Grade Transformation Blog

Grade Transformation Blog

No.1 in Transforming Students’ Grades

Posts filed under Assignments

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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Look out! These (TOUGH!) Qs are Super-Common on Exam Papers

Here’s what I found when I reviewed a heap of last year’s exam papers.

There’s one type of Q that seems to be cropping up more and more.

Even in subjects you wouldn’t necessarily expect it (yep, we’re even talking Art and PE!)

And it’s (unfortunately) the type of Q that many students dread (because it’s also the one that catches many out and where they perform worst – eek). *

So with end-of-term exams looming for many students, I want to make sure I share this now!

* Don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom, because awareness is half the solution! Having your teen look out for these Qs and know EXACTLY what to do with ’em will mean they’re way ahead of the pack (and picking up all those extra marks!) 🙂

 

This week I wanna help you out with one particular type of essay and extended response Q.
This has always been, for as long as I’ve been around as a teacher and examiner, AND even back to when I was a student, the type of Q that students are most uncertain and least confident in.

And validly so – because these are the Qs students overall perform worst in, too! ?

 

So what are they?
And how SHOULD students be tackling them?

Well, I’ve just been going through some past papers and it struck me just how many times this type of Q is coming up these days.

“What type of Q, Katie?”

Evaluation level questions.

These are those dreaded types of Qs that make a statement and then just finish with the word ‘discuss’.
OR the questions that BEGIN with the opening:
‘To what extent’
or
‘Assess…’

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

But usually they don’t actually include the word ‘evaluate’, which is, or course, part of what makes them more challenging!

But more on that in a moment.

 

Even as a national and state exam marker, I’m a little surprised at how many times evaluation level Qs have crept into all subject exams recently.

Even multiple times in one paper!

And not just on the ones you’d think either, like History or Science or English.

Nope, these are in subjects like Art and HPE.
In fact on the NSW PDHPE paper of 2017 – which I’ll include a link to in the blog notes, just in case you wanna check it out –

In that paper, the phrase ‘to what extent’
–  a flashing, ‘hit you over the head’ wording alarm for an evaluation command! –
that phrase was used for almost every extended response question in the 2017 HSC PDHPE exam and contributed around 30% of the marks on the paper.

Whoa! I know, right?!

‘To what extent’ is often used in ATAR exams and it’s important that it’s recognised as a question that requires you to make a judgement.
For example, Question 23 from the 2017 exam asks:

To what extent does Australia’s health care system benefit from having a healthy ageing population? (8 marks)

Now I know that ‘evaluate’ level questions are almost always the ones that students struggle with most

So I thought I’d share the bones of this with you too.

 

So here’s what I want students to know:

1) How to identify an EVALUATE command in a question, even when it doesn’t actually state the word evaluate.

2) That this means they need to make a JUDGEMENT about the statement being given.
That might be a judgement about how much they agree with the statement, or more objectively, how much it is agreed by others or by other research that the statement is true.
Let me explain using that PDHPE example: ‘To what extent does Australia’s health care system benefit from having a healthy ageing population?’.
Students need to respond with:

Yes it does,
OR
No, it doesn’t,
OR
It does to some extent.

 

3) They need to be able to plan and structure their response in light of this.

They need to outline in their intro their judgement and an overview of the reasons for it, which they’ll then expand on in their body paragraphs through examples, evidence and explanations.

Of course rounding up with a conclusion that shows how these all fit and link together to lead to the overall judgement.

 

So, if your teen doesn’t feel confident in these types of Qs, then it’s definitely time for them to take action to turn that situation around.
Because it’s highly likely they’re gonna be faced with these questions regularly in their future exams, no matter their subjects.

Rather than figuring it out for themselves, I just wanna remind you that I have a whole Catapult module dedicated solely to ‘Evaluations made Easy’ in my 10 Week Grade Transformation Program AND will cover a variety of examples and break down model responses in the monthly GTZ Seminars throughout this year.

 

Please go ahead and leave me a comment, share this blog with anyone else who’d find it useful, and until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!

