It has been a long wait for pupils to return to school. Finally the time has arrived five months after we entered lockdown. Although some schools have managed virtual leaning well, research suggests that students are around three months behind on their learning (National Foundation for Educational Research Survey). So what can be done to catch up on your studies at this stage? This article discusses tips to help you to stay on track this academic year.
1. Make revision notes on missed material
Students often leave writing revision notes until the end of their course and then frantically try to write up notes alongside learning all the material, as well as practicing past paper questions. To avoid this and to allow plenty of time to consolidate your knowledge, it is important to prepare revision notes as you go through each topic. This should be done for all topics, particularly those you may have missed or not covered fully.
When you have finished a topic, you should make revision notes based on your class notes, questions, textbooks and any other materials. It will take time to develop the skill of making good revision notes, but this will be invaluable to your further education. More importantly, this will save you time in the long run as you will have your notes ready by the time you start revising.
2. Review your subject specifications
Each subject has a specification which summarises everything you could be examined on. Once you have covered a topic and made your revision notes, it is important to check the specification and verify that you haven’t missed any information. This is also a useful source for definitions and concise points, where the examiners tell you exactly how to phrase some concepts. Remember that your textbooks are only an interpretation of the exam specification. I can’t recommend enough using the specifications as a checkpoint for what you need to know.
3. Practice topic-specific questions from past papers
Making revision notes and learning material is considered to be a passive form of learning. It is therefore important to follow this up with active learning by attempting as many practice papers as possible. I would recommend doing topic-specific questions in order to consolidate your revision of each topic. This will ensure that you truly understand the material and know how to apply it to exam questions. It is essential to do this alongside your studies to give you plenty of practice. Past papers are available online for free or you can ask your teachers for resources.
4. Be proactive in talking to your teachers
The beginning of this term will be a hectic time for schools. It is therefore important to speak to all of your teachers directly and ask for their advice on how you can catch up and improve in your subjects. You can also ask them for additional resources, including copies of textbooks, revision guides, recent past papers and extra homework. By being proactive, you will build a good working relationship with your teachers and they will try to support you through your studies when they can.
5. Get a private tutor to help with your subject knowledge
If you feel that you would benefit from some extra one-to-one help, then I would recommend finding a private tutor who specialises in your subject. A good tutor will be able to identify your main weaknesses in learning, develop your subject knowledge and improve your study skills. I personally benefited from private tutoring when I was in school, which provided a more personalised approach to my studies. York-Weaving Education has an excellent team of Oxbridge-graduate tutors, so please contact me if you need help in finding a tutor for your specific subject.
Best of luck in your studies this year. I encourage you to be organised and proactive. We don’t know what lies ahead with this pandemic so it is important to stay focused and do as much work as possible in order to perform well in your subjects!
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