Teach Secondary 13.7

From brilliance TOBURNOUT Rebecca Leek looks at what teachers can do when students’ determination to do well in their exams tips over into stress and exhaustion I t’s your dream come true. You have motivated, determined, diligent students who are poised and ready for a long season of revision and study. They’re going to start early, and tackle the exam challenge as a marathon, not a sprint. This is brilliant, and hopefully they’ll stay the course. However, with some students there’s a risk that stress levels will start to creep in, and that the wish for high performance tips into anxiety and overwork. Will they peak too soon?Will they start cramming into the early hours? How can we help students develop study habits that are healthy and sustainable? Qualityover quantity Start by helping your students experience the feeling of efficient self- study. Walk them through some methods in class, let the students reflect on them, and how they might replicate them independently. Three to try might include: 1. The Pomodoro Technique: Officially, this involves studying for 25 minutes, followed by a short break, followed by another 25-minute block, but formulas can vary. It’s essentially chunking time, rather than just letting an hour or so drag through with diminishing returns. 2. Multimodal learning: This entails mixing up reading, talking, writing, drawing and any other medium that works for you. Select some content, then challenge your students to read about it, write about it and ask each other questions about it. 3. Swallow the frog: Help your students identify the topics and areas they’re least secure about and most keen to avoid. Whether it’s the future tense, how the heart works or their least favourite type of question – swallow that frog! I came to these strategies myself far too late. It would have been amazing if I’d received guidance on how to make my revision time be as effective as possible much sooner. Ultimately, employing some of these will make your students’ exam preparation both sustainable and more gratifying, producing an ongoing sense of achievement that will help themmaintain a sense of balance as the weeks progress. The dense exam season A recent review of the curriculum and assessment system led by former Education Secretary, Charles Clarke (see tiny.cc/ts137-B1 ) concluded that, “ The current volume and density of examination at GCSE and for vocational Key Stage 4 qualifications is too high, with students taking an average of 31.5 hours of exams each. ” At the end of KS4, there are, quite simply, lots of exams, and they come thick and fast. Therefore, it’s extremely important that your students are fresh and ready inMay and June. If they overdo it during the Easter period, and then lose equilibriumwith increasing anxiety and poor sleep, any gains from earlier in the year will be lost. To prevent this, be sure to address the following areas: Timetabling: Help students map out how they will tackle different subjects. As a single subject teacher, you may knowwhen your subject’s exams fall, but how do they fit around the others? Find out whether your students have worked out how to handle all the demands on their time. I like to use a timetable that works backwards from the last exam, with lots of “Youmayknowwhen your subject’s exams fall,but howdo theyfit around the others?” 32 teachwire.net/secondary