1. Welcome to the Henry Box School Coping with GCSEs parents workshop Please read through the Guardian article and highlight any important points. ‘The science of revision: nine ways pupils can revise for exams more effectively’

2. Effectiveness of ten learning techniques, from Dunlosky et al (2013)
High
utility
Practice testing
Self-testing or taking practice tests on material to be learned.
Distributed (‘spaced’) practice
Implementing a schedule of practice that spreads out study activities over time.
Moderate utility
Elaborative interrogation
Generating an explanation for why an explicitly stated fact or concept is true.
Self- explanation
Explaining how new information is related to known information, or explaining steps taken during problem solving.
Interleaved practice
Implementing a schedule of practice that mixes different kinds of problems, or a schedule of study that mixes different kinds of material, within a single study session.
Low
Summarization
Writing summaries (of various lengths) of to-be- learned texts.
Highlighting
Marking potentially important portions of to- be-learned materials while reading.
Keyword mnemonic
Using keywords and mental imagery to associate verbal materials.
Imagery use for text learning
Attempting to form mental images of text materials while reading or listening.
Rereading
Restudying text material again after an initial reading.

3. Motivation – getting to the table and staying there

4. Study cycle

6. Have they ever said… It’s hard! I give up I can’t motivate myself
I have a short attention span
It’s boring…
I’m not clever enough
It’s effort!

7. Message from Chloe y12
Start revising and making mind maps and revision cards as early as possible
Then you have all your revision resources when it comes to the end of revising for exams.
This will also give time for past papers, which is so important. 

8. Message from Anne y12
The best advice I can give is before you start revising make a revision timetable that includes each topic in it and stick to it!
Leave one week before the mocks to really go over anything that you struggled with. This is something I have learned from this last mock; to manage time better because it can be so easy to over revise on one topic and then not have time to sufficiently go over other topics.
Use the revision check lists that teachers give you for each subject.
Finally practising past papers is crucial. There is a genuine difference in my grades from subjects that I practised past papers on compared to the subjects I didn't.

9. Welcome to our ‘live’ sixth form students!
Harry, Katie, Heather, Ali, Isobel
For discussion on your tables:
What revision strategies worked best for you?
How did you manage your stress levels?
What didn’t work?
What is your best piece of advice for current year 11 students?

10. Method – how should I revise?

11. Create knowledge organisers for each topic/subject:

12. Memory – a virtual filing cabinet

14. This is all they need:
1 x up-to-date CORE revision guide or textbook (written for your syllabus)
This plus past papers is all you need

15. Spaced practice: Layer 1
2-3 months before the exam
Students started this layer for their mock exams
Layer 1 is the longest and most important

16. Assumptions are dangerous – plan ahead
‘If I spend an hour every evening going through my Science textbook I’ll complete the first layer in 2 weeks.’
How many pages are there? How many can you work through an hour?

17. Layer 2 Quicker and easier IF you were thorough with layer 1
No new material
Quizzing/self testing
Past papers

18. Layer 3 No new material Run up to exams Quizzing/self testing
Past papers

19. Layer 4
No new material
Night before exams

20. Get obsessed with layers!
FACT – learning the same information again and again helps you remember more information for longer

21. How to revise
Taking notes….
Revising from those notes…

22. Look-cover-write-check

25. From now on think of yourself as an Athlete
Most things worth achieving require time and effort.
Get into good habits now – just like training
Set your own deadlines and goals for every day. Reward yourself for achieving them.

26. Maths

28. English

29. Revision and Knowledge Organisers in English GCSE English Literature
The aim is to
Help students increase their knowledge ‘base’ going into English Literature examinations.
What are Knowledge Organisers?
A way of organising key knowledge for core GCSE texts onto one generic template (often A3 paper). Facts can be organised into categories including ‘plot’, ‘characters’ or ‘themes’.
What can they be applied to in English?
Literature Paper 1 (Shakespeare and 19th Century texts).
Literature Paper 2 (Modern Texts and Poetry Anthologies).
GCSE English Literature
Papers 1 and 2
Keywords
IDENTIFY INTERPRET EXPLORE CONTEXT MEMORY
GCSE Skill
AO1 - Identify explicit information and ideas.

30. KS4 Example (The Sign of the Four – 19th Century Text)

31. Using your Knowledge Organiser…
Example from the classroom:
Using your Knowledge Organiser…
Write ten questions/tasks in your exercise books to revise the information in your knowledge organiser. Take one or two pages of your exercise/revision book and leave space for each answer underneath. E.G: List three pieces of information about Mary Morstan.

32. From what you can remember…
Example from the classroom:
Fill in the empty section of the Knowledge Organiser (Look, cover, write…we’ll check in a minute).
Check what you’ve written. If you’ve missed any key information, add it in using a different colour pen (this bit is what you need to revise for next time).
From what you can remember…

33. A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams 1950
Blank Templates provide an extra challenge!
A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams 1950
AO3 Context
AO4 Literary Context
Main Characters and key quotations
Stella
Blanche
Stanley
Mitch
Eunice
Steve
PLOT
Scene 1
Scene 7
Scene 2
Scene 8
Scene 3
Scene 9
Scene 4
Scene 10
Scene 5
Scene 11
Scene 6
AO2 – Writers’ methods
Themes
Themes + Main ideas about it
2 Main quotations
Links to Handmaids Tale

34. Revision and Knowledge Organisers in English GCSE English Literature
The aim is to
Help students increase their knowledge ‘base’ going into English Literature examinations.
How can students use them at home?
Create multiple choice questions at home to test peers in class.
Self quizzing at home.
Families can cross-check facts and key quotes with students.
Why is this useful?
Under new curriculum guidelines, many of the GCSE questions are either closed book or extract based tasks. Prior knowledge, including memorised quotations, will be a very useful asset going into the exam.
GCSE English Literature
Papers 1 and 2
Keywords
IDENTIFY INTERPRET EXPLORE CONTEXT MEMORY
GCSE Skill
AO1 - Identify explicit information and ideas.

35. Science

38. More on our website: http://www.henrybox.oxon.sch.uk/
Learning and Teaching
Revision
Other useful websites:

39. Retrieval practice What can you remember from the article
Retrieval practice What can you remember from the article? Test each other! ‘The science of revision: nine ways pupils can revise for exams more effectively’