Grade Transformation Blog

Grade Transformation Blog

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Is THIS stopping your teen becoming GREAT?

Being good at something and being comfortable with it is certainly no bad thing.

However, being ‘good’ or being comfortable, can stop us from pushing ourselves and therefore prevents us from becoming GREAT. It means we won’t work harder or do more and we don’t therefore discover how brilliant we could be… How awesome things COULD be.

 

 

Being good at something can actually be the thing that stops us becoming great at something.
What on earth am I talking about? I’ll explain all in this video.

I’m Katie Price – Grade Transformation Expert, and as a student I was in the ‘good’ category pretty much across the board.

I got mostly As and Bs, in my subjects – not without a lot of work though. I was decent at sport – always made it into the B teams for the sports I played (and sometimes got a shot in the A teams – I was the one who’d get bumped up if an A team player was away) and socially, I would be the odd Vice-captain of something on the odd occasion. So generally good, never terrible, but never GREAT.  Mostly ,I blended in and was totally okay with ALL of that.

If this is anything like your teen, OR if they’re kinda cruising or staying happily in their comfort zone right now, then this message is definitely for you.

Being good at something and being comfortable with it is certainly no bad thing.

However, what I’ve noticed – ONLY once I’ve gotten older and experienced moments of growth as well as moments of struggle and major challenges – is that being ‘good’ or being comfortable –  can stop us from pushing ourselves and therefore prevents us from becoming GREAT.

It means we won’t work harder or do more and we don’t therefore discover how brilliant we could be. How awesome things COULD be.

Now – this isn’t any major revelation… it’s really a THING and so many coaches, authors and well, pretty much everyone who studies or teaches human behaviour and psychology in any way have laid this out clearly for years. But it’s something I’ve been hearing about more and more from parents, and like I said earlier, it’s something I can definitely relate to in my own life and decisions and in others around me.

Cruising means we’re not pushing ourselves. And I certainly wouldn’t say I was cruising as a student, but I did realise just how much more I could push myself when I once got a D in an exam…Argh!

It was my first major exam of A-Level Maths – the equivalent of Maths Methods or Advanced Mathematics depending on your state over here. And it was certainly a big jump from the GCSE level Maths I’d gotten an A in previously.

And that D freaked me out!

I started going to all the extra lunch time tutorials, did extra practise Qs for homework and basically levelled up my study. Because I was a little concerned that that could happen in my other subjects too. I pushed myself harder than I ever had before because I was suddenly uncomfortable.

And you may well have seen this happen in aspects of your own or your teen’s life. It takes something that makes us UNcomfortable to make us change or take action.

I bet you’ve had that situation in the car, where we experience a hairy moment or a near-miss when we’re driving, and suddenly we’re paying super-close attention to EVERY car, pedestrian and road sign for the rest of the journey. That dodgy moment made us uncomfortable and made us focus and concentrate harder straight afterwards.

My mum used to be a smoker and had tried giving up heaps of times, until her best friend – also a smoker – was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. One week later, my mum had given up smoking and hasn’t smoked a cigarette since.

If a situation isn’t GOOD – it FORCES us to take action, to work harder or to seek help or do something about it. To become great at whatever will help us overcome or avoid that situation.

Which is why many parents come to me or enrol their teen in my 10Wk Program, when they’re struggling in some way or with some aspect of their study and need to take action to get good or become great at the things that are holding them back.

AND it’s why I get especially excited for those students and parents who get on board when they’re NOT uncomfortable and they’re already doing pretty well – BUT they’re either keen to see how much better they could be. They know that they COULD be GREAT rather than GOOD if they just had some of the skills, techniques and know-how that I teach.

So if your teen’s currently a little uncomfortable or facing challenges in any aspect of their study – assignments, essay-writing, exams, note-taking, researching or just being organised, motivated and efficient….

OR if they’re doing ok but kinda cruising,

OR perhaps they’re going good but you wanna see if they can turn good into great – then drop me an email or check out my 10 Week Grade Transformation Program which is open for enrolment right now.

And until next week, let’s make this a GREAT 😉  week!

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The truth about these ‘fun and modern’ assignments

Do you remember the days when an essay was an essay, and a presentation was a presentation?
We knew where we stood with those (even if we didn’t necessarily like them).

