Exams are fast approaching. We know this can be a stressful time of year for our students and with mental ill-health an on-going challenge for young people it is crucial we support them as best we can.
Revising for exams, whether they are “mission critical” for entry to university or further education or whether they are internal school exams, can seem like a long and drawn-out process.
So as teachers, how can you ensure your students’ revision is relevant, valuable, and efficient? And what can you do to help them feel more in control and to protect their mental health before and during exams? Here are 11 pieces of advice to discuss with your exam students.
Make a revision timetable
Be structured in the way you approach your revision. Spending some time at the beginning of each week mapping-out when you are going to revise particular topics, means you will not waste time later on trying to decide what to do.
Drawing up a revision timetable is the key to ensuring time is used wisely and that there is a set focus each day. Having this structure in place also allows you to fit in all the necessary topics within the allocated revision time. This way you can also schedule revision breaks which are key to keeping well mentally.
Chunk revision into timed tasks
Learning two English quotes takes five minutes – so that five minutes when you are brushing your teeth may be a great time to do it (think sticky notes on the bathroom mirror).
Writing an essay plan may take 30 minutes. Have a list of timed tasks so when you know you have 30 minutes spare you instantly know which tasks you can jump on to.
Revise in bursts – with lots of breaks
Most students can concentrate effectively for around 30 minutes at a time. So plan for 45-minute slots – this will give you 30 minutes to revise and 15 minutes to review what you have learned. Then have a break – no more than 10 minutes – grab a drink, a snack or kick a ball around before you get back to it. These timing slots will provide an effective way to revise and boost concentration.
The power of spaced learning
This is a marathon, not a sprint – the best way to embed information is to learn it, test it, and then revisit it a few days later and then again if you can. This “spaced repetition” gives the brain a chance to embed the information in long-term memory.
As teacher Kristian Still wrote in his recent SecEd series on retrieval practice (2022): “Keep in mind that shorter delays between studying sometimes fool the learner into thinking they know the information well … because the information is more easily retrievable, but alas information is quickly forgotten.
“Researchers believe that spacing works because the time delay between study sessions forces the learner to work harder to retrieve the information and that this helps to consolidate information in long-term memory.”
Indeed, as Dr Tom Perry said in the SecEd Podcast episode that accompanied that series (SecEd, 2022): “Repeatedly in research, we find that rather than doing a whole hour at once, you are best off doing 15 minutes four times.”
And Professor John Dunlosky told the Tes Podcast in 2021: “Spacing one’s activities, and repeating those activities, is the basis of all mastery. If students are going to master anything, you are going to have to repeat that content over and over again – there is no getting around it.”
And finally, remember that sleep is the perfect spacing opportunity. As Mr Still added: “Sleep not only helps to strengthen memories, but also helps us to actively forget irrelevant information, thus optimising memory for what is relevant.”
Create the right environment
Make sure there is a quiet corner where you can have all your materials set up ready to revise – with pens, paper, and books all to hand. It is easy when you are trying to revise to get side-tracked by small things, so make sure you eliminate as many distractions as possible. And keep your phone well away from your revision area. However reliant on it you maybe, in this case it will only be a distraction.
Music – does it help or hinder?
Music with lyrics is often not helpful for study, but music without words, such as classical music or perhaps film scores, can be a help. However, be careful – it has been shown that studying in quieter environments improve recall in an exam setting (Chere & Kirkham, 2021), so try and get by without your favourite music on full blast.
Perhaps the most important thing is that you settle quickly to the tasks and do not use choosing the music as a delaying tactic.
Exam technique
Learning the information is all well and good but the key to doing well is knowing how to use it in the exam. Just knowing the facts is not enough, you need to know how to answer the questions and give the examiner what they are looking for in order to get top marks. Make sure you are familiar with the key terms that examiners use and are clear about what they are looking for.
Practice doing past papers in timed conditions – one of the most rookie errors in an exam is to mistime your answers and end up missing a chunk of the questions. Exam techniques can be tricky to master, so using past papers and looking through mark schemes help you gain a clear understanding.
Use note-making
Making summary notes is one of the most successful ways of memorising information, especially if you then summarise the summary notes. As guidance from the University of Reading (2023) states: “Note-making is also a learning process in itself, helping you to process and understand the information you receive.”
Do not be tempted to do this on a computer – the act of writing things out has been shown to aid memory (APS, 2014), and as a bonus it prepares your student for the long stints holding a pen required in the exam room. Additionally, using colour can also support study so try using colour-coding on your revision notes, planning tools and mind-maps.
Build a memory palace
Creating a “memory palace” is a technique using spatial memory to learn sequences of information. By turning individual chunks of information into mental images and then connecting the images to different rooms in the “palace” and creating a story, you can then recall information more easily on the day of the exam. Find out more online.
Don’t stress, just revise
The best tactic is not to panic. Spending valuable revision time panicking and worrying about exams is not productive. Some worries can be helpful and give the adrenaline you need to perform well in exams, however too much stress is unhealthy. Being surrounded by a positive and supportive environment in the classroom and at home can help to minimise any rising panic.
Work from the inside out
A healthy body and mind will increase your ability to revise and lead to better results. Physical activity is very important during intense revision periods. Even a quick 30-minute jog or walk after a day of studying will increase your heart rate and get vital oxygen to the brain helping to reduce tiredness and stress.
Don’t stint on your sleep either – research shows that the brain consolidates memories while you are asleep and cognitive ability is significantly reduced if you are not getting enough sleep (Mazza et al, 2016).
Make sure your diet is healthy too. Plenty of vegetables and fish are definitely good for brain power but fast food or processed foods are not. So keep those revision snacks healthy.
- Carl Morris is the principal of Carfax College and co-founder of The Online School – a project that aims to transform students' education. Visit www.carfax-oxford.com
Further information & resources
- Association for Psychological Science: Take notes by hand for better long-term comprehension, 2014: http://bit.ly/3lfoA3z
- Chere & Kirkham: The negative impact of noise on adolescents’ executive function: An online study in the context of home-learning during a pandemic, Frontiers in Psychology (12), 2021: http://bit.ly/3YTb2Zk
- Mazza et al: Relearn faster and retain longer: Along with practice, sleep makes perfect. Science, Technology and Society, 27(10), 2016.
- SecEd (2022) A teacher’s guide to retrieval practice, The SecEd Podcast (episode 52), March 2022: https://bit.ly/3tQYdCy
- Still: A teacher’s guide to retrieval practice: Spaced learning, SecEd, April 2022: https://bit.ly/3KTuNKa
- TES (2021) How to build a better learner, an interview with John Dunlosky, TES Podcast, September 2021.
- University of Reading: Reading and making notes (accessed March 2023): https://libguides.reading.ac.uk/reading/notemaking