A confused marker means a potential loss of marks.
Why?
Because it’s hard for the examiner to find where and how the mark scheme criteria have been achieved.
Here’s what I noticed about answers that came through to me at the ‘referee marking’ stage and HOW students can avoid this happening to their paper.
KEY TAKE AWAYS::
* How to NOT confuse the exam marker!
Students need to…
> Get really familiar with the exam paper and the mark scheme (use past papers!) so they know how different types of Qs are worded and set out, and what is required of them in the mark scheme.
In other words, what ‘style/format’ of response is required by the mark scheme?
E.g. does an analysis Q on a specific type of paper/exam require a flowing essay style response, or a series of succinct key points with extended explanations?
BONUS TIP! This can also be a great way to save time in the exam if you know you can get full marks with a more succinct set of points rather than flowing paragraphs!
> Avoid jumping around between points. There is a difference between making links between different points and creating a confusing mish-mash of info!!! Instead, clearly explain the point you are making (or analyse it, or evaluate it!) and then move onto the next (with a linking sentence if a link between them is required, e.g. cause and effect).
The space and environment where students study matters.
(Don’t worry, this isn’t me giving your teen a free pass to start requesting expensive trips to IKEA or Kikki K! In fact it’s usually a case of cleaning up and clearing out rather than adding more stuff) 🙂
If their environment is well-suited to focused, motivated and effective study, then they are more likely to FEEL motivated and GET and STAY focused.
Here are the specific factors you need to consider.
If their space is messy and cluttered, then (apart from taking ages to find anything and then losing focus and ramping up frustration) their thinking and processing will also be messy and inefficient.
Buuuuutttt…. if their environment is well-suited to focused, motivated and effective study, then they are more likely to FEEL motivated and stay focused.
Here are the key factors that it’ll be helpful to consider, because even though everyone is a little different in terms of what helps us stay on task or produce our best work, these will all play a part:
Firstly, the Visual.
It absolutely needs to be a neat and tidy space.
Mess and clutter are never conducive to effective work or study.
Now that doesn’t mean it has to be totally sterile – it can be inspiring for sure, perhaps some motivational quotes or travel photos or precious items around, but not so much that they become a distraction.
Secondly, it needs to be QUIET.
Some students need or prefer silence – and that’s me too BTW! If I’m working, I can’t deal with any noise, TV, people talking or music – boring perhaps, but I know what works for me. So I’m not one of those cool people you see working away at their laptop at a coffee shop and ideally, your teen won’t be either!
If they do insist that they work better with music, then it should only be baroque music. They likely won’t like it, but I’ve done a whole other blog post previously on this (which you can watch HERE!) to explain this in more detail.
And thirdly is COMFORT.
Now this is a fine balance.
They need to feel comfortable but ALERT. So no lying on their bed, sitting on the couch or slouching in a bean bag. Again, not always a popular fact, but again, this is proven to affect our focus and quality of our work.
For me, I actually do a lot of my work standing. I have a perfect height kitchen bench top for my laptop and it keeps me more focused than sitting at a desk. However, when it comes to marking for exam boards, I have no choice but to sit down, but I take along blankets to prop myself up a bit! I don’t care what I look like (way past that these days!), I just don’t wanna be distracted or less productive because I feel ache-y or uncomfortable or slip into sleep-y mode.
Students often do need motivation and focus and a lot of that has to do with them being in the right environment and setting to do their best work.
So… Neat, tidy and inspiring; quiet or with baroque music; and a desk and chair that has them comfortable but alert will go a long way to helping them be the best they can be 🙂
I’d love to hear about anything your teen has done to make their study space more positive and productive for them. Drop a comment below 🙂
Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!
We hear all the time about the importance of setting goals and targets.
And it can certainly be a productive and motivating thing to do ?
However, there’s one key, super-important, super-ESSENTIAL step that often gets missed.
And it’s a trap that we can all so easily fall into…
Now, before I reveal all, I’ll give you an example and then you can ‘play along at home’ and see if you can work out what I’m talking about 😉
Let’s say Bob sets a goal to lose 5 kilos. He writes it up, sticks it on his fridge, does some visualizations of himself being 5k lighter, and all the rest of the steps in goal-setting.
He even puts a time-frame on it – to make it a SMART goal of course……..
And then what?
Is Bob going to just lose those 5 kilos?
No, of course not.
So, have you guessed it?
What’s missing?…
Yep, it’s the steps and actions that are needed to achieve those goals.
It’s knowing:
what those steps are
what we need to do to complete them
and then
precisely how and when we’re going to do it.
