Effective revision strategies

Effective revision strategies
PTA Meeting

Structure Part 1: Preparation Part 2: Effective revision strategies
Part 3: Creating a supportive environment Part 4: Examinations

Part 1 – Preparation

Exam Calendar Year Group Exam Dates Type Internal/External Grades/
Mark/ Level 7 3 June – 7 June End of Year Assessment Internal /20 & Level 1-3 8 10 June – 14 June 9 24 June – 28 June 10 9-1 11 13 May – 26 June GCSE Exams External 12 14 June – 21 June UCAS Exams A*-E 13 A Level Exams

Before starting revision, students should be encouraged to…
Eat a healthy breakfast and maintain a balanced diet Put phones and music away Ensure plenty of sleep Use revision checklists to create a revision timetable Have all the appropriate equipment and resources ready Research by the neuroscientist Matthew Walker has shown that only after sleep do the neurones make connections from learning/repitition. So there’s no point cutting sleep and cramming at the last moment!

Eat a healthy breakfast and maintain a balanced diet It is estimated that around 27% of boys and 39% of girls skip breakfast some or all of the time. Research has found that skipping this meal significantly reduces students’ attention and their ability to recall information – but try and ensure it’s a nutritious one! Top tips from nutritionists Eat wholegrains eg Porridge/wholemeal bread – combining wholegrain with protein can help keep blood sugar levels low and balanced which is essential for mood and concentration Nuts and berries are ideal snacks. These have a high antioxidant content and is good for the brain! Drink plenty of water – a recent study found that keeping hydrated can boost focus during revision Limit caffeine intake (energy drinks often have lots of caffeine in them)

Put phones and music away Evidence suggests students who study in a quiet environment recall more than those who revise while listening to music. Researchers also found that the mere sight of a phone was enough to reduce a person’s ability to focus.

Main Findings of listening to music
whilst revising study Whilst listening to music to revise can help lift your mood, it takes up processing space. This conflicts with the material you are trying to learn, effectively creating a bottleneck in your memory, as there is less space to process what you are revising. The study revealed that a quiet environment was most effective. Students who revised in quiet environments performed more than 60% better in an exam than their peers who revised while listening to music that had lyrics. Students who revised while listening to music without lyrics did better than those who had revised to music with lyrics.

Get plenty of sleep Research shows that sleep helps learners to: Recall information Make links Consolidate understanding Learn new information Concentrate and focus During the slow wave sleep the brain appears to replay the information that was learned whilst it was awake, which leads to consolidation of memories, which moves them in to longer term storage

Be proactive in their learning at school… Think about and analyse what the teacher is saying. Where does it fit in what they already know? If they are unsure of anything, ask the teacher to explain it again and listen to the answer. Write this down with the question to revise later. Listen to what others say and ask questions in class discussion. Keep tidy and readable notes. Try to write down the key ideas, facts and details. Try out different ways and styles of learning. How do they learn best? Make the most of any support that is offered to them! Keep on top of homework using show my homework to organise their time

Use revision checklists to create a revision timetable Identify topics for revision by looking at course specifications and textbooks Identify topics that you are weakest on Plan a revision timetable using this prioritising your WEAKEST areas

Model for year 11, 12 and 13 study leave/half term = 6 hours a day
Divide your day into 3 x 4 hour sessions (eg 8am-12, 1pm-5pm & 6pm-10pm) Work for 2 out of the 3 sessions per day. In each session you should aim to do at least 3 hours of hard work. Eg, for each session: 45mins work, 15 min break X 4 Be mindful of when your most efficient times of the day are and work around that Plan something fun, best if it’s outdoors for your break session

Date Morning Afternoon Evening 14th May Geography Urban rebranding FREE Business Studies Marketing 15th May Biology Heart Coasts 16th May Financial Ratios 17th May Do a timetable like this based on when you work best – I work best in the morning and in the evenings

For key stage 3 end of year exams
Start 4 weeks before Divide your afternoon into 3 x 45 minute sessions (eg 4pm to 4.45pm, 5pm to 5.45pm, 6pm to 6.45pm ) For each session: 45mins work, 15 min break X 2 Split their subjects between these sessions E.g. 1 = Geography, 2 = Science, 3 = German

Spaced Retrieval Practice
The graph above – The ‘Forgetting Curve’ stems from the work of a 19th Century German psychologist called Herman Ebbinghaus. He did experiments – on himself – on human memory. He taught himself made up, nonsensical words and then tested himself over time to see how long he could remember them for. As can be seen, and not surprisingly, over time the retention of the words went down – until the words were reviewed. Then the retention increased. What’s interesting is that with regular review, the ‘forgetting time’ gets longer – so going back over the words made it easier to remember them. The implications of this? If we want students to be able to remember things, we need to keep returning to them and reviewing them. What we tend to do though is learn a topic, then move on to another, then another etc etc. Thus making being able to recall the knowledge difficult. So what could we do to address this?

Make it Stick: Spaced retrieval practice
Study information more than once Regular low-stakes quizzing (retrieval practice), leaving greater gaps as you go. The scores for these tests are not important. What’s important is the act or retrieval – that’s what seems to have an impact on retention. Avoid a ‘practice, practice, practice’ regime Retrieval is best when it’s effortful, when some forgetting has set in. Be wary of intuition – it may seem that we are getting better yet we fail to see how quickly these gains fade.

Part 2 – Effective Revision Strategies

What is effective revision?
Research based on ‘improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques’ (2003) found that some strategies, such as re-reading and using highlighters is ineffective as it does not test a student’s understanding of a topic. Quite often, students end up highlighting whole chunks and passages of text, which can give the appearance of having worked hard, but is of little value.

