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Collected Revision Presentations
Revision techniques that actively engage the brain are more effective than passive techniques like re-reading. The document recommends interleaving subjects, self-testing with practice exams, and using elaboration techniques like explaining concepts to yourself. These techniques help strengthen memory by forcing re-engagement with material over time in varied contexts.
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Collected Revision Presentations
- 1. Revision Planning Making yourrevision timetable
- 2. The principle: INTERLEAVING •When we learn something, we forget it • When we revisit something we’ve learned repeatedly, we remember it better • This is shown in the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve
- 3. Interleaving vs blocking •“Blocking” your revision – focusing on one topic for a long time then moving on to the next topic – is inefficient. • “Interleaving” your revision is far more effective.
- 4. Interleaving and chunking •For interleaving to work, you have to break down your revision into “chunks” • It’s no good putting “Biology” into your revision calendar – you need to be specific • GCSE Biology includes: • Health • Responses to the environment • Evolution • Ecology • Cells • Photosynthesis • Organisms and their environments • Protein functions and uses • Respiration • Genetics • Speciation
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- 6. Your tasks Chunking • Breakdown the subjects you study into “chunks” you can revise Planning • Plan an interleaved revision schedule to cover the chunks you have created • Build in rest breaks
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- 8. The Flash Card– distilling your learning • Distillation: Because a flash card is small, you need to boil down your learning to a key, easily-revised summary. Your notes Your flashcardRevision
- 9. Making an effectiveflashcard • “Chunk” the learning down • Each flashcard should be on one key idea or concept • The key information only should be summarised on one side • Use diagrams, bullet points etc • On the back, put key words and possible exam questions on this concept
- 10. Organising your flashcards •You will build up an array of flashcards • Colour code them to classify by topic or exam section
- 11. Flashcards 2.0 –practice testing • Write key questions on one side of the card • Write the answers on the other • Keep testing yourself! • Add a tick each time you get it right, and a cross each time you have to turn over to check • Aim to get ten ticks next to each question • Also works with post-its!
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- 13. Interrogation – asking“why?” • One of the best ways to support revision is to ask why an idea or concept is true – then answer the question. • For example: • In science, increasing the temperature can increase the rate of a chemical reaction….why? • In geography, the leisure industry in British seaside towns like Barry Island in South Wales has deteriorated in the last 4 decades….why? • In history, in 1929 the American stock exchange collapsed. This supported Hitler’s rise to power….why? • Rather than learning facts by heart, asking yourself why they are true will help you remember and understand them.
- 14. Mnemonics • Mnemonics usethe initial letters of a group of words to help remember them in order • They are really good for remembering sequenced information • Here are some examples…
- 15. North East SouthWest Never Ever Support Wolves Never Eagerly Snog Witches Never Eat Shredded Wheat Naughty Elephants Squirt Water
- 16. Richard Of YorkGave Battle In Vain Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet PHYSICS
- 17. My Very EasyMethod Just Speeds Up Naming Planets Simply Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Sedna ASTRONOMY
- 18. I Value XylophonesLike Cows Dig Milk 1 – 5 – 10 – 50 100 – 500 – 1000 MATHS
- 19. King Philip CameOver For Good Sex Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species (biological groupings) BIOLOGY
- 20. G C E A Do you knowa mnemonic for this? MUSIC
- 21. 5 Bones inHand Distal Intermediate Proximal Metacarpals Carpals Can you create a mnemonic from this?
- 22. FLORIA • FLORIA isa technique that provides “hooks” for information in your memory. Look at the following list of words for 40 seconds, then see which you remember:
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- 24. RECALL DURING LEARNING- FLORIA First. Last. Outstanding. Repeated. Interesting. Associated.
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- 26. Using FLORIA • Putthe most important information FIRST and LAST • When preparing revision materials, thing about how you can make key information OUSTANDING • REPEAT important facts • Make key information INTERESTING using images, mnemonics, sticking it on a post-it in an unusual place, associating it with a person or event… • Make links between information so the ASSOCIATION leads you from one fact to another
- 27. Summary • You canuse… • Interrogation • Mnemonics • FLORIA • …to help your memory retrieve key facts. Try them!