So, for Bob, he needs to figure out what foods or drinks he needs to take out of his diet and what he should eat or drink instead, and how much of them, probably even at what points of the day.
He might also need to find a way to become more physically active and then decide how, where and when he’s going to incorporate it into his life each week.
But back to your teen… It’s exactly the same for students, their study and their grades.
For example, if your teen sets a goal to get an A in English, they need to identify exactly HOW they are going to do it.
What precisely do they need to change or improve?
And then, exactly how are they going to develop their knowledge and skills to make those changes or improvements?
Because it’s not just a case of ‘working harder’ in English.
(Proof = I see some of the hardest working students STILL stay STUCK term after term, semester after semester, on the same old grades).
It’s instead knowing the exact steps to take that will create the changes they need to make, in the skills and criteria that the grading system requires.
So first they need to figure out how identify these.
How can they find out what they need to specifically improve? That’s link 1 in bridging that gap between goal and achievement. This might be talking to their teacher, or go through their previous comments and feedback on assessments.
Let’s say they realise that need to focus on giving more detailed analyses.
Great – now they need to figure out link 2.
2. They need to find out HOW to do that. (Insider info: This is often the trickiest part! Because if they knew THAT then they’d likely already be getting those A’s, right? )
Well let’s take the example of needing to give more detailed analyses:
They’d need to work on extending explanations (which BTW is where my 3 magic words – so, therefore and because come in!).
They’d need to use more technical vocab, and…
They’d need to select suitable examples or evidence and develop detailed links to back up their explanations.
So, let’s wrap this up:
The key message here is to make sure, whatever targets or goals your teen sets for themselves in their study, that they have a clear and specific path to get there. That they know precisely what they need to do and HOW to do it to achieve them.
I’d love your feedback or questions around this – Scroll down and leave me a comment 🙂
Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!
It can be tough deciding on subject choices, whether it’s for optional subjects in Y8 or 9 or deciding on Final Y12 subjects.
So this week I just want to share a lighthearted way to help your teen do this when it comes down to option A or B.
Here’s one of my fave ways to break a decision “tie”…
– Whether it’s me choosing between the lemon cheesecake or the sticky date pudding on the dessert menu, or… I’ve even had a friend do this to name one of their children!
(Which is almost as important as dessert, right?!) ?
It can be tough deciding on subject choices, whether it’s for optional subjects in Y8 or 9 or deciding on Final Y12 subjects.
So this week I just want to share a lighthearted way to help your teen do this when it comes down to deciding between ‘option A’ or ‘option B’.
Because I see some students tie themselves up in knots about this, and I think there is sometimes too much pressure on this decision with students feeling like they’re having to decide their life’s future at the age of 14!
But with all the pathways available these days aaaand the fact that it is a minority of people who start in and stay in the same career their whole working life these days, then it really doesn’t need to be so stressful.
I didn’t start out as a teacher straight out of uni.
I worked in environmental monitoring and then in conservation before deciding to become a high school teacher, and I’m glad that I had experience in other industries and jobs before going back into the school environment.
So here’s one of my fave ways to break a decision “tie”,
(whether it’s choosing between the lemon cheesecake or the sticky date pudding on the dessert menu –or – at the other end of the scale – I’ve even had a friend do this to name one of their children!).
It’s to have someone I like, love or respect to ‘pretend’ to pick for me.
If I’m excited by the option they pick, I know that’s the right one 🙂
If I’m disappointed or feeling my stomach tighten up, I know it’s not.
Have you ever had that?
When you explain to someone your dilemma, they give you their opinion and then you go
“hmm, yeah. Actually I think the other one”.
We kinda trick our brains by having the pressure taken off and the decision made for us 🙂
You can get the same effect by flipping a coin — choice A is heads, choice B is tails.
The point is, if your teen wants to give this a go, whatever system they try, they need to note their gut reaction and their immediate feelings and TRUST them.
It’s easy to feel confused or unsure – I’m certainly guilty of overthinking things, but in many cases, we know.
Even if we have to give the truth a way to show itself to us.
So if your teen is in an electives or options pickle, have them give this a try.
AND if they still feel like they reeeeeally don’t know
(yep, I get it, I get it…), just remind them that:
1) They CAN change their mind – usually any time within the first term of a subject is totally doable
AND
2) They’ll likely change direction or career at some point in the future anyway, so just don’t put too much pressure on themselves to make the “right” decision!
Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week 🙂
Does your teen struggle to get up and going early in the mornings?
They can just about ‘rise’, but there’s not much ‘shine’? 😉
Or are they all ‘up-and-at-em’ early in the day, but tired and a bit brain-dead in the afternoons or evenings?