But now it’s all ‘create a video movie review’,
or ‘record a podcast episode about a historic figure’,
or ‘write a blog about a character in such-and-such a novel’
or… (and this is probably the most common right now)…

‘perform a TED talk about a current issue in society’

Well, I’m here to tell you that really – not a lot has changed.
Stick with me and I’ll explain why really, it’s still just essay-writing in disguise.

 

Tell me if your teen has been set anything like this lately…

– Create a VLOG movie review, or record a podcast episode about a historic figure,

or write a blog about a character in such-and-such a novel OR…

this is probably the most common right now… perform a TED talk about a current issue in society.

Do you remember the days when an essay was an essay, and a presentation was a presentation? Back when there wasn’t even powerpoint to take the pressure off YOU  and onto the slides alongside us?

Well, I’m here to tell you that really – not a lot has changed. Stick with me and I’ll explain all…

Because oh-boy – it’s something I’m seeing crop up more and more for students and the tasks they’re being set.

I want to share with EVERYONE out there the key point that so many are missing when it comes to
these new, fun, and funky style assignments I see cropping up a TON these days.

Or at least they’re TRYING to SOUND fun and funky…

Like, perform a TED Talk, create a VLOG, or record a podcast episode.

These new-fangled assignments are supposed to:

(a) be more up-to-date and relevant to life today and

(b) be more FUN.

So that students see the point of them and enjoy doing them more.

And there is nothing wrong with that – except that actually these are all just pretty much the same thing, wrapped up in different coloured bows.

And those fancy bows are causing quite a few students a bit of confusion.

They don’t know HOW to write a blog. They’ve no idea where to start with planning a podcast.

And so I have some good news and bad news. And a very clear message to take away – so stick with me to the end here.

Okay – the good news is this:

There are no fancy or brand new structures, templates or scaffolds needed here. No new-fangled techniques, features or skills required that your teen doesn’t already know about or haven’t been shown before (or at least HOPEfully knows about if they’ve ever written a PEEL or TEEL paragraph, or a standard 5 paragraph essay).

Because the marking criteria for a TED talk will still demand an introduction, body and conclusion – but maybe just with a fancy hook thrown in as the very first sentence of the intro.

The teacher is still going to be looking for a VLOG or a podcast or a blog article to have a clear intro to the topic, discussion – in other words – a body – and a summary or – yep, you guessed it – a conclusion.

So here’s the bad news:

These cool and funky tasks really aren’t all that new and exciting when it comes down to it.

Because – shock-horror – It’s basically still an essay, with a bit of a tweak of language or an extra little bit of word-based glitter thrown on top, like a fun and engaging opening or ending.

And I’m not here to pooh-pooh the idea of making things more relevant to today or trying to make them a little more fun.

But I DO want to reveal these tasks for what they really ARE so that students aren’t left feeling confused about what they have to do or how to tackle them.

I want students to realise that really, they just have to write an essay and then perform it.

They still need an intro with a thesis statement or hypothesis or key argument, 3 body paragraphs that support and discuss their key point or theme or message, and a conclusion that reinforces it.

So, the message I want you take away from this, is no matter what the task is called, it’s very likely that it’s still an essay format behind the scenes. So don’t let any fun disguises lead to confusion or overwhelm. Just write an essay.

Intro – body – conclusion.

And tweak that essay a little to fit with the genre and final format.

 

 

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How to feel a sense of accomplishment

It’s easy to feel like we’re just not getting anywhere sometimes.

I’m sure we all have that feeling from time to time.

I know I do!
Because I’m a real action-taker, and with that, I’m also a little impatient at times
(okay, a lot of the time) 😉
or frustrated when I don’t feel like I’m progressing with something as fast or as well as I’d hoped.

So I thought I’d share with you something that I’ve done recently that’s helped me feel better about how each day’s gone and what’s gotten #done.

 

When things didn’t feel like they were moving along as much as I’d like, even though I was working hard (not just because I wasn’t doing anything, cos, well… if that’s the case, then this won’t work) 😉
I had to remind myself and prove to myself that progress was actually being made and that things were indeed getting done.

 

So I would take 2 minutes at the end of the day, to write down all the things I’ve accomplished that day.
Whether it was a small, stand-alone simple task, or a step towards/some part of a bigger project.

 

For example, your teen might not have completed the whole essay they need to write, but they might’ve planned the structure and content, or written their thesis statement and the arguments or evidence they’re going to use to support it.

