows how much your brain can recall later. It rises for about 10 minutes …and then falls. How often should they revise?

if they quickly re-revise after 10 minutes, then it falls more slowly! This is good. Analyse the new graph: However,

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

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

10 minutes 1 day 1 week …and then 1 month So the best intervals for ‘topping-up’, by reviewing or briefly re-revising are: When to Revise?

Where should student revise? What’s wrong with this picture?

Where should students revise? What is better here?

START WITH THE HARDEST. When freshest tackle the subject that they find hardest.

What you can do to help... Plan around your child e.g. family activities Cut back on some extra-curricular activities If financially possible, suspend part-time jobs GET THE BALANCE RIGHT!

What you can do to help... Treats e.g. food, TV at lunch Motivation – goals and ambitions Short term/long term treats Rewards for revision and not results Be involved!!!

Revision Techniques and Tricks

Either on paper or electronically Make this achievable Study Plan

Flash cards

Mind Maps

Graphical organisers

Flow chart

Venn Diagram

Comparison Alley

Comparison Junction

Double-Bubble Map

Circle Map

Multi-Flow Map

Revision notes Memory joggers Brief Diagrams and text Colour Visual tools

Post-its Vocabulary, key equations, quotes, formulae Can be stuck around the house

Mnemonics Putting something memorable in your head. Information to be recalled Short, memorable and fun! E.g. OIL RIG – Oxidation is loss, reduction is gain

Song Name Expression Model Ode/Rhyme Note Cards Image Spelling 50 Nifty US Songs (States) Pvt Tim Hall (Amino Acids) MVEMJSUNP (Planets) Recall/Interpretation/Applic ation/Analysis, Synthesis/Evaluation (Bloom) 30 days… (Days in the month) Quizzes (Answers on reverse) (BAT that is limp!) Receive? Chief? Achieve? (ib4e)

MP3/podcasts/video For those who learn best by listening. Revision can be taken out and about. Podcasts are already available for some subjects. Audio/video recordings can be easily made on smart phones/MP3 players which can be personalised.

On Exam Day

On the exam days The night before, make sure they have put everything they need in their school bag : like extra BLACK pens, pencils, transparent pencil-case, calculator and maths equipment. If they have a mobile phone, remind them that anyone with any electronic device on or off found during an examination will be considered to have cheated Make sure the alarm is set so they’re not rushing and have time to eat breakfast. Say: “ Don’t panic, don’t worry - just do your best.” Tell them to say it to themselves during an exam. Arrive at least 10 mins early Illness and late arrival

Exams Why do people fail exams? Not taking responsibility for their own learning Failure to read instructions Failure to read questions properly “Analyse the style and tone of the discussion and what can be inferred about the relationship between these two people” Lack of preparation Inappropriate preparation Question choice Not being familiar with the format of the paper/style of the questions Not following the marking scheme Hard work!

Why do people fail exams? Not managing time/running out of time Getting stuck on one question Lack of planning Waffle Poor academic style Wrong/lack of equipment Last minute preparation Panic Lack of effort - physical and mental SOMETIMES JUST BAD LUCK!

Any questions?