Study Skills-2 Or even more stuff I wish I’d known when I was your age

Aims Reviewed: “I will study and get ready, and perhaps my chance will come.” -Abraham Lincoln This two session course on study skills has two objectives expressed by these two questions: What are the most efficient ways of studying and recalling a great deal of material effectively? What are the most powerful ways of coping with exam-related anxiety and stress?

Starter: Review Your teacher will give each of you a letter All of the As get together in one half the class and so on. You will have 3-5 mins to discuss and then feed back to the class the 5 essential elements of the technique you have been given to review (without looking at the notes) EG: A- Retrieval practice; B- Interleaved Practice; C- 3Rs

Coming Up in Part 2 One of the most efficient ways possible, of learning and recalling a great deal of foreign language vocabulary The definitive guide to creating an exam timetable Another (but way cooler) way of reducing exam stress and anxiety and raising attainment

Starter 2: Getting the most out of concept maps We saw last week that concept/mind maps are reasonably effective compared to normal note taking but less effective than any kind of retrieval practice. Can you think of a way/ways to beef up concept maps for studying purposes? (they have other uses as well) Think, discuss, feedback

Example: What should go in the question mark?

Works for all Science/Geo style Diagram questions

Study Techniques Question: What is a very efficient way of learning and recalling large amounts of foreign language vocabulary quickly and easily? Question: How can I remember all the steps for a procedure in Design Technology or a Science Practical?

1. Spaced Repetition Spaced repetition is a very powerful way of learning that incorporates increasing intervals of time between subsequent review of previously learned material in order to exploit the psychological spacing effect. So the basic principle is that you review something quickly after learning it for the first time and then gradually again and again over longer gaps until you will need to review it very rarely to maintain your knowledge

1a.An example review scheduler - Anki

1b.Downloading Decks

1c Example decks

1d Scheduling

1e Spaced Repetition: Key Principles Make each flashcard active rather than passive eg: Ask questions on one side; use cloze deletion; use occlusion Don’t attempt to recall anything you don’t understand!!!! So learn it first Use imagery ( a picture is worth a thousand words!) Build on sound basic understanding first before advanced concepts MAKE SURE YOU DON’T ADD TOO MUCH INFORMATION TO A CARD- break it into chunks

1f Practice Which of the following are examples of well put together flash card items? 1.Q: What countries belong to the European Union (2002)? A: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom 2. Q: Which country hosted a meeting to consider the creation of a European Community of Defence in 1951? A: France 3. Q: What is the sequence of letters in the alphabet? A: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 4. Q: The credit belongs... (Teddy Roosevelt) A: to the man who's actually in the arena

2. How to produce an effective revision timetable. With advice from Bruce A good timetable should contain the following elements: i) be informed by your goals ii) be flexible iii) help motivate you

“If no mistake have you made, yet losing you are... a different game you should play.” “Don't fear failure. — Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.”

2a Setting up the Timetable This is the easy part You can use a variety of tools ranging from your school planner to web based versions My personal preference is for Google Calendar Double check to make sure all dates and times are accurate You can even make one and share it with your tutor group

2b Setting Goals Goal setting is a whole session all on it’s own but for the purposes of today it’s well worth keeping three simple principles in mind: Goals are motivating only when they are specific, challenging (easy goals are not motivating) etc If you have mastered the skill set needed add an outcome goal e.g.: to score an 8c in the exam If you’re still learning them go for a learning goal e.g.: To develop 3-5 ways of approaching document questions INSTEAD of an object goal

2c Getting Focused Now look at your goals and plan in your study sessions accordingly to match into your study calendar. If you’re aiming for an academic prize in English then you may want to question why you have lots of origami practice sessions planned in! TAKE HOME POINT: Your study sessions should reflect your goals and each study session should be seen as a sub goal on the way to a successful result. What are you focusing on?

2c Monitoring Progress Goals are useless without feedback If you find yourself missing sub goals then revise your study timetable accordingly If the study calendar stays fixed throughout your session you’ve either not used it properly or you’re a robot

Is anyone here a robot?

Last word on goal setting- Bruce still knows best! “If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done. Make at least one definite move daily toward your goal.”

3. Coping with Exam Stress Part II: What would your forebears advise you to do? We conclude this second session with a quick and easy way to reduce pre exam nerves (and it also increases attainment) This quick writing exercise allows you to reframe the examinations in a wider perspective This is an excellent way of reducing stress in any situation Try it! Instructions on next slide

Here are some of them

3a The Ancestors Writing Task “Every man is a quotation from all his ancestors.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson Your ancestors will have lived through almost every situation imaginable at one time or another. Imagine they could contact you. What advice do you think they would give to you about how to live your life happily and successfully? After thinking for a minute, write down some of the general life advice you think they would give you

Coping with Anxiety What did the two techniques have in common? (Values and Ancestors) Are there any general principles you can draw for altering your mental state away from stress and pre exam nerves?

Concluding Questions-1 What is spaced repetition and what is it useful for?

Concluding Questions-2 What are 3-5 ways of going further with spaced repetition? Rather than simple Q and A?

Learner Profile Link BIS learners are Risk Takers and Thinkers Look back at your goals for this exam period. How could you integrate the new skills into your study habits? Which skills lend themselves best to which subjects? How might you plan a study timetable?

“ No! Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try. “ Last Words-Yoda knows best! And GOOD LUCK in the Exams ! “Do or do not... there is no try.”