Or…
Perhaps they’ve done the research they need in order to get the background theory for their science investigation.

 

Now, this 2 minute daily review is not something I do all the time, I just do it when I feel like I need that bit of ‘proof’ to myself that things are actually happening and progressing.
(Though, actually – it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep this up – so that it’s almost a preventative technique to stop me getting to the point of feeling that way in the first place!)

But I usually keep it up for about a week or two.
Just til I feel positive and back on the ‘progress train’ again 🙂

 

So if your teen’s feeling a bit like they’re spinning their wheels, not making as much progress as they’d like, when really they just need to be reminded of all the small steps they ARE taking in the right direction, or a bit of positive reinforcement, then have them give this a go.

I’m Katie Price Grade transformation expert and if you have a question you’d like me to answer or topic for me to address on a future blog video, then I’d love to hear from you – you can email me at katie.price@rocksolidstudy.com.au– and until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!

Katie 🙂

 

 

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What we need to ACTUALLY get a task DONE.

Is your teen procrastinating over something?
Getting started on a task, finishing something they started, something small, something big?

It might be because they’re missing one of the essential resources that we ALL need to get ANY task done.

 

What do we need to get any task done?

There are four essential resources – key ingredients if you like –
and without any one of them, we’re likely to fall short of our goal or the required outcome.

 

So what are they?
Let’s see if you can work it out from this recent not-so-academic example for me…

My husband and I needed to put up a fence a couple of months ago.
Because #Bonnie #NewDogParents ??

So, we put aside a couple of days to do it and roped in a couple of DIY savvy friends of ours too,
because although I’d love to be,
we are NOT the most practical or knowledgeable when it comes to DIY beyond hammering a picture hook into a wall!
We needed their skills and we needed their tools. (Big time).

(Honestly, it more ended up like us helping and them doing the fence.
And my main skills were mainly in the tea, coffee and snacks department – but those are kind of essential too, right?!)…

So, anyway – did you pick them out?
The 4 key resources?

Well, they are:

– TIME (to do the job and any prep)
– PEOPLE (who know what they’re doing!)
– SKILLS (the knowledge and the ‘how’ to do it)
and
– TOOLS. (what practical things you need to be able to do it)

 

Let’s use a different example that’s a bit more academic:

For any webinar I host, I need:
– time to plan the content,
– time to deliver the webinar
and I need
– people: Me to plan and deliver it, my glamorous assistant Alistair to monitor it, and sometimes the brilliant tech support people.
On that tech note, I need
– tools: I need the webinar software, plus the powerpoint software for the slides, and the laptop to do it on.

Plus I need
– skills: Skills in putting the powerpoint together and skills in running the webinar software, plus speaking and presentation skills too.

 

And, for your teen and their study, it’s the same.

For them, their 4 essential resources will look like this:

Time – time to get that essay written, to complete that exam, or to revise the subject matter, or simply to get those questions done for homework.

People – this includes themselves to do the work, but of course also their teachers, any tutors and perhaps their friends or you as parents for help or a practice audience maybe.

Tools – including their laptop, their stationery, and of course any other practical or subject specific gear, a graphics calculator perhaps or art equipment for example.

And finally,
Skills – which I’ll come back to in a moment 😉

Because first consider the fact that really, students need to minimise the first two if they’re to study successfully, efficiently and independently.

And when it comes to official assessments and exams, then this is critical.

When it comes to the ‘people’ resource,
they won’t be able to get help from friends, parents or teachers when they’re sat in the exam hall.
And they don’t want to be wasting time seeking out that help or waiting on it during their revision.
And in general, they don’t want to be spending more time than is necessary on each and every task.
They’ll almost always feel like there’s more content to be covered than there is time available when it comes to revision, so they want to make that as efficient and effective as possible.
They want to still have time for friends, family and hobbies and so want to minimise time spent on homework whilst also ensuring it’s still of a high quality.

 

And this is where that fourth resource comes in: SKILLS.

Students need to know and master the techniques and strategies that’ll make them effective as well as efficient in their study.

So they don’t waste time using revision strategies that aren’t effective.
So that they don’t waste time on false start after false start on that inquiry or assignment they’ve been set.
So that they don’t have to edit and re-draft their essays more times than is necessary.

