Is the 10 Week Grade Transformation Program right for your teen
and if so,
when’s the best time for them to do it?
“I wish we’d had this earlier”
Posts filed under About Us
2 keys to strategic revision planning
When it comes to revising, most students:
– Make a pretty wall planner that shows how many hours they are going to study on different days.
– Run out of time to cover everything they want to.
And yes, those two things are related ?
That’s why I developed and train students to use the Reverse-Engineered Revision Planning System to ensure they:
- Cover the content they’ve strategically prioritised (using the 2-factor priority system)
because they’ll almost always find there’s not enough time to cover everything in the detail they ideally want to when they PROPERLY plan.AND - Organise their revision according to outcomes in given time segments.
This excerpt from a recent Next Level Coaching Call (for grads of the 10WGT) gives details of these two keys to strategic revision planning – in real life exam prep.
Revising in lockdown
With so many states and cities in and out of lockdown or on alert right now,
students are having to deal with home-learning, online study and independent revision for trials.
So it’s no surprise that this topic was one of the requests on this week’s Next Level coaching call.
In this segment, we talked a LOT about the importance of turning that vague concept of ‘time management’ into outcome scheduling.
After all, if we could truly ‘manage’ time, we’d all have plenty of it and maybe even be able to control it, right?!
(If anyone has mastered that, please reply and share the magic) 😉
But we CAN schedule specific outcomes for ourselves in the time that we have.
It’s not only an effective way to plan, but it also means we can reduce any potential future stress or panic.
Online revision tools – are they any good?
There are so many more options available to students as ways to study and revise these days.
Hence the great Q this week which asks:
“Is Anki a good revision tool to use?”
(My teacher brain reeeeally wants to add ‘Explain your answer.‘ onto the end of that!) ?
Whether your teen uses Anki, or you’ve never even heard of it…
I explain all and dissect the pro’s and con’s (including a couple of must-do’s and must-NOT-do!) that you can apply to ANY revision tool or strategy – digital or otherwise.
Want more tips on revision and exams?
Click those tags on the menu to the right of this blog page 🙂
Yours,
Katie
FREE exam style Qs and practise papers for Y9-12
Your teen wants to practise for an exam, but…
They’ve exhausted the revision questions given by their teacher.
The online and text book questions are okay for learning, but not quite the same as exams.
They’re not in Y12 so can’t really use the exam board past papers.
Or maybe they are in Y12, but their syllabus changed so they don’t have many past years to work from.
So, where can they find a treasure trove of untapped test papers and exam style questions?
Here are a few places to go* to find them for your teen’s specific subjects and year group.
* I’ve put in some direct weblinks in the P.S.
P.S. Here are a few direct links to get you going…Â but please watch the video to find out which ones are relevant to YOUR teen and where they’re at in their study.
School Certificate Past Papers : Humanities
GCSE exams (foundation and higher tier)
ATAR exams – see each state exam board (10WGT and Next Level Coaching members have direct links to all these with past papers, mark schemes and Chief Examiner reports in the Study Vault)
A’Level exams (AS = Y11, A2 = Y12 equivalent)
P.P.S. BONUS! Not mentioned in the video:
IB Past Papers
How long should my teen spend studying each evening in Y11 +12?
HINT: The answer is NOT a number.
Watch the video to find out how your teen should be planning their study time instead.
“What would Katie say?”
Rather than posting a video of hand-picked tips and advice for you, this week I’ve decided to to open up my Wednesday evening (27th May, 8pm AEST) so you can get the precise tips, advice or just bend my ear about what YOU really want to know.
So join me for:
*Live Q&A* for you to ASK . ME . ANYTHING!
I’ll give you a clear and specific answer, based on my 13 years as an award-winning high school teacher, national exam marker, coursework moderator and scrutiny panel member.
This is what I do all day, every day
and luuurvve to talk about with keen and supportive parents, students and, well… anyone who’ll listen!
Check out my personal invite, I recorded just yesterday in the moment I decided to do this!
And then CLICK HERE to get your link to the Live Q&A Room.
It isn’t even that difficult
As we get ready to release the brand NEW 10 Week Grade Transformation Program (2. 0),
whilst a lot is new and has been upgraded and even more amazing training added,
when I went back to the original info I wrote for students about the 10WGT almost 4 years ago there’s literally nothing I would change in that description!
I was expecting to cringe my way through it
(as you do when you go back and read something you thought was good way back when, but then later… well… not so much)
but when I read it, I was actually like “Wow, this is goooood!”.
It totally nails everything the 10WGT is and everything the 10WGT does.
Because of course, the key concepts and the core purpose of the program HAVEN’T changed at all – so I’m sharing my fave snippets of that description with you here:
Fact: You could easily raise your grades in any exam, essay or assignment if only you knew the untold secrets to exam success.
SO TRUE!
Did you know that most students will never get the marks they should in assessments, assignments and exams, even if they study hard?
(In fact it doesn’t matter how hard they studied, even if they worked harder and longer than anyone else).
Why? Because they are not fully skilled and confident in things like understanding command words, selecting and structuring content, and knowing what the markers are specifically looking for.