EXTERNAL LINKS:

  • The 2017 NSW PDHPE Paper: https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/resource-finder/hsc-exam-papers/2017/pdhpe-2017-hsc-exam-pack

 

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Caveman Brain sabotages student results!

Have you ever had that thing where you’re walking down some stairs and you think there’s another step but there isn’t and you kinda get a bit of a jolt and a shock?

It’s the same reason why students sometimes mis-read a question, or mis-interpret an essay title or the focus of an inquiry project.

Let me explain what’s going on and what we can do about this ‘caveman’ (or cavewoman!) brain of ours.

(Yep, we allllll have one!)

Our brains are always trying to predict the future.
We’re programmed that way as a survival technique.
Historically we needed to pre-empt any danger in order to avoid it and to work out where our next meal was coming from.

So our brains still do the same thing today but of course instead of this instinct focusing on danger or food for survival, they do it for the things that help us survive each day as a modern-day student.
Like surviving that Maths exam.
Or getting through that English essay unscathed!

 

Our brains look for and try to create patterns or systems of recognition.

So for anything that looks similar in any way to something we’ve seen or practiced before, our brain will apply that previous experience to that new situation.
It want us to be able to quickly make sense of it.

 

But when it comes to exams and assessments, this can be detrimental if students aren’t ready and able to dissect the wording with fresh ‘non-caveman’ eyes so to speak.

 

Because if they’ve done practice questions in revision, or written an essay in class on a specific topic, then chances are, when they see a similar question in the real exam, or an essay on the same topic, even if any of these are worded differently, their brains will naturally try to make this new question or title fit the previous one.

To be able to continue a pattern or to make something NEW, more FAMILIAR.

To keep things SAFE.

 

But the danger of this of course is that students may then interpret the question incorrectly or even misread it altogether.
Or they may miss the real focus of the essay title and although they’ll write accurately about the topic, they won’t necessarily have the appropriate level of discussion or structure to their writing.

This is one reason why students sometimes have that experience of feeling like they’ve written a great response, but the result isn’t what they hoped for.

Now of course, this isn’t to say that students shouldn’t practice example or past exam questions.
That is a GREAT way to revise and prep for exams 🙂
And it certainly isn’t an excuse that’s gonna get them out of writing that English essay either!
But it IS a reason why students need to learn and practice and hone their skills in dissecting every exam question for the specific command and demand of that question AND become really skilled in things like identifying the topic and focus of any essay title or question.

So that they don’t fall into that pattern of recognition and prediction that our ‘caveman brains’ have so cleverly designed for us, but in this case, unfortunately doesn’t necessarily work so well for us.

This skill of dissecting the question, identifying command words and know exactly how to respond to them is just one of the 3 key secrets I’m revealing in my online Term 1 Parent Information Event. So if you’d like to grab the essential insider dissection skills for your teen, then be sure to >register for it for free<.
TIP! – This Term 1 Event is for one week only, and spaces at each session are limited, so be sure to register now.

 

Let me know in the comments…
Have you ever read something, and read what you THOUGHT it said or was going to say, only to realise you made a mistake?
Has your teen ever mis-read an exam question?
If this situation resonates with you or your teen, then please share this blog post with other parents and students AND go register for the Term 1 info event!

And until next week, let’s make this a fantastic ‘Term 1 Event Week’!.

Katie 🙂

 

 

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Stop Studying Harder! (Figure THIS out instead)

When you were a kid, did you ever do that thing at the shopping centre, where you try running up the down escalator?

 

And at first it works, you make the first few steps pretty easily, but then as you get further up, like somewhere in the middle, you’re like, “Oh man, this is actually getting pretty hard now”, right?

And you’re still moving, still pumping your legs, but you’re not actually moving.

So what do you do?

You try to go faster, keep working harder.

And if you haven’t done it, then I’m sure you’ve SEEN a kid do this.

 

So what if I told you that this is kinda how many students are studying.

Even though they’re working harder than ever before, they’re not making the progress they want.

Here’s why (and how to END that downward momentum)!

 

So… the goal is to get to the top of the escalator.

