All teachers appreciate the importance of revision. We sometimes struggle with working out how we integrate the good habits of revision into lessons and learning. We want to use and model good revision and retrieval practice as a support to the learned material. However, we every year we end up with the same conundrum. When do we really hit the button that signals the BIG push for full on revision? It’s a delicate thing. If you start the final revision push too early – the students will burn out before the exams even begin. If you start too late, then the weight and pressure of the exams will be something that can cause an implosion. It’s a delicate balance.
The one phrase that annoys me more than any other is when I am working with a class and a student claims that ‘I don’t know how to revise’ or ‘I’ve never been taught to revise’. I think back to a pupil that I had talk consecutively for 4 years and his parents sat down at a parent/teacher meeting and asked if I could show their son how to revise. Often students do not realise that what you are modelling and showing them is ‘revision’ – they just see it as ‘work’ and think that ‘revision’ is some sort of mystical, special thing that will give them some sort of exam-superpower with the minimal of effort. Maybe, as teachers, we need to clearly explicit in our lessons better so that learners know this to be one example of a revision technique that can be used.
I hate to say this but the impact of COVID is still with us but has taken a strange turn in recent years. People are definitely more in tune with their own mental wellbeing and often this means that prioritising binge-watching a series on Netflix is more important to them than doing the schoolwork that will keep them up to speed. I have spoken to quite a few colleagues in post-primary schools recently and we have all lamented that the work ethic of many of our pupils is just not there. The motivation and drive to spend hours completing revision is absent. Yet, these same pupils still think that they will be able to access he highest grades, even without the hard work that might carry them there.
As a school leader, I think I have a responsibility to set the tone and the expectation around the work that students must complete in order to be successful. As a class teacher who is preparing students for exams my approach is one that makes reference to revision and retrieval constantly and flags up and explicitly teaches different revision techniques through the year. I also have prepared a series of revision techniques and give these out to the pupils through the year and not just at the end. I explain note taking and how to use Cornell notes, I give out topic mind maps and Retrieval Organisers (usually giving them 2 sets – one for notes now and one for their own retrieval practice at their own convenience). I use a specially prepared Answer/Essay plan booklet through out the course so that students can design their own essay plans that will cover the full extent of the course. Throughout the year I use a complicated web of past paper questions as homework, practice in class, timed practice, tests, and mock exams. By the time the course is complete, my students should have covered near all of the available questions – so anything that appears in the exam paper should not be a shock!
This year, I have taken a slightly different approach in my school. I have put together a video on Youtube that attempts to encourage our exam-laden students to action and highlights my top 12 techniques that might help support them. This is being sent out to parents to try and encourage their children to complete work. The timing is now – with just about 3 weeks to go until the majority of GCSE and A Level exams starting. This is supported by a revision of a previous revision booklet that I have put together and made available both online and for collection at the school office.
Is 3 weeks before the exam begin too late? I hope not. Maybe it’s a case of better late than never. Over recent years I have realised that many students do not see Easter as an opportunity for revision but for a break and that getting any meaningful work out of students is a challenge – so the focus is now on making sure that students are focused for a shorter amount of time but hopefully at a level where they are more engaged and ready for battle!
You can view the video called ‘Revision Techniques’ on Youtube here
I do believe that subject specific revision techniques are extremely important for teachers to use to support learners. What works for Geography might not work in the same way for Maths. A timeline revision technique might be great for History but not much use for Science.
The 12 ‘top’ techniques that I decided to highlight with students are as follows:
- Dual Coding
- Revision clock
- Answer/Essay Plans
- Retrieval Organisers
- Fishbone diagram
- Mind Maps
- Flashcards
- Traffic Lighting
- Brain Dump
- Self Quizzing
- Past Papers
- Key Vocab
Hopefully, this is enough time for students to take full responsibility for their learning (and the impending results that follow) so that they will spend the time and effort required to be successful.
