I have to admit I spend a lot of time thinking about different methods to help my students learn. I also have to admit that some of my ideas are more successful than others (cutting up a 3 page exam answer and having my students put it into the right order did not go down well!). Occasionally I have a brain wave: this is one of them.
Let me put it into context: when I was a student I remember spending a lot of my time revising, pounding the pavements going over my rewritten class notes in my head. Whenever I forgot a name or argument I could still picture where it was written in my notes – just not what it said. Reflecting on this as a teacher I thought that maybe some of my students may think like me – that is, remember ideas based on the placement of them on a sheet of paper. And what’s more, I started to think, wouldn’t it be great if everything they needed to achieve the A* could be found all on one organised sheet. (See post Going for Gold: Achieving that A* for more tips on how to achieve top marks).
even if you only learn a few points and then rewrite these few points in lots of different ways in your answer, with summaries and links back to the question you will get a C grade.
I am not a believer in last minute revision (you are welcome to disagree with me ) as I believe the best approach is lots of sleep. However these final tips might make all the difference to your exam and involve little work:
