Top 5 Tips for Exam Success

Ever since reading High Fidelity, I've found Top 5s to be a useful way of navigating life. 

I recently held some tutorials with some groups of 6th form students and thought I would share my Top 5 tips for A Level success. I constructed it around a Top 5 Problems and then a Top 5 Solutions:

Top 5 Problems:
1) Procrastination & Distraction
2) Forgetting Stuff
3) Time Management
4) Insufficient Notes & Resources
5) Cognitive Overload

Rob, Dick and Barry would definitely argue over this list - is it a true list of 5?

Top 5 Solutions
1) Pomodoro Technique
2) Cornell Note Taking
3) Keep a Record
4) Knowledge Organisers
5) Practice in Part

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So, let's go through the tutorial and explain my rationale. I'm not going to link to everything but I will try give a summary of what I shared with the Year 13 students:

1) Pomodoro Technique
Inspired by hearing Barb Oakley recently, I started the session with my real life tomato timer on the desk. I set it 25 minutes and said that was all we had. I then spoke about how this was devised in the world of work when days run from 9am to 5pm with little structure unlike the school day. I pointed out their weekends, evenings and holidays could be like this. I shared this PDF. After 25 minutes work, you have a 5 minute break. After a few sessions, have a 10 minute break. Obviously phones go in the other room. Always. 20 mins to get back to full focus after a distraction?!

2) Cornell Note Taking
I explained about Ebbinghaus's Forgetting Curve (see PDF). I said that forgetting stuff is good - because we then remember it quicker when we review... but we need to be systematic and regular in that process. They know my advocacy of the CNT method, and how I urge student do have a weekly summary session, and a separate weekly cue column session (and then putting paper over their main notes and testing from summaries and cues). I gave them a reasonably detailed PDF on CNT. I then explained my greatest revision tool... a blank sheet of paper! I asked what they would do when they had written down everything they knew for a particular topic - and every time the answer was look it up! We talked about struggling and practising retrieval. Eventually they would need to add to it (when our 25 minutes was up?) - in a different colour - and then repeat the same task the following week.

3) Keep a Record
I gave them a revision timetable (PDF) but then asked why it has never worked for them. Universally it was because it had gone adrift and then they gave up quickly. I emphasised the need to put to fun stuff on first - Saturday evening Nandos - but also that every day is a new day and if it doesn't work on Tuesday, don't wait until Monday to restart. Yet I offered an alternative - a "work diary" when they needed to record every thing they actually did in a day - like a food diary - and how eye opening it would be. One student came back to me later in the week and said it had been a revelation and upped her productivity overnight. This is also useful so revision can be systematic and all topics covered.

4) Knowledge Organisers
Some teachers make them, and provide them at the start of a unit. At A Level, I use as summaries and students produce themselves. It is always a useful took to work out what is missing - "Why do I have no scholars to put in this box?" "What are the weaknesses of this theory?". I then explained the idea of "Unknown Unknowns":

I encouraged them to get a copy of the exam spec and then highlight only when they had actually found notes in their exercise book on the topic - and do it word by word, not by big statement / topic. I also suggested dating it every time they revised a topic.

5) Cognitive Overload
Are you trying to practice retrieval or are you trying to write a great essay? For students that are struggling, doing both can be tough. Obviously they need to do this in the exam, but we used a 'big game' analogy and discussed David Beckham practising his free kicks for hours the day before the Greece game. Practice the skills separately and build up to the final 'big game' exam.

I added two further documents to their pack:

• Top 10 Tips from Barb Oakley (She did a DOUBLE 5!)
• 5 Habits of a Effective Learner from Wellington College (Another Top 5!)

The last thing I did was urge them to change the narrative. I'm as guilty as most in saying, "It's only 4 months until the exams!". However, the other way is "We have 4 months, that's lots of time to do lots of learning!" - Get that Pomodoro timer set back ready for another 25...


Image courtesy of BBC

#UKEdMag - The 10 Commandments of Tweets with Students

My third artcile for UKEdMag appears in the October edition. It features something I have written about a number of times and presented about at TeachMeets too. I hope it is useful to those who are trying to see how Twitter can be of use for learning.

Read my article in full <here>. There is also an abridged version on UKEdMag's website <here>

Image courtesy of UKEdMag

TMHavering also gets a mention <here> and Don't Change The Lightbulbs gets a mention too <here>

As always, feedback always welcome!

Find out more about UKEdMag <here> - you can now order printed copies!

The Average Child

Picture courtesy of The Guardian

There are so many quotes, pictures and kittens posted on Twitter that rarely does one have much of an impact. However this one did the rounds a week or so ago and it has remained with me. It was a picture of this poem (uncredited):

The Average Child by Mike Buscemi

I don’t cause teachers trouble;

My grades have been okay.

I listen in my classes.

I’m in school every day.

My teachers think I’m average;

My parents think so too.

I wish I didn’t know that, though;

There’s lots I’d like to do.

I’d like to build a rocket;

I read a book on how.

Or start a stamp collection…

But no use trying now.

’Cause, since I found I’m average,

I’m smart enough you see

To know there’s nothing special

I should expect of me.

I’m part of that majority,

That hump part of the bell,

Who spends his life unnoticed

In an average kind of hell.

There is an incredible tragedy about this, as it is a stark reminder of too many children we teach. I teach 50 minute lessons, often with 32 children in each; that's 90 seconds each per lesson. Obviously, we don't work like this, but if we ask ourselves questions about the time taken up by the disruptive ones, the really bright (and outspoken) ones, the weak ones, the attention seeking ones... how many seconds do I give to 'the average child'? How many seconds do they get in a school day?

We had some literacy training about 18 months ago and it highlighted 'The Invisible Child'... doesn't particularly struggle, nor do they particularly excel at school, conform and don't receive hardly any sanctions... I think this is the very same student. 

Results wise, for me they are somewhere in between those we are pushing for A/A* grades and those C/D borderline focus groups; a good solid B. Maybe I need to spend more time focusing on these students, I'd hate to think of anyone I teach feeling "unnoticed in their average kind of hell".

How do you focus on the average or invisible child in your classroom?

Edmodo
I have found this very useful for communicating and entering into discussion with students about tasks, difficulties, problems outside the classroom. Quiet students have said, "Sir, I really don't get this", "Could we go through this?" which has been very helpful.

Every Child
Setting a task that allows you to speak to each and every child in a lesson. You can't do this too often and it invariably does get interrupted by someone!

Random Name Pickers
Whatever you use... lolly sticks, PPTs, websites - or me? 'My random pen'.

Thanks to Naimish who shared it for me to see <here>

Being Appreciated

"Dear Mr Lewis

The class have made a decision to appoint a new

teacher to carry on teaching us about

RE as you are extremely hard 

on us and so much

homework, and quite frankly, we have had enough"

This was my last lesson before Easter with my 10/4 class. One of the students 'took over' as teacher and this is what she wrote. I think this means I am doing something right?

They then, rather sweetly, admitted that they are glad I am their teacher and that they would want anyone else to be teaching them RE. 

Ahh this is why we love the job!