Grade Transformation Blog

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Archive for June 2018

Revealed: Missing link between SETTING and *ACHIEVING* goals

We hear all the time about the importance of setting goals and targets.

And it can certainly be a productive and motivating thing to do ?

However, there’s one key, super-important, super-ESSENTIAL step that often gets missed.

And it’s a trap that we can all so easily fall into…

Now, before I reveal all, I’ll give you an example and then you can ‘play along at home’ and see if you can work out what I’m talking about 😉

Let’s say Bob sets a goal to lose 5 kilos. He writes it up, sticks it on his fridge, does some visualizations of himself being 5k lighter, and all the rest of the steps in goal-setting.

He even puts a time-frame on it – to make it a SMART goal of course……..

And then what?

Is Bob going to just lose those 5 kilos?

No, of course not.

So, have you guessed it?

What’s missing?…

Yep, it’s the steps and actions that are needed to achieve those goals.

It’s knowing:

  • what those steps are
  • what we need to do to complete them

and then

  • precisely how and when we’re going to do it.

 

So, for Bob, he needs to figure out what foods or drinks he needs to take out of his diet and what he should eat or drink instead, and how much of them, probably even at what points of the day.

He might also need to find a way to become more physically active and then decide how, where and when he’s going to incorporate it into his life each week.

 

But back to your teen… It’s exactly the same for students, their study and their grades.

For example, if your teen sets a goal to get an A in English, they need to identify exactly HOW they are going to do it.

What precisely do they need to change or improve?

And then, exactly how are they going to develop their knowledge and skills to make those changes or improvements?

Because it’s not just a case of ‘working harder’ in English.

(Proof = I see some of the hardest working students STILL stay STUCK term after term, semester after semester, on the same old grades).

It’s instead knowing the exact steps to take that will create the changes they need to make, in the skills and criteria that the grading system requires.

So first they need to figure out how identify these.

  1. How can they find out what they need to specifically improve? That’s link 1 in bridging that gap between goal and achievement. This might be talking to their teacher, or go through their previous comments and feedback on assessments.

Let’s say they realise that need to focus on giving more detailed analyses.

Great – now they need to figure out link 2.

2. They need to find out HOW to do that. (Insider info: This is often the trickiest part! Because if they knew THAT then they’d likely already be getting those A’s, right? )

Well let’s take the example of needing to give more detailed analyses:

They’d need to work on extending explanations (which BTW is where my 3 magic words –  so, therefore and because come in!).

They’d need to use more technical vocab, and…

They’d need to select suitable examples or evidence and develop detailed links to back up their explanations.

 

So, let’s wrap this up:

The key message here is to make sure, whatever targets or goals your teen sets for themselves in their study, that they have a clear and specific path to get there. That they know precisely what they need to do and HOW to do it to achieve them.

 

I’d love your feedback or questions around this – Scroll down and leave me a comment 🙂

Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!

Katie

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Posted in Goal setting, Mindset, Results
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Take the pressure off subject selections

Decisions, decisions!

It can be tough deciding on subject choices, whether it’s for optional subjects in Y8 or 9 or deciding on Final Y12 subjects.

So this week I just want to share a lighthearted way to help your teen do this when it comes down to option A or B.

Here’s one of my fave ways to break a decision “tie”…

– Whether it’s me choosing between the lemon cheesecake or the sticky date pudding on the dessert menu, or… I’ve even had a friend do this to name one of their children!

(Which is almost as important as dessert, right?!) ?

 

It can be tough deciding on subject choices, whether it’s for optional subjects in Y8 or 9 or deciding on Final Y12 subjects.

So this week I just want to share a lighthearted way to help your teen do this when it comes down to deciding between ‘option A’ or ‘option B’.

Because I see some students tie themselves up in knots about this, and I think there is sometimes too much pressure on this decision with students feeling like they’re having to decide their life’s future at the age of 14!

But with all the pathways available these days aaaand the fact that it is a minority of people who start in and stay in the same career their whole working life these days, then it really doesn’t need to be so stressful.

I didn’t start out as a teacher straight out of uni.

I worked in environmental monitoring and then in conservation before deciding to become a high school teacher, and I’m glad that I had experience in other industries and jobs before going back into the school environment.

So here’s one of my fave ways to break a decision “tie”,

(whether it’s choosing between the lemon cheesecake or the sticky date pudding on the dessert menu –or – at the other end of the scale –  I’ve even had a friend do this to name one of their children!).

It’s to have someone I like, love or respect to ‘pretend’ to pick for me.

 

If I’m excited by the option they pick, I know that’s the right one 🙂

If I’m disappointed or feeling my stomach tighten up, I know it’s not.

Have you ever had that?

When you explain to someone your dilemma, they give you their opinion and then you go

“hmm, yeah. Actually I think the other one”.

We kinda trick our brains by having the pressure taken off and the decision made for us 🙂

You can get the same effect by flipping a coin — choice A is heads, choice B is tails.

The point is, if your teen wants to give this a go, whatever system they try, they need to note their gut reaction and their immediate feelings and TRUST them.

It’s easy to feel confused or unsure – I’m certainly guilty of overthinking things, but in many cases, we know.

Even if we have to give the truth a way to show itself to us.

