Making the learning stick- effective revision strategies What are you going to do to/with the information in order that you will understand it? Learning is an active process… therefore your job is to do something with the information.

Introduction Facts about revision This booklet contains practical ideas to support you with your revision and complement the different subject-specific ideas you will have. There is advice about how to revise and the different strategies to consider, but also advice about what is not effective. Extensive research supports the ideas in this booklet and will hopefully maximise the time you spend on revision. The key to successful revision is to actively engage with your work in a structured and planned way. Facts about revision 1. Effective revision requires hard and sustained work. There is no shortcut. 2. Students work about as hard as their friends. Are your friends dragging down your grades or helping? 3. Effort is a habit; the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Systems and timetables help to develop good habits.

Revision techniques that are NOT effective Before starting revision it is important to consider how you are planning to revise. You must ensure that every minute is used effectively. Extensive research has shown that the ideas below are NOT effective ways of revising. WHY NOT? 1. Low challenge. 2. Little thinking required. 3. Makes the student think that they are ‘doing something’ Highlighting Re-reading Summarising texts

Revision techniques that are MORE effective The next few pages outline effective revision strategies that all involve actively engaging with information. It is important that you do something with the information in order that it will stick and ultimately prepare you for the examination paper. These ideas are generic and can be adapted to suit all subjects. What are you going to do to/with the information in order that you will understand it? Learning is an active process… therefore your job is to do something with the information. Your beliefs have impact on your levels of effort and motivation: mindsets! “Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t, you are probably right.” (Henry Ford)

Practice testing 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- only when you have revised. Simply quiz each other (or yourself) on key bits of information. Create ‘fill the gap’ exercises for you and a friend to complete.

Distributed Practice 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. 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. Use the planning sheets in your revision guide to map out your revision over the coming weeks.

Graphic organisers These are a useful tool for organising revision. They will simply help you to organise the information and structure your approach to revision For other examples search ‘graphic organisers’

Mind Maps Try to avoid copying chunks of information from one document to another. This leads to low-challenge and not much impact. Try this……. Complete mind-maps on previous topics, without using your books/notes. This will force you to retrieve what you know and identify gaps in your knowledge. In a different colour and using your notes, fill any gaps. This conscious awareness of what you know and don’t know will help to embed learning, and will force you to revise what you don’t know.

Maximising the impact of the work in your exercise books and folders We often ignore the value in looking back through our exercise books and notes from lessons and home learning tasks. The work completed, the feedback provided and the resulting purple pen responses provide a valuable source of information. Again, it is vital that you do something with the information in order that it will stick. The following ideas are designed for you to revisit notes in folders and exercise books and avoid purchasing a revision guide. “The best revision guide is a well-organised exercise book/ folder” Shaun Allison- Author of ‘Making every lesson count’ The Cornell System This is an effective technique used to support note-taking, but can also be used to support revision. Use the margin to write keywords and key questions linked to the work on that page. Test yourself by covering the bulk of your work and leaving yourself with key terms and questions. Use these questions and key terms to test yourself without looking at the main piece of work.

Maximising the impact of the work in your exercise books and folders Contents Page Create a contents page for your exercise book Note down what is on each page This will make you do something with the information and make it more likely that it will stick RAG rate each page or number 1-5 (least confident to most confident). This will help you to target your revision.

Maximising the impact of the work in your exercise books and folders Contents Page Create a contents page for your exercise book Note down what is on each page This will make you do something with the information and make it more likely that it will stick RAG rate each page or number 1-5 (least confident to most confident). This will help you to target your revision.