And instead, craft and construct writing that is high quality and focused on the elements that’ll gain them marks in a rubric or mark scheme.

They need a proven system that’ll get them on the right track from the very start and then have the techniques and skills to complete any task to a high level.

And they need the six elements of exam technique that enable them to tackle questions and essays with clarity and confidence, because they know exactly what the question’s really asking, and they have the knowledge and ability to get the required info from brain to paper in the way that the marking guide requires.

 

These skills of:
– exam technique,
– high quality written communication
and
– extended response structure and planning
are critical for students to operate independently with confidence in their study.

And it’s this resource of SKILLS that I believe to be most important.
Because with the necessary skills, your teen can reduce or make the others more efficient.

It means they’re less reliant on other people
(like you, their friends, tutor or teachers),
they can use any necessary tools more efficiently and smoothly,
and it takes less time to complete homework exam Qs or essays (AND they can do so to a higher standard).

 

I’d love to know, which of the four essential resources – time, people, tools or skills – does your teen have and which do you feel they are lacking?
Let me know in the comments, or send me an email 🙂

And until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!

Katie 🙂

 

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How to answer high level essays and exam Qs (Part 2)

I explained in my previous blog the exact reasons why students struggle so much with the highest cognitive performance ‘Evaluation’ level essay titles and exam questions.

(And the fact that these are the Qs that every student should be perfecting because:
1 >> they’re worth the most marks, and 2 >> they give students access to the highest marking criteria in rubrics).

So that’s why this week, I’m giving you a very specific strategy to help your teen deal with those high level ‘Evaluation’ essays and exam Qs.

I’m letting you in on the EXACT words that’ll help ANY student:
– make sense of these Qs,
– know exactly what they’re really asking
AND
– be able to clearly and easily structure a response accordingly.

> Looking for Part I to this blog?… It’s HERE! <

Which exam questions and essay titles do students dread the most?

The ones that are also (unfortunately for those students) almost always worth the most marks?

Yep, it’s those Qs right at the top of the pyramid of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Marzano’s Taxonomy – the evaluation level Qs.

 

And I explained in my previous blog the exact reasons why students struggle so much with these types of essay titles and exam questions.

 

So, if you haven’t already watched that, then I’d recommend you check that out HERE,
because this week I’m going to give you a specific strategy to help your teen deal with those high level ‘Evaluation’ essays and exam Qs.

So stick around because I’m letting you in on the EXACT words that’ll help ANY student:
– make sense of these Qs,
– know exactly what they’re really asking
AND
– be able to structure a response accordingly.

 

So, if you watched my last video, you’ll know how evaluation Qs are worded and that they require students to make a JUDGEMENT.

 

Here’s the strategy for how to do that in words, on paper:

They need to consider or turn the wording of the Q into
–  TO WHAT EXTENT –
and craft their essay or answer around that.

Examples:

So, instead of “evaluate the experiment” – turn it into:

To what extent was the experiment accurate and reliable?

Instead of  “Y leader was influential in X event. Discuss” – turn it into:

To what extent did Y leader influence X event?

Or change “assess the success of the director in persuading the audience to agree with their point of view “– change it to:

To what extent was the director successful in persuading the viewer to agree with their message, or understand their point of view?

“And how do you answer THAT?” I hear you ask.

Well, given that wording, now their thesis statement or key point to focus on will be one of 3 responses of:

  1. Yes / totally / very successfully.

(Depending on the wording or topic of the Q)
– and then here are the reasons why and supporting evidence …

OR

2.  No / not at all / or was not successful  – and here’s why… (reasons and supporting evidence)

OR

3.  To some extent – and here are the two sides of the argument.

 

So in summary, responding successfully to these types of questions involves 2 key things:

>>> Changing the wording or considering the Q to be a ‘to what extent’ question,

and then

>>> Responding in one of those 3 ways – yes, totally, and here’s why –  no, not at all, and here’s why, or to some extent and here are the two sides

I know this is a very practical and actionable specific strategy, (probably one of the best that I’ve given away for free!) so if you know others who might also find this tip useful, please feel free to share this video – forward the email, share the video link, post it on social media…  and until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!

**** If your teen would LOVE all the quick and practical, immediately actionable strategies to get them writing quality essays and exam answers, smoothly, confidently and successfully, then you definitely need to check out my 10 Week Grade Transformation Program!

