I’ve been observing this for a while now.
I’ve realised that when students understand the exact reasons why they lost out on marks or grades in an exam or essay, every reaction really comes down to one of two categories.
In this week’s video I reveal what those two categories are,
the name for one of them (answers on a postcard for suggestions for the second one!) 😉
and which one you should encourage for your teen.
Overwhelm is a constant challenge for students, especially in the senior years. That feeling of too much to do and not enough time.
Or not knowing precisely how to tackle or approach certain tasks. The feeling that everything is getting on top of them.
And although students can’t always do anything about the number of tasks they need to do or the deadlines for them, there definitely ARE things they can do to minimise the feelings of overwhelm.
Enter… ‘The One Window Rule’
When I run workshops or take classes, I LOVE to put students in the role of the examiner.
It makes them think about marking criteria and what a question commands and demands so that they can pretty accurately ‘predict the mark scheme’ for any question they are faced with when they are sat in the exam hall. And of course, being able to do THAT means they can write a clear and succinct answer, without waffle or wasted time.
#saynotowaffle!
Here’s ONE way your teen can put themselves in the role of the examiner at revision time and in preparation for exams. Watch the video to discover how 🙂
P.S. If you’d love for your teen to be expertly guided through this process, I’m going to do exactly this with a step-by-step interactive exercise in my Exam Mastery Workshop. There are only 6 spaces left (I limit numbers to ensure the level of interaction and feedback is high for every student) so CLICK HERE NOW to reserve your teen’s spot to get them exam-savvy with less stress in time for end of year exams.
I’ve discussed before how scheduled mini-breaks during study, homework and revision are important to keep brain power and retention at an optimum.
But, what should students do in those breaks?…
Watch the video to discover a great way to address (and have fun!) with this 🙂
P.S. This is an opportunity for parents to get involved in the fun part 🙂
You hopefully heard me talk last week about ‘the power of unpacking’ and two brilliant questions students should ask themselves or their teachers about their marked assessment tasks.
I had a couple of email requests for a bit more info on this and in particular about the ‘What can I learn from this?’ question.
In other words
So here are my key suggestions…
We all have loooong to-do lists these days.
This means that we are often so consumed with thinking about ‘what’s next’ that we rarely stop to UNPACK – to reflect on or dissect what we have already completed and the results we got from it.
And when we don’t do this, we can be missing out on so much ‘gold’ in terms of feedback that can really help us ‘nail’ a lot of the upcoming items on our to-do lists!
Watch this week’s video to help your teen grab their nuggets of gold, by asking themselves 2 critical questions to quickly get useful information about how to create success for themselves.
I’d love to share a fantastic conversation I had this week with a Year 12 student – Jake, because he phrased a sentence in a way that I couldn’t say better myself.
Check out this week’s blog video to find out what he said!
P.S. I mention a special ‘early-bird’ offer for my upcoming exam mastery workshop – Just CLICK HERE to check it out 🙂 (Don’t put it off if you are keen – Early bird offer expires in one week!)
Sometimes it can be really hard for students to get started on a larger task – an essay, a report, an extended response. They aren’t sure exactly what to write or how to begin…
Usually these tasks start with an Introduction.
And you know what?…. This is the problem!
Watch the video to find out WHY and the very simple (but hardly ever actioned!) solution 🙂
One thing I always tell students who find it hard to complete exams or tasks in the time they’ve got is to ‘grab the low-hanging fruit’…
By that I mean – make sure you grab all the quick and easy marks.
Check out this week’s blog video to find out where they lie and how your teen can be sure to grab them in their next exam!
P.s. If your teen struggles to perform at their potential in exams then you’ll definitely want to CLICK HERE to register for my free ‘Exam Special’ Parent info webinar.
Looking forward to see you there soon!
When we are feeling stressed and under time pressure, as many students are in an exam, our brains don’t process or operate as well as they do when we’re calm and fully focused. This means that often students lose marks that they could and should be getting.
BUT being aware of the problems that arise as a result of this means that students can override that stress and pressure to some extent by giving themselves constant conscious reminders to look for and do certain things.
Here are 5 awareness points your teen needs to know so they can override the negative effects of time-pressure in their exams.
