Exam Success 29 April 2016 Exam Success Context The - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Exam Success

29 April 2016

 Context  The uncontrollables  The controllables  Practical Advice  Emotional Well Being

Exam Success

 Pastoral preparation up to this point  Fighting ground  Why do we do mocks and Jan Assessments?  What do we learn from mocks and how do we use info?  What do students learn from mocks?  Study – where is it taking place, when , how?  Easter ‘Holiday’?  Year 12 – how do I make sure I have a place in Year 13/prepare for alternative routes

Context

We might not say it but…

What students say

We like it when you …

 Keep a conversation going – even when we sound like we don’t want to talk.  Help us get organised (equipment?)  Check we’re happy  Note key deadlines and nudge – get us to be early  Let us know when a teacher has emailed!

 Remind us that we can find solutions  Walk the dog, run with us, book us something in…we may not seem grateful  Offer to test us on revision cards, help make up memory games, plaster house with post-it notes  Help us remember that there will be life after exams! (we like it when there is something in the diary to look forward to)

 Nag (we prefer encouragement)  Remind us if our last set of results were bad  Talk about what you wish you had done in your exams/or how easy you found study  Dwell on things that haven’t gone well  Don’t try and hijack our revision schedule (if we have

• ne) – we may not want to visit Great Aunt Edith

We don’t like it when you…

 Students have these materials, but they may need reminding…  R Relevant I Interesting  N Naughty  G Giggle

Variety!

 Exam Dates – students have their exam timetables  Access Arrangements  Special Consideration (Access and Special Consideration have all been notified to the exams office. Please keep us updated if there are any personal circumstances that we should have on record for the exams office).

The mostly uncontrollables

 Assemblies – ideas/ highlighting distractions  Tutor/Year Head/Tutor programme  Learning Mentor coaching  Revision programme, week by week  iLearn sessions – students to sign up from 31st March

Pastoral Preparation

Gordano Sixth Form AS/ A2 Revision Programme 2016

Week of Programme Week starting date: Weekly Focus

1.

22nd Feb Get Prepared

2.

29th Feb Revision Planning and Timetables

3.

7th Mar Revision Techniques part 1

4.

14th Mar Revision Techniques part 2

5.

21st Mar Avoiding Exam Slip ups

6.

18th Apr I Learn 2- Specialist Revision Workshops

* Use the Personal Checklist at the back of your booklet to do a Revision Folder Audit *

Week 1 – Get Prepared !

5 Ps of Succes ccess: s: Perfect fect Preparati paration

• n

Prevent ents Poor

• r

Performa formance nce

This week’s focus is all about taking the steps you need to get prepared before you begin to revise. Revision is so much easier if you have everything you need to hand, all in one place.

Step 1: Find or print off the Syllabus (sometimes called the specification) for each of your units for your Subjects. To do this you will need to make sure you have the correct Exam Board and the specific Unit Content – this details exactly what the exam board wants you to have covered in the Unit. Here is an example via a link to OCR A level Biology specification:

http://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/81028-specification.pdf

It might be that you already have a Subject Course Handbook with these statements in, or perhaps a Subject Checklist; all are a great start to creating your own bespoke Revision File. It’s really worth getting familiar with the different Exam Boards’ websites. Each allows you to search for Past Papers, mark schemes, examiners reports and more, but they can be quite different from each other.

Step 2 – Past Papers and Mark schemes – Paper Copies Study smarter by using the Exam Boards’ previous unit papers from the last 5 years. This will test your understanding and gain a good insight into how the questions are asked and how marked are scored. You will need to create a Past Paper resource file for each of your subjects: Question Paper, Mark scheme and Examiner’s Report for previous exams. Organise them in order in your own bespoke Revision Folder, ready to use.

Step 3 – Get your own notes organised Spend some time on each Subject Folder,

• getting all your notes in the correct order,
• dividing up different sections,
• adding in Home works
• adding in a ‘Post it’ or two

if you know there are areas of missing work. Step 4 – Additional Revision Materials – Sourced and Included Set aside time to explore the Subject area on Firefly or on Talmos , where you will find revision material that has been added there by the Subject Staff. Studies show that physically writing something down (especially repeatedly) you are much more likely to remember it, as it moves from your Short Term to Long Term Memory. http://www.onbeyondz.net/learning-to-learn-note-taking-and-study-tips.html

Revision Task

Subject Subject Subject Subject

• 1. Find and Print off Syllabus /

Checklist

• 2. Get Past Paper Printed

Copies.