 

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High level essay and exam Qs (Part I) – What they are and why they’re so TOUGH!

What do you get if you cross the most dreaded type of exam Q with the one type of Q that’s almost always worth the most marks?

Nope, that was not the start of a joke – I’m useless at telling jokes.
And that would be a pretty dull joke, right?

I’m talking about a real combo that crops up in exams way too often for many students.

Here’s what it is and why these Qs are so dang tough!

(Just a heads up: There’s a lot I want to cover on this, so this is part one of two videos I’m going to do on this – so be sure to look out for the second one next week!)

For most students – or at least those who haven’t been through my exam technique training 😉
– this isn’t a good combo.

Because, who wants a situation where the one type of Q you don’t feel confident in,
the one type of Q you DON’T want to come up,
not only does actually crop up (pretty commonly) but also is worth a BIG chunk of marks on the paper.

And I can tell you, I was pretty clueless on how exactly to respond to these Qs when I was a student too.

You might’ve guessed what I’m talking about, because I’ve talked about these Qs before.
They’re right at the top of the pyramid of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Marzano’s Taxonomy.
They are the evaluation level Qs.

Go and check out my Blog entitled ‘Look out – these Qs are super common’ if you’d like to hear more about where and just how much they’re cropping up across all subjects right now.

 

But today, I want to explain WHY these Qs are so tough.

 

It’s not just because this is a command at the top end of cognitive processing.
Although that is the case and does in itself make these common high end exam Qs a challenge.

 

But, in the eyes of students, it’s because the wording of them just sounds so open or vague.

Or at least they do on first appearances OR if you don’t have a specific strategy and proven structure to tackle them.

These are the questions that just give a statement and then say –  ‘discuss’.
Just that word, ‘discuss’, sends students into waffle mode, or worse, total mind-blank.

 

These are also the Qs that start with the words: ‘To what extent’… or ‘Assess’…

They may even have the word evaluate in them, like ‘Evaluate the success of’….

 

So students struggle for two main reasons – and over this and my next blog, I’m going to give you the reasons AND solutions to these struggles, so stick with me 🙂

 

Firstly:
Students aren’t clear on how to identify an evaluate level command in the first place.

They need the training in identifying and making sense of commands and cognitive verbs and the different ways they can be expressed.
One way they can do this is to research Bloom’s taxonomy and then find heaps of example Qs and fit them to each level.
Or, an easier way is to go through Catapults 6 and 7 in my 10 Week Grade Transformation Program 😉

 

And secondly, even when they figure out that they’re looking at an evaluation level Q, they don’t have a clear strategy to tackle it or a structure to follow in their response.

So, the first thing they need to know is that any evaluation Q or task requires them to make a judgement.

Think about it, look at plenty of examples, and you’ll see this is true for any type of evaluation.

EXAMPLES:

A science evaluation means your teen’s judging how well the experiment went – was their data read or measured accurately, was the methodology correctly carried out, are their results reliable?

Or if they’re evaluating a product in Design Tech– they’re judging how well that product meets the needs and demands of the target audience, how well it meets the specifications.

And to evaluate in the arts subjects, they are judging how well an author  or message to the reader for a novel, or artist conveys a certain mood.
Or they’re judging how important a particular leader was in shaping events in History, or judging how effective a particular film technique is in making a documentary appealing or striking to an audience.

 

Be sure to catch Part 2 of this info in how to deal with those high level Evaluation essays and exam Qs in my next video next week where I’ll give you the EXACT words that’ll help ANY student make sense of these Qs, know exactly what they’re really asking AND be able to structure a response accordingly.

In the mean time, I explain ALL of this and give even more examples and full response templates for all subjects in Catapult 10 of my 10 Week Grade Transformation Program which builds on the Command Words training in the earlier modules and goes into this particular command in detail.
Plus we’ll be diving deep into evaluation level Qs in the  Exam Mastery Workshop.

Can’t wait to see your teen in one of those trainings very soon!

Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week.

Katie 🙂

 

 

 

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Stop making overwhelming to-do lists (do THIS instead!)

Does your teen get overwhelmed by all the things they have to do?

Do they sometimes have a never ending to-do list that gets them down or stresses them out?

In fact, re-write that… Don’t we all have that and feel that, most of the time?!!