*Yup – Raising my own hand over here for that second one* 😉
Well, the good news is, this is all toooottttally natural.
There’s a lot of research out there about what makes us earlybirds or night owls and how these energy ebbs and flows vary between males and females and at different ages.
But how can students optimise this and *really* make it work for them?
Does your teen struggle to get up and going early in the mornings?
They can just about rise, but there’s not much shine?
They can just about ‘rise’, but there’s not much ‘shine’? 😉
Or are they all ‘up-and-at-em’ early in the day, but tired and a bit brain-dead in the afternoons or evenings?
*Yup – Raising my own hand over here for that second one* 😉
Well, the good news is, this is all toooottttally natural.
There’s a lot of bio and psych research out there about what makes us earlybirds or night owls and how these energy ebbs and flows vary between males and females and at different ages.
It has now been well-documented that teenagers are naturally later risers and some schools have even adapted to this and start their days later for students in the later year groups of high school.
But how can students optimise this and really make it work for them?
Well, once your teen pays some attention to their daily patterns (if they aren’t already aware of when they’re feeling most alert and when their best times to work are), they can then take action to make these these their ‘power hours’ and really maximise their productivity.
That means really ramping up their focus at these times and removing distractions that might slow them down or disturb their concentration.
Giving themselves timed bursts and specific tasks to get through in that time will also help.
They should also make sure that they’re tackling the trickiest tasks and those that require the highest levels of cognitive thinking and processing.
This includes creative tasks as well as those involving analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
Other more straightforward tasks can then be done in the lower energy times of day, so that at those busy times of year, ticks are still marked against on that to-do list, but with a little less brain-power.
Things like proof reading, filing notes perhaps, or doing background research for an assignment or essay task are good tasks to do at these times 🙂
So, have your teen get clear on their ‘high energy, high focus’ times of the day and then make these their *power hours*.
This’ll help them achieve their best possible grades by having them produce their highest level work at their highest performing times AND get these tasks done more efficiently.
And then perhaps they’ll even have a little more time to relax and recharge at those lower energy moments too 😉
I’d love to hear from you! Let me know whether your teen is an early bird or a night owl.
And tell me – what do they do to maximise their power hours?
Scroll down and tell me in the comments 🙂
Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!
It’s easy to stay busy doing things that make us feel productive.
Often, students get good at disguising these ‘distraction activities’ as something that still feels study-related.
Making a beautiful-gorgeous cover page perhaps 😉
But the key to higher grades with less stress is your teen figuring out the specific tasks and places to put their effort, that will really move the needle in terms of results, rankings and grades.
Here’s what these tasks are likely to be (and what they aren’t!).
It’s easy to stay busy doing things that make us feel productive.
In the good old days it used to be things like putting your CD or video collection in alphabetical order.
As a teenager it was (and I’m guessing still is today), cleaning up your bedroom.
[I know, I know! ‘Not such a bad thing Katie’ you might be saying – but not so great if it ‘s just as a distraction activity for something they really should be doing. Like that English essay or Maths investigation] 😉
We also get good at disguising these distraction activities as something that still feels study-related.
Making a lovely cover page for that Maths investigation perhaps!
But the key to higher grades with less stress is your teen figuring out the specific tasks and places to put their effort that’ll really ‘move the needle’ for them in terms of results, rankings, confidence and grades.
So this could be:
Practicing some past paper Qs, rather than writing out notes from the text book.
Working on extending their analyses in their English essay rather than finding another reference for it.
OR, thinking…
How many sources do they really need for that History inquiry? Would they be better off adding more depth and detail to evaluating the sources they already have?
In other words, they need to identify the tasks that’ll boost their results, not just give them some more the ticks on their to-do list.
They should also consider training and learning that’ll really help across the board – which will be universal to all subjects and serve them across different subjects.
For example:
honing their paragraphing skills, their range of vocabulary and the sentence structures in their writing,
developing exam technique skills,
studying past paper mark schemes and chief examiner reports and retrospectives.
The trouble is that these are jobs or activities that rarely appear on any to-do list, but are SO important to boosting grades and confidence for students.
I’d love to know… Scroll down and leave me a comment – what are the things that would move the needle most for your teen AND what are the activities that are keeping them feeling ‘busy’ but aren’t necessarily giving them the biggest pay off?
Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week 🙂
And when I realised this, it made a huge difference to how I tackled that oh-so-common feeling of overwhelm. AND of course how I help students tackle it too.
So, let’s get to it. Overwhelm is ACTUALLY:
Not knowing HOW you’re going to get it all done.
I explain everything, including the 2 step system to combat overwhelm using this new definitionin this week’s blog:
I got an email recently from Cassie, a 10 Week Grade Transformation Program Grad and current member of the Grade Transformation Zone.
