Remember learning to drive?
Having to think about every little thing…
the clutch, the accelerator, the steering, the gear changes,
the mirrors, the road signs!
It’s amazing how, once we’ve practised,
and practised (and practised!) something,
with guidance and teaching and advice along the way,
that thing that once felt
– and genuinely WAS so complicated,
and took so much thought and concentration…
becomes almost effortless.
It’s pretty amazing when you really think about it.
Find out how this happens for students when they master exam technique
and the skills of strategic and effective study.
I just finished a quick journey
where I was following a learner driver for much of the time.
They were struggling a little bit at a junction
and as I’m pretty sympathetic with learner drivers,
I was sat behind them thinking about all the things they were trying to do in that moment.
The accelerator, the clutch, the steering,
looking both ways down the road as well as in the mirrors
and everything else!
And I had a bit of a double-whammy-thought-moment.
First, I started thinking about how there’s a parallel
with all of the strategic study and exam technique
that I train students in.
At first and for people outside of that training
when they hear me talking about it all,
it can sound pretty overwhelming and complicated.
It can feel like there’s a lot going on
(and just like if we had to break down and describe everything we have to do and have to think about when driving… there is a lot to know and do and think about!).
You might wonder…
‘How’s that all going to fit together?’
‘How does my teen put into action all those skills when they’re sat, under pressure, in the exam hall?’
For example,
let’s just consider the 6 elements of exam technique.
And what about just ONE of those elements.
- Command Words.
Well, there’s quite a bit involved just with that
(like there is with just pulling out of a junction,
never mind all the other scenarios and skills with driving).
There’s:
- IDENTIFYING the command word
Then
- Figuring out the LEVEL OF COGNITION
And
- The TRIGGER WORDS they need to use in their response
to alert the marker they really are answering exactly what the Q is asking.
Yep, no messing…
there IS indeed a lot to it.
BUT:
Students who’ve had my training,
feedback and worked with me on practising and honing these skills
totally end up doing ALL of this naturally,
automatically and effortlessly.
They don’t have to be actively thinking about each and every element.
Just as, when we’ve been driving for years,
we don’t have to think about exactly what to do with our feet
and our hands every few seconds.
And here’s the double-whammy moment I had.
As I sat there thinking:
‘Oooh, I should make a video about this’.
I realised I get quite a lot of my ideas when I’m driving.
And then I thought:
‘Well, isn’t that interesting!’
That while I’m doing the thing that I used to have to think about,
with every little action and nitty-gritty detail,
I now not only don’t have to do that…
but in fact my brain is so free,
having mastered the skill to such an extent,
that it can actually think creatively and at an even higher level.
Now think about what that means for students!
When they have their exam technique and study skills nailed,
everything’s a lot smoother and more efficient,
then they can up-level themselves even more.
Because when their brain is free from having to think about those skills,
they can come up with even more creative language,
come up with better ideas,
be more able to draw on and convey higher level knowledge
they’ve worked so hard to learn in their subjects.
It creates the space and brain power to produce even better quality work and responses.