I’ve always got a long to-do list and am sometimes (Okay, often) guilty
of adding way too much to that list,
as I have a tendency be a bit over-ambitious or with predicting how much I can do in a day or a week.
(I prefer to call it being ‘optimistic’) 😉

But I’ve gradually developed and honed a ‘not-a-list’ to-do system/blueprint/regime/whatever-you-wanna-call-it that I now swear by and teach all my personal coaching students to do.

And I’m gonna share it with you 🙂

(Note to self – think of a cool name for this system… ideas in an email please!)

 

 

This ‘system’ is a simple (no tech-y project management software needed, nor crazy-weird special diaries you can only get online from Sweden or wherever).
way to getting everything that needs to be done, done.
On time.
And without any added stress or feeling guilty when you’re not slaving away.

(Because yes, I used to be guilty of feeling guilty if I wasn’t working when there was oh-so much on that looooong to-do list. Until I got this sussed).

 

Now, It’s no secret to anyone who knows me or has been a part of this grade transformation community for some time, that I’m a person who likes to keep busy. I’m a do-er and a planner and I love a project.

And therefore I’ve always got a long to-do list and can often be guilty of adding way too much to that to do list as I can be a bit over ambitious with predicting how much I can do in a day or a week.

(And then moaning to my husband, Alistair, that I’m way too busy and I’ve got too much to do! He, of course, then reminds me that I was the one that gave myself those jobs in the first place, and then I sheep-ishly agree with him and go back to what I was doing, minus any sympathy I was hoping for).

 

The point is, there are a lot of positives to this – getting lots done, being efficient with my time, but it can also lead to feeling overloaded and overwhelmed if I’m not careful.

So, I’ve gradually developed a system that prevents these negatives and helps me stay calm and on top of life – (most of the time!!… Hey, no-one and no system is totally perfect!) 😉

And I thought I’d share it with you as it’s pretty simple and could be enacted by your teen too if they feel it might work for them.

 

First up: I DON’T make a to-do list.

I’ll say that again.

I NEVER write out a full to-do list.

I used to – and it was simply… overwhelming.

Plus of course I never got to the end of it, because as I’d cross things off over a few days, naturally, more things would just get added.
Know the feeling??!
So I never felt like I could just relax or watch some TV or chill out, without feeling guilty or twitchy that I should be doing something more productive, something to tick off that list.

 

Here’s what I do instead.

There are three parts to it:

1) I break down every task into specific actions

And

2) I then write each action into a specific day in my diary.

So in my diary I have specific things on specific days.
Things like anyone has in their diary – dentist appointments, coffee dates etc.
But I also have my tasks and work to do.

Then…
3) Once I’ve completed a task, I highlight it.
And yes, I even highlight the fun stuff like the coffee dates (because, everyone loves to cross things off a list right?!)

This system means I still have a visible record of what’s been done when,
because it’s not just a piece of paper or a post-it note that’s gonna get thrown away.
I can still see any outstanding tasks AND I get the glory; that sense of satisfaction, by highlighting as a way of crossing off, the item.
(Note: pretty highlighter colours can help boost that enjoyment factor just a tad more too) 🙂

 

So the rules are:
– No general list.
AND
– No big projects that are going to take more than an hour or two to complete. If they are bigger than that, they need to be broken down more.

 

EXAMPLES:

  • If it’s something small, or stand alone, like a phone call I need to make, then rather than just writing it on a piece of paper or as part of a random list, I note it down on the day I plan to do it with the time and any other details.

Then, once it’s done, I highlight it.

 

  • What about a task that requires more than a short one-off action? Or, more than an hour or two of work?

 

I’ll give an example of my coaching sessions I do with my Gold and Platinum students.

Of course I put the actual coaching session with the timing in my diary – with a buffer either side.

But there are also other tasks associated with a coaching session, and they get broken down and written in on specific days too.
I’ll put in my diary three days before to email the student and confirm the session date and time. Plus, if we haven’t already arranged what we’ll cover, I’ll ask what they want us to work on in their session.

I also put in prep time.
That goes in my diary for the day before the session.
I don’t like to do this too far in advance as I want everything to be fresh in my mind and as up to date as possible.

And then finally, I put in a note the day after our session to write it up and send through the summary document I produce, along with any resources or other help I’ve planned to pass on to the student.

So, this keeps it clear exactly how much work is involved and doesn’t leave me struggling to fit in all those other elements beyond the coaching session itself.