Whatever that is in real life, a certain grade or set of results, or getting into a particular uni or course, or just getting a particular assignment or essay written!

 

We have the goal, and we’re working hard to achieve it, taking action.

But there might just be something that’s actually stopping us making the progress we want or feel we should.

Or something that’s just making it a LOT harder than it should be.

 

I’m doing things, I’m working, but I’m just not getting anywhere.

Whether that’s doing tons of revision, but still not getting the exam results you want.

Whether it’s doing tons of research for an inquiry, but going round and round in circles not knowing what to actually focus on or how to use it.

Or perhaps it’s struggling on where to start with an essay, just waffling around the topic, but having no real flow or direction through the writing, so that it just doesn’t feel like you’re making any real progress.

 

Well, wouldn’t it be easier if we turned off the escalator and they just became normal stairs. Now that means it does still take work and effort to get to the top.

But there’s no wasted energy and effort.

So what is that downward force?

How does your teen turn off the escalator?

Well, it’s different for everyone, it could be that they’re not clear on how mark schemes and success criteria work and how to use them to their advantage.

It could be that your teen isn’t accurately identifying both the topic and focus – separately identifying those two things – in essay titles, so they aren’t clear on how to plan or write their response. I

t could be that they’re missing one or more of the 6 elements of exam technique. It could be that they’re revising hard, but not using methods that are effective.

(In fact MOST students are using revision techniques that don’t work. Sad, but true).

It could be another factor that’s dragging down their results and performance in assessments and of course their confidence.

 

The key point here is about understanding what’s going on and then taking action to identify it.

 

So let me know… Is your teen trying the climb the down escalator at the moment?

Or, is there someone you know who’d benefit from hearing this? In which case, please – pass the link to this blog on to them 🙂

And until next week – let’s make this a fantastic week 🙂

Katie

 

 

 

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Why this student dropped from a B to a D grade

Student true story time.

This Year 12 student had worked for hours and hours (and hours) preparing, drafting and perfecting the short story creative task they’d been set in Y12 English.

They submitted their story and they got a B grade.

The next week, they sat their exam, which covered the exact same task and content.

(Don’t get me started on this type of assessment – I’ll save that for another time! But as you can probably tell I’m not a fan – for a variety of reasons).

Anyway, they did what they thought was a good job.

BUT. Cue results…

They got… a D.

Whaaaat?!

(That’s what they were asking too).

But there WAS a clear reason.

This week, I’m explaining why this happened and exactly what we did to turn things around.

 

This Year 12 student had worked for hours and hours (and hours) preparing, drafting and perfecting the short story creative task they’d been set in Y12 English.

Because this was in preparation for real assessment of writing the short story under exam conditions, they’d been given the scaffold and all the requirements of what had to go in there. So that stage of practice and preparation and prpducing their narrative had mainly been about coming up with a good story line and then making sure all the specified elements were there and worked well together.

 

They submitted their story they’d worked on in class and for homework and the teacher marked it and they got a B grade.
They were pretty happy with that as creative writing was not one their natural strengths or something they particularly enjoyed. In fact, it was something they struggled with and would rather do the dishes every night for a month than have to come up with and write a story!

 

Anyhow, the next week, they sat the exam, where they had to write that story in exam conditions.

(Don’t get me started on this type of assessment – I’ll save that for another time! But as you can probably tell I’m not a fan – for a variety of reasons).

Anyway, they did what they thought was a good job. Of course they didn’t remember everything word for word. They left a couple of things out that they forgot, and changed or adapted a couple of parts , but they were confident they’d do pretty well.

 

Cue results and they got… a D.
As you can imagine they were pretty disappointed, but more than that, they were confused and disheartened. They didn’t understand why their mark had dropped so much.

 

They’d re-told the same story. It had the same beginning, middle and end. They’d got the same characters and setting.

 

So, I offered to take a look.

From the first reading I could see why they’d got a D.

 

And I knew the likely reason and situation that had led to this.

Because I’ve seen it so many times in different subjects and different types of tasks.

 

The reason they’d got a much lower mark was because the little bits that they’d missed out or forgotten to include, were the elements that were going to earn them marks!