She said:
“The GTZ video about how to instantly de-stress helped a LOT. I get stressed easily and seeing ways to help de-stress was a lot of help. A lot of people have told me to not stress but that isn’t what I wanted to hear and watching that video was helpful because it provided ways TO de-stress rather than saying ‘don’t stress”.
So I thought that, as we approach the Semester and Half Yearly exams, I’d share a brief overview of one of the strategies that I shared with my GTZ Members.
Because we all have times when we feel overwhelmed, right?
It’s a major stress factor in students’ lives.
And like Cassie said, it’s really not that helpful, just telling someone not to stress.
(We just say that when we don’t know a practical way to help).
What IS helpful is having some actionable strategies to actually DEAL with that stress and OVERCOME the overwhelm.
So let’s start with this:
Overwhelm is NOT having too much to do, or not enough time.
It’s not knowing HOW you’re going to get it done.
Now, that’s not an official definition!
But it’s a description works for me and it can work brilliantly for students – because it gives us a potential solution.
And therefore it’s a much more positive way to look at and tackle overwhelm.
Because if overwhelm was simply not having enough time, then this would be an unsolvable problem. Because we can’t create more time
(although – yes please- if anyone DOES have that magic potion I’d LOVE it if you could pass it onto me) 😉
Anyway, back on topic…
When it really comes down to it, not having enough time, is often not really the case.
More often, the stress of feeling overwhelmed comes from not knowing how you are going to tackle that to-do list, or how to actually complete some of those tasks.
And so here’s the first step to overcoming overwhelm:
Getting Organised (so that your teen knows exactly what they need to do to accomplish each task, and PRECISELY how they’re going to do it).
So first, break down each task. For example, simply ‘write English essay’ can be a little daunting, so breaking down each component and planning out the main content of each paragraph will make that more manageable. And if the REAL problem here is that they don’t KNOW what those paragraphs need to be, then actually, the first job on the list needs to be ‘go see teacher or speak to tutor to get help on essay’.
NEXT:
2. Prioritise and schedule what needs to be done when.
Schedule each and every broken down task into the diary.
This way, there’s no more
“I’ve got so much to do, where do I start?”
OR
doing all the easy things first, so that then right at the deadline, the hardest and least-liked items are all left.
And then, stick to that planned list of items for each and every day .
Just follow it and trust that when you get each item done, each day it needs doing, everything will come together 🙂
#done
I’d love to hear from you – let me know in the comments below, on a scale of 1-10 how overwhelmed is your teen feeling in their study right now? What are they currently doing to deal with it?
And if you’re curious to find out more about my live monthly online student seminars and the treasure trove of resources inside of the GTZ (AKA – the Grade Transformation Zone Member Area), then CLICK HERE to check it out 🙂
Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week.
“How much time would you recommend I should be spending on my study each evening or overall each week?”
Now, before I tell you my answer, you might be thinking,
“Well it depends. I mean, what year group are they in, what sorts of subjects are they doing?”
And you’d be right.
There is more to this than just plucking a number out of the air.
BUT although yes, students will be spending more time on homework, revision and study as they move up through high school, these details are really NOT important.
Find out why (and what IS important!) in this video (or scroll down for the written version!) 🙂
Wouldn’t it be great if there were some magic formula that stated:
X hours + Y pages of notes = Grade
Unfortunately,
(Because you KNOW I love specifics.)
this Q is (sadly) reeeeally *not* about the numbers.
Yes, students will be spending more time on homework, revision and study as they move up through high school, BUT…
We could spend hours on ‘study-type-activities’ that are keeping us ‘busy’ but aren’t actually productive in terms of
the learning of content,
retention in revision, or
preparing awesome essays or assessment pieces.
For example, I’ve seen so many students spend waaayyyy more hours than they needed doing research for an investigation.
I’ve seen way too many students revising in ways that are not anywhere near as effective as they could be, and I’ve seen students waste days and days, not just hours, diligently drafting, editing and re-writing reports and assignments that could’ve been cut down massively if they’d had a clear and proven strategy to start on the right path and be able to craft their response more effectively.
In other words, it’s quality over quantity.
It’s about students gaining and honing the techniques, knowledge and strategies to work efficiently and effectively.
To minimise wasted time and stop doing any unnecessary tasks, and *still* gain the same (or better!) grades along the way.
This is why there are some students who work all hours of the day and night, yet still struggle to get the results they really want, and perhaps are capable of, and others just seem to breeze through getting A’s effortlessly.