 

ROUND-UP:

The beauty of this system is that it not only helps me stay on top of absolutely everything;
even the small things that are associated with a task that could otherwise slip through the net or be rushed, or just add to my overwhelm if they aren’t planned for and written down.
But, it also:

++  encourages the act of breaking down any project into manageable pieces,
++  helps me track my progress
++  stay motivated and positive by seeing all the tasks I’ve accomplished
++  keeps those to-do lists much smaller and more manageable each day.

Instead of seeing 20 things to do, I might have 4 or 5.

 

ONE MORE IMPORTANT THING!…

I’ve had to train myself to only look at one day on any particular day.
That’s a really important part of it.
I have to tell myself to “just get those things done and trust that if I do, and I do that each day, then everything will be taken care of.”

THE OTHER BIG POSITIVE:

Finally, those smaller daily lists mean I can actually relax at the end, guilt-free.
If I’ve gotten everything done for the day, I can rest easy knowing that life is under control and can take some time to chill out and do whatever else I want, without worrying about the other things left to do, because I know they are programmed in for another day. Not for today.

Ahhhhh- guilt-free relaxation!

But of course, this is just what works for me and has worked for many other students I’ve shared this with and have enacted it.
Feel free to tweak and adjust.
And of course, there might be something that works even better!
Plus, hey, everyone’s different. What works for one, may not for another, and vice-versa.
So leave me a comment and let me know what systems work for you and your teen,
and until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!

Katie 🙂

 

 

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Feeling like there’s not enough progress?

In a recent email conversation, a mum told me how her daughter was a little disappointed with her recent English mark. BUT, as her mum, she could see just how far her daughter’s come and doesn’t want her to feel disheartened.

This is a common situation in Term 1 because those assignments and assessments that have just been completed
are being judged on the criteria for your teen’s new year group,
BUT with only having had only one term of teaching at that level!

So, here’s a practical action that can help alleviate the frustration that may arise when your teen feels like they aren’t progressing as they’d like, or are falling victim to the new criteria and demands of a higher year group.

 

 

Quick Analogy: Do you have an analogue watch or clock nearby that you can look at?

If you do, then just quickly note the time right now and then watch that minute hand.
Can you see it moving?
Nope…
(unless you have super-power eyesight!)
But, we know it is, right?!

I’m Katie Price – Grade Transformation Expert and in a moment I’ll explain what this means for your teen.
Because I wanna talk about an issue from a recent email conversation I had with a mum, who told me how her daughter was a little disappointed with her recent English mark BUT, that as a mum, she can see just how far her daughter’s come and doesn’t want her to feel disheartened.

This is a significant observation, especially at the start of a new academic year.

Term 1 assignments and assessments that have just been completed are being judged on the criteria for your teen’s new Year group, BUT with only having had one term’s worth of teaching at that level.
So it can be tough sometimes to even maintain the same grades as the previous year, let alone continue to improve on them.

 

I discussed this issue back in my blog ‘What got you here, won’t get you there’,
so if this resonates with you, then go check that out after finishing this one 🙂

 

Because what I really wanna share with you is a practical action that can help alleviate any disappointment or frustration that may arise when your teen feels like they aren’t progressing as they’d like, or are falling victim to the new criteria and demands of a higher year group. Especially, like I said, from their results in Term 1.

 

Well, here it is…

 

Think back to the work your teen was producing 3 years ago.

It would look and sound quite different to what they are producing now.
And what about comparing the questions they were tackling or how they were writing and performing two or even just one year ago?

For example :

– The complexity of the music script they are now learning for an instrument will be more intricate than this time last year.

– The quality of their artwork will be higher,

– The vocabulary and sentence structures in their writing will be more sophisticated,

– The creativity in their design or ideas will be more interesting,
and

– The difficulty of the maths questions they’re now tackling will be greater.

 

I’m pretty sure that if they did this, they’d see and think something along the lines of either:
“Gee – that felt like quite a challenge back then, it looks kinda easy now”.

Or…

“Wow – I was really proud of that when I did it, thought it was pretty darn brilliant. But hmmm… it doesn’t look or sound so great now”…

It can be a great way for them to see the hard evidence of their progress and new levels they’re operating at.

 

So collect, or photograph, or digitally save a few work samples from your teen at yearly intervals.