 

In this case it was the specific literary techniques.

Things like using metaphors, onomatopoeia and imagery in their writing.

Using emotive language.

Also, the more mechanical elements, like including direct speech and formatting that correctly with accurate punctuation and line breaks.

And having a variety of sentence structures that enhance the events in the story at particular moments.

 

In other words they HADN’T REALISED WHICH WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT bits in their writing.

This student wasn’t clear on what was actually going to earn them marks in the exam.

 

And they didn’t know that the word-y syllabus criteria – that are so often an additional task in themselves to decipher and de-code – meant that these super-specific items are the things that markers are looking for.

 

They, like most students, thought it was more about the storyline, the events and the characters.

 

And that would make sense, right?
The task is to write a short story. So you’d be forgiven for thinking that the marking criteria would be centred around your storyline, setting, events and characters.

It’s not.

And the more students I can help to realise this, the more students are going to focus on the elements and techniques WITHIN the story, rather than the story itself.

 

You can get a better mark with great techniques but poor story, than with a great storyline but no techniques that the marker can tick off the checklist.

Which was what this Y12 student had ended up with in their exam. A great story that had virtually no specific literary techniques.

 

But this is ACTUALLY a true story with a happy ending. Because of course the good news is that armed with that checklist and then and run with it in their finals.

AND by sharing this story, I’m hoping that more students can live happily ever after in each and every creative writing or narrative task they do from now on.

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

Yours,

Katie 🙂

 

 

 

 

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The Two Words I’ll Never Say Again (and why)

There’s been a TON of awesome stuff happening in the Exam Pop-Up Group I’ve been running over the past couple of months, but there’s also been something missing.

Two words that are super-common around exam time, but you won’t find me saying or writing anywhere.
It’s something I’ve found myself consciously avoiding saying or writing or typing more and more over the past year or so.
(You know, when something hits you and then kinda becomes a bit of a ‘thing’).

Here’s what it is, and most importantly WHY.

I’ve come to believe over the years, through both my work with students and in life in general, that we create our own luck.

So much so, that you won’t ever hear me say or see me write anywhere any more, the words:

“Good Luck!”.

It’s the most natural thing to say to someone as they go into an exam.
But I actively and consciously find alternative ways to send good wishes and positivity to students, and let them and their parents know that I’m thinking of them and sending them awesome vibes through the airwaves.

(Sometimes, that ain’t that easy! For someone like me who definitely isn’t a natural writer and doesn’t  just have a way with words!)

Here’s why…

Unless something comes down to the flip of a coin or roll of a die, then it’s never about ‘luck’.
It’s about the choices and decisions we make.

It’s about the actions we take.

It’s about the skills we choose to build, the ways we decide to work, and the strategies we choose to enact.

 

Let’s apply this to exams…

The questions on the exam paper will be pre-determined many weeks or even months previously to exam day.

They’ve been strategically written and selected and scrutinised.

It’s not about the ‘luck of the draw’ as to what Qs are on that exam paper as students open up that front page.

How well each student answers and responds to each question is dependent on their skills and abilities in:

  • dissecting the different elements of the question to understand what is required
  • how actively they revised and to what extent they prioritised the content the question’s covering
  • how skilled they are in constructing an effective and efficient response.

And each of those is a result of a series of conscious actions taken over the years, months, weeks and days leading up to that point.

In case you hadn’t already realised, I’m a big fan of being pro-active.

Of taking control of life’s situations (or doing my best to!) and not leaving things to chance.

Chance is ‘luck’ and ‘hoping’ and ‘wishing’.

I believe we can all take steps and actions to tip the odds (massively) in our favour.

 

Katie

P.S. I’d love to get your take on this! Let me know whether you ‘believe’ in luck or not in the comments!
And until next week, let’s MAKE this a fantastic week!
(See what I did there) 😉 

 

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How to come up with ideas (when you’re not naturally creative!)

If you didn’t already know…

I’m definitely *not* naturally creative.

I’m don’t like open-ended tasks.

But they come up often for students (and for me too in my first ever teaching interview!)

