Big Picture: Learning how to revise successfully Revision – Why bother? To know the stuff! To give you confidence To know that you have tried your best

Revision – How do I start? Big Picture: Learning how to revise successfully You never plan to fail…you can only fail to plan: Benjamin Franklin supposedly once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Sir Winston Churchill is credited with another, oft repeated, saying: “Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.” POAPOA Plan Of Action

Revision – What do I do? Big Picture: Learning how to revise successfully Know what you need to know: For Biology, you have the sections in the revision guide clearly labelled. The learning outcome lists guide you on exactly what you need to be able to do for each topic. Work out how much time you have got to revise: Be realistic about how much time you can spend. But don’t leave it too late! A revision timetable is always a good idea. Browse through EVERYTHING you are going to need to know – Skim read it. Get an overview of what you have to study BUT – Don’t spend too long! (10 mins)

Revision – What do I do? Big Picture: Learning how to revise successfully Work out how much time you have got to revise cont…: Decide how long you have to spend on each section and write this onto your timetable/revision plan: eg. SaturdaySundayMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursday B1a & bB1c & dB1 e& fB1g & h Review ALL/Hardest parts TEST!!!

Revision – What do I do? Big Picture: Learning how to revise successfully Plan what you will actually do in your revision time: Reading the revision guide alone is NOT ENOUGH!!! Make your revision ACTIVE: 5 min Mind Map of what you know so far 5 min – Pick out the key themes (Mind map outline/ headings on revision cards/ headings on a poster) 10 min on each ‘theme’ – 1) Preview skim read, 2) fill in notes on the ‘easy’ parts, 3) read in detail the ‘difficult’ parts, 4) make notes on difficult parts (diagrams if possible), 5) Apply a ‘memory trick’ for the hardest parts.

Making notes Big Picture: Learning how to revise successfully Mind maps – ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’

Making notes Big Picture: Learning how to revise successfully Traditional notes – with gaps! A reflex ………………. describes the sequence of events that happen in the body to protect itself from ……………….. for example ………………………………………………. The sequence of stages is: St…………….. R……………………… Sensory …………………………… …………………………… neurone (across the spinal ………..) M………….. neurone R…………….. Effector (eg. ……………………………………………….)

Making notes Big Picture: Learning how to revise successfully Diagrams – either hand drawn or printed out but with gaps to label or annotate them. Annotations to pages in the revision guide e.g. highlighting or underlining or making notes in the margin (eg with the memory tricks) Colour

Memory tricks Big Picture: Learning how to revise successfully Mnemonics Hooks Associations – links with bits of biology you already know Use your senses Imaginative stories Rhythm Exaggeration

Review time Big Picture: Learning how to revise successfully Review your notes regularly: - Once the same day (5 min) -Once the day after (10 min) -Once a week later – even after the test! (10 min) Each time you review, dso, start and end on a different theme. This takes advantage of the ‘Primacy’ and ‘Recency’ effect.