Then you’ll have something to pull out and remind them of how far they’ve come if they ever need a reminder or some proof.
Keep a copy of an English assignment, a photo of a piece of art, a piece of music they’ve been rehearsing or a science analysis.

It doesn’t even have to be a whole project – for example the analysis part of a science project is where students most develop their writing.

(And in the digital age this is so easy and DOESN’T require you to be hoarding folders of paper or rolled up collages! Bonus!) 😉

 

Now, if you had one… take a look back at that minute hand on your watch or on the clock…
It’s moved a tiny bit, right?

Our development and growth in our skills is the same – it’s such a gradual process that we ourselves often can’t see it.
And the way that success criteria and grading are set up to increase through the year levels – as of course they should do –  well, it can compound this lack of sense of progress.
But for almost all students, they ARE progressing and sometimes just need a good solid reminder through some hard evidence to boost their confidence and motivation.

 

So, start now. See what you and your teen could save from their Term 1 assessments and then leave me a comment or drop me an email and let me know what you file and save and why you chose those them.
Is it a subject they struggle with?
Or is it something they love and want to continue with and achieve well in, in future?

 

And if you think this idea would be useful to others, feel free to share! Forward in an email or share this blog link on social media.

And until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week.

Katie 🙂

 

 

 

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Do *THIS* after every assessment

There’s one thing that every student should do after every exam paper they sit, essay they write or assignment they complete.

Now I warn you, it’s not glamorous, and sometimes it can actually be downright depressing.
But it’s something that the best students do and it’s something that I still see so many students NOT doing.

And that means they’re missing out on a huge practical and very specific learning opportunity that they can apply in their future assessments.

This one thing is reviewing and dissecting IN DETAIL the feedback (not just the grade) they get when it’s handed back and compare it to the marking guide.

So let me back track a little on everything I just said and break it all down.

 

Firstly, here’s why so many students don’t do it.

Reason Number one – they don’t see the point.

If they got a good result then they’re happy and they just wanna bask in the glory for a little while. They don’t see the need to go back with a fine toothed comb because they think ‘I did well, so I don’t need to’.
Of course the whole point in this case, is we want to identify WHY they did well, so they can replicate that in future.
Plus, we still want to identify any areas where there COULD still be improvement, because of course, what gets an A or a B in one year group, won’t still get that grade in the next.

 

Reason Number two – they got a disappointing or not so great result, and they just don’t wanna dwell on it.

I get it.
Why would we wanna spend even more time and effort on something we’ve already given quite a bit of that to, to then focus in on those things that are the reason we got that poor result?
It’s rubbing salt into the wound!

But of course, that’s exactly what we need to do.
It’s one of the key ways we can ensure we improve on it next time.
That’s what I meant by it can be a bit painful or depressing, but students have to focus on the positives of this exercise – of how, if they’d changed that, or left that out, or added in this instead then it would’ve achieved this criteria because…

Which leads us to…


Reason number 3 – they don’t know HOW to review and dissect their work.

Maybe they don’t REALLY understand what the teacher means in the feedback.
Or they know what it means, but don’t know how they’d act on it.
For example, I had a great email and video discussion with a parent and student recently where they’d had multiple teachers say things along the lines of – “she needs to expand her writing” and they were like: Okay – how do I do that?
And what does that really mean?
So I had to (and loved to!) explain exactly what that meant and precisely HOW it could be done.

Also in this third reason (they don’t know how to review and dissect strategically) is the situation where perhaps there is very little teacher feedback.
Or, just as frustrating – they’re not allowed to keep their work to be able to review it.
In these cases, your teen needs to be extra pro-active and ask the teacher to sit with them for 10 mins and review it with them.

 

So, yes – there are a lot of reasons that students are put off or struggle to do this.

But because it’s using specific questions and their own written answers, it’s not just trying to grapple with general ideas or advice, so it’s a fantastic way to stop making the same mistakes over again, and be able to level-up their future answers and responses in future.

 

If you’d like me to help your teen dissect an essay or assignment or exam question they’ve had returned, then feel free to send it through to me 🙂

Yes, really!
If they’re in any of my memberships or trainings, then I’ll be able to work on it with them, and even if they’re not, then I might just be able to use it as a case study exemplar for others, and if so, would love to review it with them 🙂

 

Now, until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!

 

Katie 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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