Now, that might be a bit of an exaggeration of extremes, but it’s definitely the case that it’s more about efficient and effective study techniques and revision strategies than it is about the number of hours slaving away over textbooks.
>> If you think this could help someone else you know, please share or like this post ?
>> Oh, and leave me a comment below to let me know your thoughts on this ⬇
Here’s one of the statements that really frustrates me as a teacher…
“Miss, I’m stuck”.
My auto-pilot response is “in what way?” or “with what?”.
Now, the worst answer to THAT is – yep, you guessed it:
“Everything”.
Where do you start with that?
And more importantly, it’s NEVER actually the case.
So what’s really going on behind the belief or declaration of being stuck?
Watch this week’s video OR scroll down for the written version to find out 🙂
It could be one of 4 things:
Is they haven’t read all of the information carefully. Now, this isn’t necessarily a criticism (sometimes it is if they are just being lazy) but sometimes, it’s more that they haven’t processed that information. Very often, once I have a student just re-read the introductory info or the question to me, they suddenly get it. They process something or notice something they hadn’t before and it all slots into place. Other times, there might be sources or resources they need to be using, and they haven’t done that, for example, using a graph or an extract or a diagram to help them answer a question.
A second potential hidden situation is that they aren’t savvy in breaking down questions and identifying key words and command words. If that’s the case then they are likely struggling to figure out EXACTLY what they need to do and indeed that CAN be tricky to decipher in some questions, essay titles or assignment instructions. This is why students absolutely need to master their knowledge of command words and Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Which leads me nicely to the third possible problem lurking here: It could be that they know WHAT they need to do, they just aren’t sure HOW to do it. For example, how to ANALYSE rather than simply describe or explain. Or how to EVALUATE effectively and concisely. Or they don’t have a template to cover all the bases in responding to a COMPARE and CONTRAST question. This comes down to their exam technique (even if they aren’t actually in an exam situation) as well as having a stack of go-to systems and templates so that they can smoothly and confidently answer any question and command they’re faced with.
Lastly, they might actually know all these things really, but they are perhaps just lacking the confidence to go ahead and execute on them. They don’t trust their own judgement and feel like they need approval or have someone confirm things for them. This is unfortunately the least common situation I find with students, it’s more often situations 1, 2 or 3, but it most often occurs when students have been used to having scaffolds, structures and high levels of input and need to build their skills in independently putting things into practice.
So, if ever your teen is stuck on a homework task or assignment, then consider these 4 potential reasons behind that “I’m stuck” statement, or “I’m not sure what to do” to help them then get on a path to getting clear and confident.
If you think this could help someone else you know, please share or like this post 🙂
Oh, and leave me a comment or drop me an email to let me know which of these situations is the case for your teen 🙂
How can your teen best level-up to meet the demands of their current year?
I’ve had a few emails come in since my video where I pulled back the curtain on Term 1 results and shared the fact that it’s not uncommon for students to drop back a little in terms of results and grades from where they were at the end of last year – Parents asking for advice about how students can best level-up to meet the demands of their current year.
So I want to share with you 2 key focus points for your teen to level-up their study and meet the greater demands of their current year level.
Here are 2 key focus points for your teen to level-up their study and meet the greater demands of their current year level
Because – ‘What got them here, won’t get them there’.
Meaning, what got your teen a C grade in Year 9 for example, WON’T get them a C grade in Year 10.
Likewise, working the same hours and putting in the same effort as they did in Year 10, won’t get your teen the same results in Year 11. And so on.
Here goes!…
Focus Point One: Producing work of a higher QUALITY.
One way to do this is to improve their QWC – quality of written communication. This is a large focus of my Write Like an A-Grader training, with elements such as creating more sophisticated sentence structures, using more technical and a wider range of vocabulary, and strategic proofreading and editing.
Focus Point Two: Producing work at a higher COGNITIVE SKILL level.
And if you want more info on what I mean by that, then be sure to come to one of my future webinars, where I explain command words, Blooms Taxonomy and how it all relates to assignments, exams and marking criteria, in detail – because this is such a crucial element to students’ achievement – but one that very few students or parents are fully aware of.
But for now, I can tell you that to produce work that engages and displays higher cognitive skills, your teen needs to not only respond accordingly to any high level commands, but they also need to create opportunities to work at that level.
That might be when they choose a topic for an investigation, when writing their own thesis statement, or when selecting a genre for a piece of extended writing. They should be looking for ways to operate at the analysis, synthesis and evaluation levels rather than keep themselves stuck in description and basic explanation mode.
If your teen can put into practice just a few of the many techniques and strategies that go into these 2 focus areas then they’ll be making progress towards meeting the demands of their target grades of their current year level 🙂
