How can you prepare students for their exams?
Why do students forget? And what can we do to help them remember? As exam season looms, these questions are likely at the forefront of many teachers' minds.
In his blog, 'Deliberately difficult – why it’s better to make learning harder', David Didau asks which of these study patterns is most likely to result in long-term learning:
- study study study study – test
- study study study test – test
- study study test test – test
- study test test test – test
He says, "The most successful pattern is in fact No. 4. Having just one
These are excellent methods of embedding learning! I agree with every one and they will all work in other subjects than English! Brill!
Yep all transferable and great for revision! Glad it’s useful 🙂
This is the second of your articles I have read and I believe we are on the same wavelength. Please contact me via e-mail as I’d like to discuss something further with you. Many thanks.
Hi Anthony – probably best to contact the blogger via the Twitter link at the bottom of the article.
This is so true. That’s why Oaka topic packs are so effective – they give pupils the chance to repeat information, write about the topic and test themselves on an ongoing basis – all the tools provided in a clear, concise topic pack 🙂 Please take a look at our range of over 50 KS3 topic packs for science, geography, history and French.
I’ve been using mind mapping for alternate homework in Sci and computing. Exam style questions in the other weeks taken from all previously covered topics. Task 1 as a test Task 2 self assess and green pen improvements no missed questions. Seems to be making a difference and is also the homework most regularly completed by pupils. I use a bell taks that covers last lesson last month and any previous topic. Again we review answers and pupils add missing details.
Really useful post which has given me something to consider to make learning stick even better. Will definitely try the knowledge organisers. I see your retrieval practice is a set of questions in list format. I have a colourful retrieval practice template in grid form (which can be found by clicking my name) if any reader finds it helpful.
A great reminder of my Easter reading of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Teacher: The Michaela Method. My questions when implementing this method are, however:
1. How easy is it to roll out to a 4- people strong language department?
2. What does knowledge look like in MFL (avoiding single lexical items)? Am I to assume that grammar explanations, pronunciation rules and culture fit into vocabulary and syntactical structures?
3. What would a knowledge organiser look like in MFL (I have my own idea)?
4. How can MFL textbooks be dovetailed into this method?
My son’s secondary school use ways 1 and 2 as the basis for their homework. Every week, he has to re-write /regurgitate something on his knowledge organiser into his book. He is in year 8 and he finds this completely and utterly boring. When he was at primary school, he always did his homework without fail and was well motivated. Now I have to battle to get him to understand how copying something out helps, even when I try to help him do it creatively. I understand the principle but for young children, it is not very motivating. There are more creative ways to set homework and they should motivate children to not only achieve it well but have pride in their work.