The biggest jumps in marks and grades are often not in the writing stage.
They are in the edit and proof-reading stage.
This is also one of the easiest ways to get more marks or jump a grade boundary without needing to research more info, or add more content.
It’s also a great way for parents to help out their teen, without doing work for them.
Rather than series of ‘passive’ conversations, what if those parent-teacher meetings were more useful, with clear actions and ways to determine and where and how your teen can really start to thrive?
Your teen sits down to write their short story/essay/speech/ insert whatever task you like here 🙂
And 15 minutes later they’ve not done anything.
There might even be mumblings of:
“I just don’t know how to start”
or “ I’m no GOOD at writing essays/stories/speeches – #insert your version here!”
You spend a few minutes trying to give them some encouragement or ideas but then afterwards,
They spend another 10 minutes staring at the screen, wondering
what to write, wondering where to start.
I’ve seen it so many times in the classroom and with tutoring students.
So I want to let you in on a little secret that has worked wonders for my students…
Exams have regularly come under criticism for being an unfair way to test students’ knowledge and understanding of subjects.
It’s certainly true that when it comes to ‘showing what they know’, some students find the exam style of assessment really tough.
My take on it is this:-
Rather than focusing on exams being a way to simply test KNOWLEDGE, or even getting angry at the testing system, we need to look at exams as actually assessing a range of SKILLS that are involved with successfully sitting exams (not just subject knowledge).
If we do that then we are well on our way to viewing exams more positively and constructively.
Have you had to put on ‘that’ excited face at any point recently?
When a gift wasn’t quite what you wanted.
But you don’t want to look ungrateful.
Hopefully not, but chances are many of us have at some point.
But, what’s this got to do your studying and your teen?
Well, it’s about figuring out how to give people what they *reeeallllyy* want.
For students, it’s all about what examiners want and NEED to see to award top grades…. and sussing out exactly how to give it to them EVERY time (gift-wrapped and tied in a bow)!
I’m here – in full festive spirit – and thought I’d use CHRISTMAS to produce a little summary and some of the key strategies I’ve been sharing this year.
Okay, this is definitely unofficial…
I’m not here to be controversial but I AM here to give students the best chance of getting THEIR best possible grades.
So first of all, let me explain what QWC actually stands for.
And secondly, I’ll reveal the very unofficial reason why it’s so important.
Normally, copying out is a big no-no.
(E.g. copying out chunks of text from a text book, copying out notes for revision.)
It’s a ‘passive’ activity that requires little cognitive brain action.
However, there is ONE way it can be used effectively.
And this is definitely something your teen could do over summer to give themselves a head-start for next year!
I’m a big fan of being organised.
I hate clutter and I really hate wasting time trying to find things I swear I had just a minute ago, or that I’ve placed securely “in a safe place’ (grrr).
Here’s what I get students to do if they find they’re taking as long to find everything they need to do their homework as it does to actually DO the homework.
Many students prefer to TYPE rather than write when it comes to taking and making notes. And of course, There are a number of reasons and advantages of this.
However, there many scientific studies that prove that we remember more of what we write than what we type.
Here’s my take on things and how I explain this phenomenon to myself and students.