• 3. Locate and print the Mark

scheme for each Question Paper.

• 4. Organise your subject

folder – notes in correct order

• 5. Identify any missing work
• r gaps in your notes.
• 6. Locate and add in extra

Revision material from Talmos etc.

• 7. Organise your own bespoke

Revision Folder 8.Traffic Light code your Syllabus / check list

• 9. Create your Top Priority To

Do List

• 10. Devise your individual

Revision Timetable

Week 2 – Revision Planning and Timetables

5 Ps of Success: Perfect Preparation Prevents Poor Performance

For week 2 using the checklist and syllabus to identify your priorities and create a realistic & useful Revision Timetable to see you through to the Exams in May / June.

Step 1: Traffic Lights for your Syllabus / Checklist.

Now you have a printed copy for of the Syllabus Subject content,

• r maybe a specific check list for each Unit, you will need to go

through and highlight the statements / learning outcomes with your own bespoke Traffic light system. Red Highlights = Found difficult / not confident Amber Highlights = Ok at the time, not so sure now. Green Highlights = Very confident if asked to recall or answer questions.

Great Website and App for Apple and Android for helping

• rganise workload / prioritising, creating a to do list and task

management is: TO DOIST

https://en.todoist.com

give it a try on your phone or pc. Step 2: Top Priority to Do List Now you have identified your worst to best areas, it’s time to create a Top Priority to Do List, for each Subject and Unit. Starting with the Red Areas you have decided have proved the knottiest, add these to the top of your list and then onto to the Amber Ones, then Green. As you are aiming to get a great grade in your subject, you will need to access questions from the entire syllabus, so your Red Areas will really need addressing first. As you go through them and get stronger in these, you should hopefully feel your confidence building about the rest of your course.

Step 3 – Create your Revision Timetable. Now you know what you will be revising in which order, the next step is to add your topics into a Revision schedule or timetable. We would suggest with 12 weeks until the AS exams and a little longer until the A2s you should be thinking of spending at least 2 hours revising / reviewing each day, and spreading your subjects evenly throughout the week. For each Subject topic you revise, be realistic about the time you think it will take. Some areas are bigger than others and build this into your schedule. Don’t be too hard on yourself !!! You will work much better if not tired, so try not to revise past 9 pm and have some proper me time / relaxation. Revision takes much longer if you Multi – task, (or as sometimes known as Multi-Fail), you can get through the topics faster and with a better focus without those Social Network Distractions. Save them for later for when you have finished.

There are two ways of creating your timetable: 1 . The Old Fashioned Paper and Pen Way

• Print of a blank calendar
• Add a to do list on the bottom
• Schedule in what you will be revising when.

http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/create.html 2 . Sign up to one of the fantastic free Revision Websites, click on create your own e- copy revision timetable.

http://www.s-cool.co.uk/forbidden/timetable http://www.revisionworld.co.uk/create-revision-timetable

https://getrevising.co.uk/planner

Once your bespoke timetable is done, you are ready to get really get going with Revision!

Week 3 – Revision Techniques 1

5 Ps of Success: Perfect Preparation Prevents Poor Performance

For week 3 - Revision Techniques that you have found successful in the past and expand on your repertoire to try out some ideas that are all about studying in depth and recall of detail. It’s all about finding a Revision Technique that works for you and allows you to answer all the Exam Questions with knowledge and precision.

Writing details down means you’re 10X MORE LIKELY TO

REMEMBER IT. Technique 1 - Reading to study or the SQ3R method This method is fantastic for the detailed study of something extensive such as a chapter of a book.

SQ3R stands for

S Survey – skim through the chapter to get an idea of what it is about. Q Question – write down a list of questions that you hope to answer as a result of reading the chapter. R Read – read the chapter slowly and carefully R Recall – close the book, write down from memory the main points, and very specific pieces of information, vocab, diagrams or formulae. R Review – go back to your questions and see how well your recall stage has answered then, fill in any gaps by further reading and note taking.

Technique 2 - Concept Maps and Spider diagrams

• A very useful way of showing connections

between different items.

• Place the topic in the centre of the page.
• Draw lines from the nucleus labelling what it

means, you can then create sub branches and connections between branches.

• Improving your understanding of how your

topic fits together.

http://imindmap.com/how-to-mind-map/ http://www.tonybuzan.com/about/mind-mapping/ http://imindmap.com/

Technique 3 – Highlighting and Bullet Points Underline in various colours (colour coding) important aspects of work, useful for chunking down work. Use the highlighted terms to form bullet points /

• r lists. It will make them easier to remember.

Put the keywords / poster / post its on your wall at home. Annotate – write key ideas in the margin to trigger your memory. Mnemonics and acronyms – can be of use for remembering specific phrases / sequences of events.

Week 4 – Revision Techniques part 2 5 Ps of Succes ccess: s: Perfect fect Preparation paration Prevent ents Poor

• r

Performa formance nce This is the 4th week – adding in Evaluative / Personal testing into your Revision Schedule.

• One of the most useful techniques of all…Past Papers
• Also try out some ideas listed below to keep your learning

fresh and yourself motivated.

• Find the Revision Technique that works for you and allows you

to answer all the Exam Questions with knowledge and precision.

Revision Technique 4 Past Papers the 3 Pen Method

This works really well if you have revised a specific topic / section and then complete as many Past t Paper Questions as you have purely on that topic. You will become so familiar with the format and wording of the questions, what you are really doing is training yourself to answer any ques estion on that Topic.

• Step 1: Find online all the relevant past papers

for your exam and print them out, along with the mark schemes and examiners report.

• Step 2 – follow the 3 pen method ;

Attempt the questions with a blue pen with what you know/ Recall/ remember. Next: Use the Course Text book or your notes to fill in any missing details with a

black pen.

Finally with the Mark Scheme add in last missing sections with red pen and check

your score.

Remember the more times you review and write about your subjects area. Your understanding and knowledge will start to move from your Short term Memory to your Long Term..

Repetition..Repetition..Repetition

And this technique does this, along with increasing your skills at accurately answering the Exam Questions.

• Condense information onto small

revision cards.

• Portable and can be carried around.
• Key words and descriptions /

diagrams.

• One set of cards per topic.
• Get others to test on the card

content.

• Questions on one side and answers
• n the other.
• Guess the answer / question

Revision Technique 5 - Flash Cards

A great idea is to condense down large amounts of information into the Key Facts and Essential Key Trigger Words..you can also pass them around to get friends and family to test you. Another twist on this theme is to make Post It Notes Revision Aids, stick them where you are most likely to look, label your house with quotes and vocab.

Try this Website for an amazing e version of Revision Resources: create your

• wn Flash Cards and link them to mind maps – and it’s free to join up!

https://www.examtime.com/blog/snippets-and-flashcards http://www.examstutor.com/

Fab Apps for Flash cards for your Phone or PC. Quizlet – Website and App https://quizlet.com create your study set or access already created. Brainscape – Website and App https://www.brainscape.com you rank with traffic lights your flash cards to help revise your weaker areas. Memrise - Website and App http://www.memrise.com/home/ great for languages and much more

Week 5 – Avoiding Exam Slip Ups 5 P Ps of Succ ccess ess: Perfect fect Prepar parati ation

• n

Preven vents ts Poor

• r

Perfor formance mance

It’s week 5 heading towards the crucial revision period of the Easter Holidays/Spring Break Holidays. This week’s Revision topic is How to avoid Exam Slip Ups by getting to grips with the structure of the Exam Papers in terms of timings and question format.

Step 1 – Time your Answers

For most exams questions it’s pretty true to say that in terms of Time:

• Generally It’s a MARK A MINUTE.

Once you have practised at least 6 Past Paper Questions using the 3 pen method ( as suggested in Revision Techniques 2). Now is the time to do the next set of questions under-timed conditions… ..work out from the total mark score how long you should allow yourself.

Step 2 – Know your Trigger Question Words

• Remind yourself of the action words

( sometimes called TRIGGER words) that the examiners use to ask to do something.

• Read the list BELOW, then cover up the meanings

and check you can explain what the Question is looking for.

