Has your teen ever done the same amount of work,
produced the same quality of work,
only to get a worse result?
Here’s why that might be:
Why are his grades dropping?
Posts filed under Results
If you could ask me one question
What would it be?
If we could chat over coffee for 15 mins,
– what would you love to pick my brain on?
– what do you feel like other students have nailed, but your teen’s struggling with?
– what insider secrets would you love to get in on?
– what would you love me to train your teen to be able to do?
Drop a comment below or email me and TELL ME!
I’ll be sharing TONS of info based on your wants, needs and wildest (study-based) desires 😉
in the 5 Day Inner Circle – kicking off Mon 15th Nov.
The second best time is NOW
If you feel like there’s not enough time to make a difference to your teen’s results, then THIS is for you.
I’m a bit of a perfectionist and planner (okay, a bit of a control-freak too) so I totally get it when you WISH an opportunity had come up at what felt like a better time.
However, even if you wish your teen could’ve mastered their exam technique and learnt how to revise strategically months or even years ago, does that mean that they can’t benefit from the opportunity to grab these skills right now?
Is ‘late’ better than never?
P.S. Here’s the other video I reference in this video!…
Is it too late?
The ULTIMATE skill for nailing exams
What’s the ULTIMATE skill in nailing exams?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, as we get into exam season, and I’ve come up with what is, officially, my favourite exam skill.
Favourite in terms of the skill that gives biggest bang for buck.
And one that’s very specific.
Watch the video (or scroll down for the written version) to find out what it is and how your teen can get it!
Hopefully you know by now, if you’ve been following me for even a short while the ‘Not-So-Secret Secret’, that there’s more to exams than just subject knowledge.
That even if your teen knows EVERYTHING there is to know about a topic, it (unfortunately) does not guarantee them a top grade in an exam.
In fact, I coached one of my Next Level students on exactly this, this week.
He’d written an essay with heaps of great knowledge, vocabulary, examples.
But he hadn’t fully identified the FOCUS of the essay question and therefore hadn’t tied his points to that focus clearly enough to get the result he’s capable of.
And I see this EVERY year as an examiner.
Students who I can tell from their answers or essays, are obviously smart and have clearly revised and done everything they were told to.
BUT they haven’t been trained in exam technique.
There are 6 elements of exam technique and the one skill that is my absolute favourite is a cross over of two of them.
Well, actually three of them.
Conquering command words and mastering mark schemes are the two main ones, and time management would be the third.
The skill I’m talking about is:
Being able to write the most succinct answer that gains maximum marks.
In other words, how to cover each criteria on the marking guide, with the least amount of words.
It’s rare to see them but when I do, I get SO excited.
It requires a solid understanding of command words – and the trigger words that go with them – and it’s massive help with time management.
I still remember one of the best examples I saw of this.
It was around 3 years ago probably now, but I still remember it.
It got full marks with about half the words of most other responses.
I had to read it over 3 or 4 times to really check that I was definitely marking it correctly. That it really did satisfy all the criteria, and once I was certain it did, I was like – ‘Oh, that’s brilliant’.
I can’t recall the exact Q now, but it was a comparison, so had some very specific trigger words and this student had used them really well in their answer.
And if your teen can master the skill of giving the examiner exactly what they need to see and do it in the least words possible – or close to – then they’ll not only maximise their results, but also won’t run out of time in the exam. (Time being something that isn’t such an issue in the middle years, but is definitely an issue a lot of students have in Year 11 and 12).
That’s why I’ve already developed a ‘Most Marks, Least Words’ Challenge as a specific activity in the Exam Mastery Workshop and it’s why I train students in identifying and understanding command words, using trigger words AND the whole exam time management system in the 10 Week Grade Transformation Program.
Because ALL of these skills can be learned and actioned in your teen’s very next exam.
They aren’t talents you’re either born with or you aren’t.
They’re like driving a car.
We can all learn them, and once you’ve figured each thing out and how to do them, together, you’ve got the skill of nailing exams – and got it forever.
Real coaching – How to choose the best topic
Does your teen love to have open choice on what to do in an assignment?