So, now I LOVE training non-creative students (like me!) to BECOME creative using the beauty of non-creative, hard and fast, checklists, steps and systems!

 

I’m not naturally great with open-ended tasks or any writing where you have to be imaginative.

(My husband always says I have zero-imagination! He’s quite into movies and I’m just like – well *that* wouldn’t happen).

So imagine my horror, when in my invitation to interview for my first ever teaching job I was asked to prepare to teach:

– a Geography lesson to a class of Year 9’s (no problem)

– that would be observed by the principle (bit nerve-wracking, but again, no problem –  this is what all teaching interviews involve back in the UK).

 

So. Teach a Y9 Geography lesson on the topic of…

ANY-thing!!!!

Whaaaatttt!!!!?!

 

I was like, come-on!

Please, give me something to go on!

 

Maybe they thought they were being kind, but for me, that was the worst possible type of lesson to plan.

I honestly would’ve preferred them to tell me to teach an interesting lesson about watching paint dry.

That would’ve felt like less of a challenge, because at least I’d have had somewhere to start with that. Some guidelines.

 

Because I like direction and instructions and steps.
(You’ve got that by now, right?!) 😉

 

And that’s why, over time, I’ve found ways to make the open >>>> structured.

The fuzzy >>>> clear.

And devised strategies to transform the downright confusing into steps, checklists and templates.
(Ahhhh. Those words are music to my ears)?

 

For a long time, this was just to help me get to grips with certain tasks or concepts myself.

But over time I’ve realised that it’s actually super-helpful to any teens whose brains work (even a little bit!) similarly to mine.

And here’s what I’ve found:

Often it’s best to start at the end and work backwards.

 

And for that, students need to start at the marking criteria and break down, in detail, exactly what the marker is going to be looking for in their work BEFORE they pick their topic or decide on their choice of – whatever options they can choose from!

 

Here’s an example:

If it’s a type of narrative, like a short story perhaps, then when students go through the mark scheme, they’ll realise that their marks and grades are less about the actual story or characters and more about their ability to use a variety of sophisticated literary devices, like imagery and symbolism for example.

So a setting or character that allows them to use plenty of those will be beneficial. Perhaps the story needs to involve some sort of theme or message that comes through and therefore they need to think about making that weave through the plot and/or characters.

 

And that brings us nicely then to the planning. They don’t want to be planning from the point of “hmmm, I wonder what’s going to happen in my story?”, but from the point of,

“OKAY – what sort of story will easily allow me to incorporate a variety of writing techniques like personification, metaphor, alliteration?”

“What sort of character would allow me to give some really interesting and detailed descriptions?”

“What sort of setting would I be able to adapt my writing to in terms of style and vocab?” – like using tech-y words for sci-fi, or lots of extravagant details for a romance.

 

And then they can start to consider what their story could be about.

Plus, now they also have a kind of checklist to work with.
Bonus! (Yay! A checklist!)

 

 

So really, it’s not about pondering on the main task,

like,

“Ooooh, what country should I investigate for my geography project?”

or

“Hmmm, what historical leader should I choose for my inquiry?”
or…

“What on EARTH should I write a story about?!”

 

Students need to figure out what needs to be in the finished product and then, asking themselves ‘What topic will give me the easiest AND most effective way to produce that?’

Or

‘What will give me the most and highest quality opportunities to convey those skills?’.

 

This is what I call the science behind creativity.

 

And it’s not *just* for students who aren’t particularly creative.

For those students who ARE the creative types, then it’ll provide them with that trusty checklist to see which of their wonderful and creative ideas is going to serve them best when it comes to the marking of their work.

#win-win

🙂

Let me know – is your teen naturally creative?

Have they ever struggled to come up with great ideas? (And if so, could this help them?).
I’d love your feedback! 🙂
Scroll down leave me a comment, give this post a ‘like’ or, just as useful – tell me what you didn’t like, or what else you’d like to hear about 🙂

Also, I’d really appreciate it (and so would they!) if you share this with anyone else who’d find it useful.

 

Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!
Katie 🙂

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Is your teen confusing the examiner?

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).

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