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- 29. Making a mindmap • Start with the theme in the middle of the page. • Develop your main idea. • Each sub-branch must relate to the branch before it. • Use only key words and images. • Key words must be written along the branches. • Colour code the branches. • Make things stand out on the page so they stand out in your mind. • Design images you can relate to which will help you remember key information
- 30. Mind maps canbe mostly text
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- 33. Using key wordsin mind mapsAlbert Einstein Einstein was born in Germany in 1879. As a child, Albert hated school and his teachers thought he was rather “stupid”. In fact he was asked to leave school because his teachers found him disruptive. He was a very curious child and wanted to know how everything worked. When he was five years old, his father gave him a compass, which he loved and took apart to understand how it worked. When he was 12 he was given a geometry book, which he read from cover to cover, and so began his love of maths. Einstein had several jobs. His first, ironically, was as a teacher. At first he failed the exam, but persisted and got the job. He then went to work in a patent office where he would look at new inventions. When his scientific papers became well-known, he was actively sought after by many universities. He worked in German universities for 17 years, until the Nazi reign, when he fled Germany because he was a Jew. He went to work at Princeton University in the USA for the rest of his life. He made some amazing discoveries in his work, that changed much about the world. His first scientific paper was his Quantum Theory. He discovered that light travelled not only in waves, as previously thought. This discovery later led to the inventions, by others of the cinema and television. His second major discovery was his theory of Relativity. Daydreaming one afternoon, he imagined travelling on a beam of light, and dreamt that the universe is curved. This daydream led to his famous theory, E=MC2, and has led to many inventions for creating more powerful energy. Although Einstein worked hard his whole life, he also had many things he enjoyed, and contributed them to his great brain. He loved music and played both the violin and piano to a very high standard. He went walking every day to relax and daydream and keep fit. Einstein married twice, and with his first wife had two sons. He died in 1955 at the age of 76.
- 34. Make a mindmap • Pick a key topic in one of your examination subjects • Put the topic in the middle of the page • And begin!
- 35. Past Papers &Mark Schemes GCSE Revision
- 36. Finding past papersand mark schemes • AQA: http://www.aqa.org.uk/exams-administration/exams- guidance/find-past-papers-and-mark-schemes • OCR: http://www.ocr.org.uk/i-want-to/download-past-papers/ • EDEXCEL: http://qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/support- topics/exams/past-papers.html • Plus loads here: http://web1.chewvalleyschool.co.uk/Webber/StudyCamp/
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- 39. A more complexexample
- 41. Self-testing and diagnosisof errors Understanding of the subject • Did you get it wrong because you didn’t know that part of the subject? • Solution: focused revision Exam technique • Did you get it wrong because you didn’t read the question properly? • Or because you didn’t do exactly what the mark scheme wanted? • Solution: repeated deliberate practice
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- 43. PQRST – theprinciple • PQRST is a self-testing technique to be used once you have revised a section • It’s helpful to have someone else to revise with – a friend, family member etc. • Here’s how it works… • P Preview – Read through section headings. Read the final summaries. If you’ve used flashcards this will help! • Q Question – Turn each section heading and subheading into a question • R Read – Read your questions and then answer from the text. Mark or highlight the keywords/ points • S Say – Say your answer and explain your keywords aloud to yourself or explain to someone else. • T Test – Go over the questions and test yourself again days later – what can you still recall to answer each of the questions that you wrote?
- 44. Preview and Question Pfor Preview • Flick through your notes, flashcards, mind maps or whatever • Focus on the HEADINGS • E.g. “Acids and Bases” in Chemistry or “Settlements” in Geography Q for Question • Transform the section heading into a question (or questions). • E.g. “What is an acid?” or “What are the characteristics of bases?” or “What features do settlements have in common?” • It’s important to write your own questions! This process engages your brain and helps you remember the information.