Or do they prefer to have guidelines and direction?
Truth is, every student should make decisions STRATEGICALLY on what topic to pick when there’s a choice of any sort.
If they want to give themselves the best chance of a great result AND complete it in the smoothest and most efficient way,
then here’s my advice to REAL students with REAL questions around exactly these dilemmas in our live group coaching calls.
Yours,
Katie
P.S. Every student in the 10 Week Grade Transformation Program gets access to three of these live group coaching calls with me during the program.
They can ask me any Q they like about their study, how to apply the strategies they’re learning in the program AND learn from the Q’s and A’s given to other students. (In fact that last option is the one that many students get the most out of! The Qs they’d never even thought to ask themselves!)
P.P.S. These excerpts are from a selection chosen by current students who nomiated their ‘best bits’ from Term 2 that they’ve found super-useful).
You can enrol your teen now and get them on track – and supported – in their study!
“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.
7 Step Checklist – for parents with ATAR teens
With many students at least starting their Term 2 with online learning / alternative learning / (whatever your teen’s school is calling it!) – I’ve created a 7 Step Checklist for Parents of ATAR teens, with specific and instantly actionable, strategies to help parents help their teens, withOUT needing any subject knowledge OR any nagging!
If you haven’t already got your free copy, go now to: www.gradetransformation.com/parentchecklist
And THEN… share that link with any other parents who are also in this same position right now.
I guarantee they’ll thank you for it 🙂
(And I will too – scroll down for your thank you gift that’s just waiting to be forwarded from my inbox to yours).
The 7 Step Parent checklist is a download I created to help parents, specifically of ATAR teens through out this time, but this will be super-helpful whatever high school year your teen is in. I even had a parent of a Year 7 student tell me they’d just picked TWO of the steps and they had got loads just out of those.
It’s NOT about the general stuff everyone already knows – like ‘have them set up a quiet study space, or don’t be checking their phone every 5 minutes’
You don’t need me to tell you that.
And it’s not about where to go and download a heap of printable worksheets. This isn’t like primary school – things are DIFFERENT for senior students. They don’t always want mum or dad helping and even if they did, YOU can’t suddenly become an expert on Y12 Chemistry or a ninja at essay writing. Not to mention figuring out the success criteria and marking rubrics.
That why The 7steps are specific and instantly actionable, covering the the nitty-gritty details, like:
- the TOPIC and FOCUS method for tackling essays
- the missing key to taking efficient notes in a way that makes the information they’re learning go in and stay in their brains,
right through to:
- the proven system to manage their time AND their focus, so that tasks don’t end up taking twice as long as they should because they’re getting distracted… or because they end up on the wrong track with the task 🙁
And I want to gift this to as many parents as possible because I KNOW this situation is a unique opportunity for students to get the skills, techniques and strategies they’ve likely been missing all this time, but didn’t realise because they were just too busy with everything in school, sport or work.
This situation is truly an opportunity for them to get ahead and achieve better than EVER before to actually become stronger, more confident and more effective as a student.
So head on over to www.gradetransformation.com/parentchecklist and I’ll deliver these 7 steps straight to your inbox.
And then – share that link with any other parents who are also in this same position right now.
I guarantee they’ll thank you for it 🙂
So much so that if you share this on your social media profile, then take a screenshot and send it to me – you can just reply to this email – and I’ll gift you my essay title swipe file for you and your teen.
HERE’S HOW:
1) Share the page where others can grab the 7 Steps Checklist:
https://www.gradetransformation.com/parentchecklist
on one (or more! ?) of your social media pages/posts/profiles.
>> Optional!… Add a note/description. Feel free to use one of these if any feel right for you:
~ Downloaded this checklist recently and thought others might find it useful too.
~ Home-schooling teenagers?! Ummm… nope! I’ve got this up my sleeve – no subject knowledge (or nagging!) necessary!
~ Anyone else wondering how their teen’s gonna go with home-study-online-learning? Found this super-informative to keep things as smooth (and successful!) as possible ?
