So it’s that time of year again and teenagers up and down the country are being cajouled, encouraged and supported in their attempts to prepare for their examinations. Now whilst there is a general acceptance of the importance of preparing for examinations it never ceases to amaze me that the focus at this time year becomes one of revision for tests rather than what should be part and parcle of the educational process – revision for learning.
The emphasis on this kind of end-on ‘learning’ does little to promote the notion of life long learning and the idea that active review needs to be part and parcel of the learning process. As such revision and review techniques need to be taught, developed and become learning habits at the start of educational programmes (in the same way that thinking skills need to be taught explicitly).
Be-that-as-it-may the fact remains that thoughts at this time of the year are about how to get the best out of revision time.
Many schools have used the material in the workbook “Everything You Wanted To Know About Revision” which includes thoughts on how best to prepare, plan and prioritise in a revision programme.
REVIEWING REVISION ROUTINES RICHLY REWARDS RIGHTEOUS READERS, RATIONAL RACONTORS, and REASONABLY REASONABLE RESEARCHERS who RESTATE REMARKABLE RESULTS RECEIVED through RE-CONSIDERING REVISION RULES, ROLES and RATIONALE
There are three key components in preparing a personal revision programme:-
1) Emotional Commitment – know why you are revising (learning) the material.
It is important to have a sense of value in what you are doing. The revision and exam process can be quite heavy going unless there are personal reasons for wanting to be succesful. Often abbreviated as WIIFM (or what’s in it for me?) these considerations will put the examinations in the context of a bigger, personal, picture.
2) Knowing what you need to know and what you know.
Every course is built around a syllabus and the syllabus is defined by the ezamination requirement. If you are not clear about what you need to learn you will not be able to plan your revision. The same is true if you’ve not worked out what you already know compared to what you need to know. The book mentioned above outlines the use of a SWOT analysis to work out your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in each of your study subjects.
3) Time..
This is about knowing where the time goes, how you could use it more effectively and how best to plan your time.
The key actions for time management are:-
- Evaluate how you are using your time
- Determine your priorities
- Create a weekly schedule
- Maintain a to-do list
- Eliminate barriers to effective time management
“What ever you can do, or dream you can, begin it now. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
Goethe