A successful approach to revision needs to be deeply rooted in subject knowledge, and sustained over time. Here are some effective techniques that students can use to test their understanding of a topic Quizzes Mnemonics Mind maps, lists and diagrams Graphic organisers - mind maps, lists and diagrams Just a minute Flashcards Teach someone

Quizzes Short answer quiz Multiple choice Comprehension style
A quiz is a useful way to encourage self testing, which is proven to be a robust revision strategy, so that students can calibrate their knowledge and remembering. The various types of quiz include: Short answer quiz Multiple choice Comprehension style

Mnemonics Memory tools that you can create yourself, to form associations with information that is otherwise difficult to recall. This might involve creating vivid mental pictures; making up stories to remember a sequence of information; or picturing facts as locations on a map. For example, if a medical student wanted to recall that the three types of depressants are B = Barbiturates, A = Alcohol and T = Tranquilizers

Flashcards

Graphic organisers Graphic organisers encourage students to reconstruct their revision topics, making meaningful links and connections

This style of model is helpful for revising longer written tasks that require students to consider both sides of a point of view. The sequential thinking model separates both sides of thought and then explores each one in more detail This is ideal as a planning tool for the English Language Question 5.

Mind maps Another example of graphic organisers is mind maps. Students can test their memory by trying to recreate a mind map about a specific topic. Colour code the lines and ideas to help you remember the content. For example if you were mind mapping the second world war you could have blue lines for the causes of the war, red lines for the key players in the build up and green lines for the important dates.

Lists Make yourself a list of all the specialist terms that relate to what you are revising. This might be key definitions, a list of key events and dates or a list of formulae that you need for an exam. Number the points in your list. On a blank sheet of paper, write down the numbers and try to recreate the list. Which numbers couldn’t you write next to?

Just a minute Students have to talk for a minute on any given topic without any hesitations or pauses If a student can elaborate on a topic and explain it well, they have retrieved it from memory and consolidated their understanding too

Teach someone Once a student has tested themselves, they could then teach the material to someone else This has been found to help aid memory and recall: it is known as the ‘Protege effect’ Teaching someone else requires you to learn and organise your knowledge in a clear and structured manner.

Past Papers For KS4 and KS5 revising using past papers is essential
These can be found from the exam board websites AQA, OCR and Edexcel Revise from mark schemes Time yourself closed book then self assess Read the examiners reports as they share common misconceptions Reflect on your weak areas!

Other Online Resources
SAM Learning (Centre ID: w7dm | Login: BBC Bitesize Edmodo quiz Youtube videos cgpbooks.co.uk parentsintouch.co.uk getrevising.co.uk S-cool.co.uk As well as many subject specific websites that can be obtained from their class teacher

Student Voice Opinion on Revision Strategies
Key stage 3 student tips: Make flash cards and posters using revision guides to help you to understand topics and key terminology You could also get friends to test you if the flash cards have questions on one side and the answers on the others Use the worksheets that your teacher gives you from the lessons to recap content and skills Use bbc bitesize to go over different subjects Use mathswatch for maths topics Use quizlet to help you to test yourself

Key stage 4 student tips: Repetition – reading over material many times and making notes each time Create flash cards about key topics Broadsheets and mind maps Create your own quizzes and testing yourself Watch interactive revision websites that talked them through concepts and also had exam questions to test their knowledge Watch videos on YouTube. Exam practice using exam questions from past papers Exam packs with summaries and questions from their teachers Don’t revise with music as you can’t focus on two things at once

Key stage 5 student revision tips: Don’t spend lots of time re-writing notes Test yourself after writing notes by covering them up and by going back to another topic and then coming back to it Keep up-to-date with the classwork and homework Organise your time and start revising early (December at the latest) Start doing past papers early. Whatever you don’t get correct from the past papers, review with other resources and exam questions Use the examiner reports to look at student example answers and to get tips

Part 3 – Creating a supportive environment

How can parents support students with revision?
Help create a revision timetable together and work out how much time to allocate to each subject/ topic Create a positive revision environment in one area of the home, where there are no distractions Test the student by asking them to teach you the topic they have revised; check their mind map; ask student to talk about a topic for one minute; read over their answers from a completed quiz Encourage students to revise with friends who have a good work ethic and will be a positive influence Try and remove them from other stressful situations which may hinder their mindset

Find out deadlines and support available from school

Use the curriculum maps to know what topics the students should be revising each term

Achieving success - Subject specific tips

Free time Encourage them to get out and exercise and see friends
Reward them with activities within their breaks Create a quiet working environment for them at home or take them to the local library if this is not possible Encourage them to eat a healthy diet by having healthy snacks on standby and meals at the ready Allow them to really relax when it is necessary

Equipment At the most basic level, there are various types of equipment that will help your child to prepare for exams and it is therefore a good idea to set- aside a budget to cover the costs of these materials. Be sure to directly involve your child in the process of clarifying what equipment they need and try to make purchases as early as possible. Fine-point coloured pens Table lamp Calculator Diary or personal organiser Notebook Watch – but not for exams! Alarm clock Calendar Highlighter-pens A3 paper & blue tac Folders and files Educational software – BBC Bitesize Past exam papers Chair and desk Revision guides Textbooks Discuss the level of GCSE and A Level support given and lead by the relevant year teams and faculties Mentoring given by e.g. SLT to certain GCSE students and the pastoral team for others

Good sleep habits Aim for 7.5 – 10 hours of sleep per night
Use the bed only for sleeping Avoid caffeine (it takes 8 hours) Encourage the same routine every night Regular exercise Healthy diet

Part 4 – Exams at Drayton

Exams at Drayton Standards Phones Uniform Coats Water Calculator
Watches Timing- 20 Minutes before Timetable Revision support Receiving Exam results Library Opening Hours

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