2) Send me a screenshot of your shared post in an email (just click ‘reply’ to any of my emails or to: katie.price@rocksolidstudy.com.au)
3) I’ll email you back with the Essay Title Swipe File – wrapped up in a digi-bow ??
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.
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
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Lacking confidence in some aspect of your academic abilities
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That you don’t know exactly HOW to make your work better even after it’s been marked
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Unsure if you’re ‘doing it right’ when answering exam questions or writing assignments
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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
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To feel positive and in control of your study, your exams and life at school or college
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To know exactly how to tackle different types of tasks and assignments
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To know PRECISELY what ANY exam question is really asking
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And able to respond in a way that will earn you the MOST MARKS with the subject knowledge YOU have
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To know exactly what ‘exam technique’ is and what ‘command’ and ‘trigger’ words are
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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 🙂
Do you want this too?
Can you believe we’re heading into 2020?!
It used to sound so futuristic and sci-fi! But hey, we’re about to get into it.
Each year now I have made it a bit of a habit to come up with one word
that will be my focus for the year ahead
and I’d love for you to share yours if you have one.
Mine came straight to me this time – That one word is…
I’m looking to get more results for more people in 2020.
That means I’m going to be offering more individual one-on-one private consults for parents and students.
I’m also revamping the whole 10 Week Grade Transformation Program.
We’re filming right now!
I’ve given myself so much to do over this holiday period
and I’m loving it because there’s just so much cool stuff happening.
Since we’re talking about cool stuff –
I’m also going to be working with more schools next year and it’s going to be amazing.
This means I’m going to be able to help so many more people get bigger and better results.
I’m also going to be sharing the best-of-the-best of my blog videos each week.
I’m going back through and figuring out the most useful, most popular topics
that helped so many parents and students this past year.
I’d love to hear your focus for the year ahead.
If you’d also like your friends or family to hear about all my tips, tricks and advice then direct them here: www.gradetransformation.com (for my free Parent Guide) and they can subscribe to my email list.
I’m really looking forward to the new year ahead
and can’t wait to share all the ways I’m going to help your teen get bigger and better results.
Let’s make this a fantastic year!
How to make things EASY (not an effort)
Following on from last week’s video,
I’m sharing the key to your teen actually
following through on the goals and plans they set for themselves.
If you didn’t catch Part 1 last week,
you can click here to access that first.
I was discussing the hurdles we all come across
when setting goals and tasks and that in the moment of ‘doing’
it’s very easy to tell ourselves that some of the smaller steps
aren’t going to make a difference
and it’s easy to talk ourselves out of doing them altogether!
Now, in the summer
there’s plenty of time so we can juggle things around
and absolutely stick to the things we’ve told ourselves we’re going to do.
And I wanna talk more about the practical nature
of setting students up for success over the summer.
It’s all about making it as easy as possible
to follow through and complete the tasks that have been set.
I remember reading about somebody who was really struggling to exercise
but really wanted to do it.
So she decided to go to bed in her gym/running gear
and put her running shoes right next to her bed!
So that in the morning it was actually more effort to get up and take all her gear off
and push aside her running shoes
than it was to just get on and get out there to go and do the session!
As amusing as this is,
it’s a good example of setting yourself up for success
and making it easy to follow through so there’s no excuses for not doing the task.
I gave the example of a student I’ve been working with
who’s been set the challenge of completing three maths questions per week over the summer.
This is so she can keep the momentum going with the success and results
she’s already seen
and really have something she can thank herself for in the future
in the lead up to her next exams.
So the steps that need to be taken for this could look like:
– Pen/pencil and all other equipment needs to be close to hand and organised.
So no time is wasted searching through cupboards and drawers.
This is to avoid any excuses that get put on that mental list of thinking something is too hard.
– Know exactly what questions are going to be attempted.
You don’t want to be flicking through text books aimlessly wondering what to do.
This can be flexible depending on feelings and motivation on any particular day.
Again, we want to minimise the opportunity to make excuses for not getting something done
and should instead be attempting to best set ourselves up for success.
Whatever your teen has set themselves
(and this is not just limited to their study),
take the actions at the time of setting the challenege
to put every little thing in place that can make completing that task as easy as possible.