Teach Secondary Issue 14.7

Realistic revision A key element of effective revision is knowing what your limits are, and whether there are enough hours in the day for what you’re planning, advises Katharine Radice H ow complicated do you want the revision process to be? Revision used to involve an exercise book, perhaps a textbook, maybe some flashcards. There was comparatively little available and this offered simplicity. Now, there’s potentially overwhelming complexity. In addition, the range of revision resources available adds financial pressure into the mix. What happens when teenagers worry about whether their families can afford the revision guides? In the classroom– realistic revision plans Time is limited and students have to make choices. Ask your classes howmuch time they have available to give to your subject. Scale this up by 9 or 10 subjects and check that this is realistic; if it isn’t, challenge them on it. Encourage them to err on the side of caution: ‘ Don’t overestimate – choose something manageable and let’s make a game plan that fits within that. If you end up with more time, then great, you’ll be ahead. ’ Classes need to hear this message, so that there’s space to discuss what those choices might be. ‘ What are your top three revision priorities? ’ – this is a useful question, as it’s muchmore enabling than only talking about all the things that could be done in an ideal world. Talking about priorities allows the student to cut things back to a manageable size. This brings the positive next step more clearly into view and makes it easier to be motivated. “Unrealistic conversations with friends about revision make everyone feel worse, not better” ABOUT THE AUTHOR Katharine Radice is an author, teacher and education consultant, currently teaching part-time at both a mixed ability comprehensive school and at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge; this article is based on an extract from her book, Exam Stress – A Practical and Positive Guide for Teachers (£14, Bloomsbury) Year group focus – realistic conversations Howmuch time do students actually have for revision? Ask them to put a number on it, and encourage them to be realistic about what can be done in that time. Unrealistic conversations with friends about revision make everyone feel worse, not better. It’s more constructive to stay focused on a sustainable amount of time to give to revision, and make sensible choices about what to do with that time. For families –A realistic understanding Revision is often boring, gruelling and nerve- wracking. Families can sometimes need to be reminded of just how grim revising for exams can be. For students who find school difficult, it’s a sustained process of rubbing your face in things you feel you can’t do. For students who are on track to do well, it’s often a tedious process of going over and over material. It’s like chewing an orange – even if the material tasted juicy and interesting the first time round, it rarely tastes that way by the time it’s been chewed right through to the summer. Families often worry about whether their children are motivated enough, with this concept of ‘motivation’ often blurring with the concept of ‘enjoyment’. Maybe their teenager finds it hard to get started? This is natural. It could be that their teenager is in a bad mood – this too is natural. Keeping revision realistic for families means reminding them that it’s okay for their children to be annoyed by the process. Supporting in a realistic way means acknowledging this: ‘ Yes, revision sucks sometimes, but we’re cheering you on. Tell me your plan for today; when it’s done you can do something more fun. ’ Realistic support is a matter of focusing on one step at a time, and celebrating the small wins of that bit being done, rather than over- emphasising the August results day finish line, which will be too far away to be motivating: ‘ You said you’d do an hour. It’s 7pm now; at 8pm I’ll come back and you can show me what you’ve done. If you’re finding it boring, let out your frustration by telling me at 8pm the most boring bits. I am there for you, and I know it’s not easy .’ TEACH SECONDARY SPECIAL REVISION 33 teachwire.net/secondary R E V I S I O N