- 45. Read and Say Rfor Read • Re-read the questions you have written. • Answer from your notes, flashcards, mind maps etc. • Highlight or underline the key words in the question and the answer S for Say • Say your answer and explain the key words aloud • It helps to have someone to speak to, but if not say it to yourself – aloud! • The process of transforming the answer from writing to speech engages your brain and helps you remember it
- 46. Test T for Test •Test yourself again days later • This will help identify where you have got strong recall, and where you need to work harder • If you can’t remember it three days later – you haven’t learnt it. • Revise again!
- 47. An example –History • P: go through notes/revision materials for The American West • Q: What was life like for the Plains Indians? • R: Read through the question and bullet point key answer ideas from your revision materials • S: Say them out loud • T: the next day, Test yourself on them and see how many of the bullet points you can remember
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- 49. The principle: transformit • “I’m just going to read through my notes” is not actually revising. • In order to remember information effectively, your brain has to process it • You have to think about it in order to remember it properly
- 50. What is “transformit”? • “Transform it” means taking your revision notes and changing them into a different form • The process of changing the information from one form into another means that you will think about it – and remember it better
- 51. Turn your notesinto • A diagram: • Bar chart • Venn diagram • Mind map • Symbols • Bullet pointed lists • Audio recordings • Post it notes • Flash cards • Questions • Tests • 3D shapes • Timelines • And more…
- 52. Example • Take akey poem from the English Literature anthology • Transform your notes into a revision cube • Each side is a category (you can choose your own, or): • Language • Theme • Form / Structure • Context • Author • Interpretations
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- 58. Why? • Low challenge. •Little thinking required. • Makes the student think that they are ‘doing something’
- 59. “Whatever you thinkabout, that’s what you remember. Memory is the residue of thought.” Daniel Willingham
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- 67. Summary • “Memory isthe residue of thought”. • Testing. • Space it out. • Keep asking ‘why’? • Build on what they know. • Explain their steps in problem solving.
Editor's Notes
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- #63 This technique is pretty straightforward – keep testing yourself (or each other) on what you have got to learn. This technique has been shown to have the highest impact in terms of supporting student learning. Some ways in which you can do this easily: Create some flashcards, with questions on one side and answers on the other – and keep testing yourself. Work through past exam papers – many can be acquired through exam board websites. Simply quiz each other (or yourself) on key bits of information. Create ‘fill the gap’ exercises for you and a friend to complete. Create multiple choice quizzes for friends to complete.
- #64 Rather than cramming all of your revision for each subject into one block, it’s better to space it out – from now, through to the exams. Why is this better? Bizarrely, because it gives you some forgetting time. This means that when you come back to it a few weeks later, you will have to think harder, which actually helps you to remember it. Furthermore, the more frequently you come back to a topic, the better you remember it
- #65 One of the best things that you can do (either to yourself or with a friend) to support your revision is to ask why an idea or concept is true – and then answer that why question. For example; In science, increasing the temperature can increase the rate of a chemical reaction….why? In geography, the leisure industry in British seaside towns like Porthcawl in South Wales has deteriorated in the last 4 decades….why? In history, the 1929 American stock exchange collapsed. This supported Hitler’s rise to power….why? So, rather than just try to learn facts or ideas, ask yourself why they are true.
- #66 Rather than looking at different topics from a subject in isolation, try to think about how this new information is related to what you know already. This is where mind- maps might come in useful – but the process of producing the mind map, is probably more useful than the finished product. So, think about a key central idea (the middle of the mind map) and then how new material, builds on the existing knowledge in the middle. Alongside this, when you solve a problem e.g. in maths, explain to someone the steps you took to solve the problem. This can be applied to a whole range of subjects.
- #67 When you are revising a subject, the temptation is to do it in ‘blocks’ of topics. Like below:
- #68 The problem with this is, is that it doesn’t support the importance of repetition – which is so important to learning. So rather than revising in ‘topic blocks’ it’s better to chunk these topics up in your revision programme and interleave them: This means that you keep coming back to the topics. So, instead of doing a one hour block of revision on topic 1, do 15 minutes on topic 1, then 15 minutes on topic 2, then the same for topic 3 and 4.