In my experience as an exam marker, national coursework assessor and award-winning high school teacher – and now – exam board scrutiny panel member and school workshop leader –  I’ve come to realise that it is NOT ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU KNOW, it’s all about how well you put it down on paper.Â
But: Teachers just don’t have the time to teach these skills along with all the content laid down in the curriculum they have to cover. Plus, most of them aren’t trained examiners or assessors and so don’t have this insider knowledge.
Pretty depressing, right?
But here is the good news – well in fact it is brilliant, awesome news… This ALL means… that
You Are Better Than You Think!
Your grades can be higher than you ever imagined.
You can have access to more career and life opportunities.
All with less stress.
Yes, it is possible to achieve fabulous results whilst feeling cool, confident and in control.
And the best bit is…
My online 10 Week Grade Transformation Program means you can easily discover all these secrets and master all of these skills. It isn’t even that difficult. In fact it’s a lot easier to perfect things like ‘exam technique’, structuring extended responses and giving examiners what they want, than it is to learn lots more subject content.
Now, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to work – this isn’t a magic fix that’ll happen overnight. But what it does mean is that you can become highly skilled in the strategies required for amazing results, and when you do, you’ll have these ‘super-powers’ forever!
The 10 Week Grade Transformation Program is for you if:
You Sometimes Feel:
-
Like you’re drowning in homework, notes, assignments or revision
-
That there are some subjects or topics that you just never seem to do well in
-
That you don’t know the best way to organise your time or tasks in order to get things done efficiently
-
Lacking confidence in some aspect of your academic abilities
-
That you don’t know exactly HOW to make your work better even after it’s been marked
-
Unsure if you’re ‘doing it right’ when answering exam questions or writing assignments
-
That you work hard but still wish your results were better?
And the 10WGT is for you if You Want:
-
Expert help and support to give you the skills to be confident, organised and motivated in your school work
-
To feel positive and in control of your study, your exams and life at school or college
-
To know exactly how to tackle different types of tasks and assignments
-
To know PRECISELY what ANY exam question is really askingÂ
-
And able to respond in a way that will earn you the MOST MARKS with the subject knowledge YOU have
-
To know exactly what ‘exam technique’ is and what ‘command’ and ‘trigger’ words are
-
To set goals beyond anything you ever thought possible, and actually achieve them!
My proven system has led hundreds of students to success already and it can work for you too.
So, if ANY of this sounds like your teen, then definitely go check out the 10 Week Grade Transformation Program 2.0,
and take advantage of this once-only opportunity to be able go through it in REAL TIME, with me checking in each week and all of our new students, as we all kick off together.
This time next week, we’ll be in it, doing it.
So let’s make this an amazing week, and I hope I get to meet you and your teen if you decide to join me inside the 10WGT 🙂
You don’t need motivation! (Here’s what’s REALLY going on)
I have so many conversations with parents and students around motivation.
Mostly of them asking “Katie! How do I get (them) motivated?!”
In my experience most of the time the issue is not related to motivation,
but the issue is actually around clarity and understanding of what they really need to do, and most of all, HOW to ACTUALLY do it!
Of course we’re not gonna feel motivated to do something, when we don’t really know what we’re doing.
So that’s the key that needs to be addressed (and one which no amount of nagging or bribery is gonna fix!).
How hard is it to get motivated when you’re not really sure what you’re supposed to be doing or how you should be doing it?
Imagine deciding to go to the gym for the first time,
but when you walk in you have no idea what the equipment is,
how you’re supposed to use it
or what it’s even supposed to be doing?!
You’re not going to feel especially motivated with all these thoughts running around inside your head.
It’s the same for students.
If they don’t know exactly what they should be doing to revise,
the best strategies to do it,
how to do it,
they don’t have a plan,
and they’re not even really sure if what they are doing is going to pay off,
then it’s no wonder it’s a struggle to get motivated.
Students need to learn, practice and plan what they are going to be doing.
If you feel like your teen is in the camp just described above and you can’t honestly say they are totally clear, focused and organised
then this could be the big thing truely holding them back from feeling motivated and getting things done.
Exam Marker Diary 2019 – Entry 1
Getting real for a moment.
The biggest challenge for students when it comes to exams is NOT:
- Trying to revise all the content (that’s important, but it’s not the TOP one).
- Finishing the paper in the time given without having to rush and scribble through the last few Qs (common, but, still not the biggest challenge).
And it’s NOT
- !
Because, the biggest challenge is likely the thing your son or daughter isn’t even AWARE of.
(That’s what makes it so frustrating. Like wondering why the kettle hasn’t boiled, then realising it was never plugged in at the wall).
The reason so many students fail to get the grades they could in exams is because they aren’t savvy in knowing what level of cognition the Q is operating at and therefore what detail and elements are required in their response.
Watch me explain how this all works for three (well, it’s really gonna be two – you’ll see why) high level exam Qs.
> Here’s a copy of the exam Qs so you can properly follow along (copyright QCAA – not great quality photos, by me)!