Contrast – Explain the difference between… Summarise – Sum up the main points Examine – Investigate, closely ask questions of.. Discuss – Debate the issue from different viewpoints Evaluate – Weigh up the strengths and Weaknesses Prove – demonstrate, make certain Compare –explain the similarities and differences

Define – give the meaning Distinguish – explain the difference Relate – show the connection between things Trace- show how something has developed from start to finish Outline – choose the most important aspects of the topics Interpret – explain the meaning in your own words Differentiate – explain the difference Justify – Support with facts and or figures, examples, references Describe- give a concise statement of meaning and /or identify the main characteristics Criticise – identify problems/ disadvantages

Step 3 – Use the Examiners Reports for Each Exam Series If you find there are aspects of the Exam Questions that you are continually mis-interrupting try finding and reading the Examiner’s Report that that Exam. Not as long and as dry as they sound, usually just one page of A4 it will contain comments from all the examiners of where students went right, wrong and any misconceptions. It can be very revealing in working out what are they looking for in an Answer. Find these on the Exam Board Website, next to the Past Papers and Mark schemes. EG: http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/as-a-level-gce- geography-h083-h483/

Step 4 – Find an App that has already done this for you – Identifying Exam Slips

There are lots of great Apps (mainly with good reviews to down load for Apple or Android devices) that have already identified the areas where Students lose marks and how to avoid falling into these pit traps. Here are a few to explore / check out that might be of use to you.

The Banana Skins Series of Apps

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/physics-a-level-banana-skins/id581209114?mt=8 http://www.s-cool.co.uk/shop-category/level-banana-skins-iphone-app

Period Year Group Session / workshop 5 12 English Lit AS – Paper 2 5 12 Maths AS Core – C1 and C2 5 12 PE AS Exam Paper Techniques 5 12 Textiles AS Paper 1 5 12 & 13 4 Weeks and Counting – Revision Planning 5 12 & 13 Learning Styles and Revision Strategies 5 12 Revision Resources Online and Apps

I Learn 2 Sessions – Wed 20th April

Period Year Group Session / workshop 6 12 English Lit – Othello 6 12 MFL AS Speaking Exams 6 12 Philosophy AS 6 12 Ethics AS 6 12 Geography AS – Unit 1 World at Risk – Walk and Talk Exam Paper 6 12 Product Design AS Paper 1 6 12 & 13 4 Weeks and Counting – Revision Planning 6 12 & 13 Learning Styles and Revision Strategies 6 12 Revision Resources Online and Apps

I Learn 2 Sessions – Wed 20th April

Period Year Group Session / workshop

5 Year 13 Philosophy A2 5 Year 13 MFL A2 Speaking Exams 5 Year 13 Maths A2 core – C3 and C4 5 Year 13 Product Design and Textiles –A2 - Unit 3 – Essay Techniques 5 Year 13 Business A2 Course BUSS4 - Revision 5 12 & 13 4 Weeks and Counting – Revision Planning 5 12 & 13 Learning Styles and Revision Strategies 5 12 & 13 Revision Resources Online and Apps Period Year Group Session / workshop 6 13 Ethics A2 Revision 6 13 PE – A2 – Exam Techniques 6 12 & 13 4 Weeks and Counting – Revision Planning 6 12 & 13 Learning Styles and Revision Strategies 6 12 & 13 Revision Resources Online and Apps

 Mobiles  Gaming

The great time wasters…

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Female Male

"Gaming is always or sometimes a distraction for me"

 Wednesday lunchtimes in Sixth Form Lecture Theatre Mindfulness techniques  Exercise  Walking the dog  Change of environment – Come into school (Sixth Form open 13-15th April inclusive 9.30 am to 3.30 pm – students will need to sign in. Please note there is no catering on site during the break).

Emotional Well Being

Lesson attendance

 Year 12 Study Leave 16th May  Year 13 Study Leave 27th May  Year 12 EPQ Launch 14th June  Year 12 return 15th June courses resume  Activities Week – 4th July (if students on Duke of Edinburgh we will ensure they have sessions on UCAS/Apprenticeship application before this week)  Results Day – Year 12 18th August – 11 am  Results Day – Year 13 18th August – 9 am Do contact tutors/Head of Year if you have ongoing concerns During Study Leave, we encourage students to come and use the school facilities to study – as long as they are not a distraction to other students!

Next Steps