Dear Colleagues,
With exams looming, I thought it would be useful to post some
information about effective exam preparation and hopefully get those borderline grades on the right side of the
border.
The first step is to
encourage our students to take ownership of their revision and have them create
a revision timetable. This can be done
on paper or they can create an electronic version through Get Revising.co.uk. The aim is to encourage a more focused approach so our students know what to do and when they will have time to do it. As we know, the timetable is only as good as the student study habits!
If you can, provide your students with revision materials which can uploaded onto iPods, smartphones and tablets so that they can access the material at times convenient to them.
If you use PowerPoints or other electronic resources then share these with your students through Dropbox or Google Drive.
Create and share top ten tips or summaries from each syllabus topic. This could be a word document, PowerPoint, voice recording or any other suitable form of media. The Business Review magazine has excellent posters and supporting MP3s which provide this for each topic at AS and A-Level. Perhaps this is also available for your subject and would save you a lot of time or you could even get your students to create them.
What happens when we run open revision sessions? The students who have the necessary skills to work independently show up and the effect we have is minimised. Instead target which students are to attend. Politely ask Khun Dee to contact home and explain to parents why it is essential that they come. Don’t fall for the, “I have an outside class to attend”, I’m sure parents would prefer not to pay for an external tutor when we are offering a more personalised service supported by our data and understanding of the student.
Plan individual revision timetables for students to come into school during the exams. Some won’t need it but most won’t do any effective revision without our guidance. If this can be coordinated with other teachers then we can maximise the impact on student learning. Send these revision timetables to parents and politely ask Khun Dee to phone home every time someone misses one of your sessions.
Give students access to past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports through Google Drive/Dropbox or provide paper copies through Pim at reception and the school shop. You can also review the Examiner Feedback sessions on the November 2014 examination series which will be held between 23 March – 24 April 2015. For more information on these sessions click on this link.
If you have a student in your class who has dropped other subjects to focus on yours provide them with focused work to complete. Ask other teachers to be vigilant and ensure they are not wasting these additional periods. Try to set aside one-to-one time with this student to review progress and ensure they are using their time effectively.
If you can, provide your students with revision materials which can uploaded onto iPods, smartphones and tablets so that they can access the material at times convenient to them.
If you use PowerPoints or other electronic resources then share these with your students through Dropbox or Google Drive.
Create and share top ten tips or summaries from each syllabus topic. This could be a word document, PowerPoint, voice recording or any other suitable form of media. The Business Review magazine has excellent posters and supporting MP3s which provide this for each topic at AS and A-Level. Perhaps this is also available for your subject and would save you a lot of time or you could even get your students to create them.
What happens when we run open revision sessions? The students who have the necessary skills to work independently show up and the effect we have is minimised. Instead target which students are to attend. Politely ask Khun Dee to contact home and explain to parents why it is essential that they come. Don’t fall for the, “I have an outside class to attend”, I’m sure parents would prefer not to pay for an external tutor when we are offering a more personalised service supported by our data and understanding of the student.
Plan individual revision timetables for students to come into school during the exams. Some won’t need it but most won’t do any effective revision without our guidance. If this can be coordinated with other teachers then we can maximise the impact on student learning. Send these revision timetables to parents and politely ask Khun Dee to phone home every time someone misses one of your sessions.
Give students access to past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports through Google Drive/Dropbox or provide paper copies through Pim at reception and the school shop. You can also review the Examiner Feedback sessions on the November 2014 examination series which will be held between 23 March – 24 April 2015. For more information on these sessions click on this link.
If you have a student in your class who has dropped other subjects to focus on yours provide them with focused work to complete. Ask other teachers to be vigilant and ensure they are not wasting these additional periods. Try to set aside one-to-one time with this student to review progress and ensure they are using their time effectively.
This will require a lot of effort from us to give our Year 11, 12 and 13 the best chance possible come the 5th May. As a general rule, spaced rehearsal, - a little and often – so don’t leave it too late to get students ready. One off events have little impact if they are not integrated into a wider programme. If you want some more ideas and tips you can look at the TES advice on preparing students for exam season.
I hope this
information is helpful and if you have any further ideas which we could use please comment below.
Best regards,
Neil Groves
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