So if your teen is in an electives or options pickle, have them give this a try.

AND if they still feel like they reeeeeally don’t know

(yep, I get it, I get it…), just remind them that:

1)  They CAN change their mind – usually any time within the first term of a subject is totally doable

AND

2) They’ll likely change direction or career at some point in the future anyway, so just don’t put too much pressure on themselves to make the “right” decision!

Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week 🙂

Katie

 

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Posted in Mindset, Techniques & Strategies
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Maximise ‘Power Hours’ for ultra-productive study

Does your teen struggle to get up and going early in the mornings?

They can just about ‘rise’, but there’s not much ‘shine’? 😉

Or are they all ‘up-and-at-em’ early in the day, but tired and a bit brain-dead in the afternoons or evenings?

*Yup – Raising my own hand over here for that second one* 😉

Well, the good news is, this is all toooottttally natural.

There’s a lot of research out there about what makes us earlybirds or night owls and how these energy ebbs and flows vary between males and females and at different ages.

But how can students optimise this and *really* make it work for them?

Does your teen struggle to get up and going early in the mornings?

They can just about rise, but there’s not much shine?

They can just about ‘rise’, but there’s not much ‘shine’? 😉

Or are they all ‘up-and-at-em’ early in the day, but tired and a bit brain-dead in the afternoons or evenings?

*Yup – Raising my own hand over here for that second one* 😉

Well, the good news is, this is all toooottttally natural.

There’s a lot of bio and psych research out there about what makes us earlybirds or night owls and how these energy ebbs and flows vary between males and females and at different ages.

It has now been well-documented that teenagers are naturally later risers and some schools have even adapted to this and start their days later for students in the later year groups of high school.

But how can students optimise this and really make it work for them?

 

Well, once your teen pays some attention to their daily patterns (if they aren’t already aware of when they’re feeling most alert and when their best times to work are), they can then take action to make these these their ‘power hours’ and really maximise their productivity.

That means really ramping up their focus at these times and removing distractions that might slow them down or disturb their concentration.

Giving themselves timed bursts and specific tasks to get through in that time will also help.

They should also make sure that they’re tackling the trickiest tasks and those that require the highest levels of cognitive thinking and processing.

This includes creative tasks as well as those involving analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

 

Other more straightforward tasks can then be done in the lower energy times of day, so that at those busy times of year, ticks are still marked against on that to-do list, but with a little less brain-power.

Things like proof reading, filing notes perhaps, or doing background research for an assignment or essay task are good tasks to do at these times 🙂

 

So, have your teen get clear on their ‘high energy, high focus’ times of the day and then make these their *power hours*.

This’ll help them achieve their best possible grades by having them produce their highest level work at their highest performing times AND get these tasks done more efficiently.

And then perhaps they’ll even have a little more time to relax and recharge at those lower energy moments too 😉

I’d love to hear from you! Let me know whether your teen is an early bird or a night owl.

And tell me – what do they do to maximise their power hours?

Scroll down and tell me in the comments 🙂

Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!

Katie

 

 

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Prioritise tasks and skills that’ll ‘move the needle’

It’s easy to stay busy doing things that make us feel productive.

Often, students get good at disguising these ‘distraction activities’ as something that still feels study-related.

Making a beautiful-gorgeous cover page perhaps 😉

But the key to higher grades with less stress is your teen figuring out the specific tasks and places to put their effort, that will really move the needle in terms of results, rankings and grades.

Here’s what these tasks are likely to be (and what they aren’t!).

 

It’s easy to stay busy doing things that make us feel productive.

In the good old days it used to be things like putting your CD or video collection in alphabetical order.

As a teenager it was (and I’m guessing still is today), cleaning up your bedroom.

[I know, I know! ‘Not such a bad thing Katie’ you might be saying – but not so great if it ‘s just as a distraction activity for something they really should be doing. Like that English essay or Maths investigation] 😉

We also get good at disguising these distraction activities as something that still feels study-related.

Making a lovely cover page for that Maths investigation perhaps!

 

But the key to higher grades with less stress is your teen figuring out the specific tasks and places to put their effort that’ll really ‘move the needle’ for them in terms of results, rankings, confidence and grades.

So this could be:

  • Practicing some past paper Qs, rather than writing out notes from the text book.
  • Working on extending their analyses in their English essay rather than finding another reference for it.

OR, thinking…

  • How many sources do they really need for that History inquiry? Would they be better off adding more depth and detail to evaluating the sources they already have?

 

In other words, they need to identify the tasks that’ll boost their results, not just give them some more the ticks on their to-do list.

They should also consider training and learning that’ll really help across the board – which will be universal to all subjects and serve them across different subjects.

For example:

  • honing their paragraphing skills, their range of vocabulary and the sentence structures in their writing,
  • developing exam technique skills,
  • studying past paper mark schemes and chief examiner reports and retrospectives.

 

The trouble is that these are jobs or activities that rarely appear on any to-do list, but are SO important to boosting grades and confidence for students.

 

I’d love to know… Scroll down and leave me a comment – what are the things that would move the needle most for your teen AND what are the activities that are keeping them feeling ‘busy’ but aren’t necessarily giving them the biggest pay off?

 

Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week 🙂

Katie

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Posted in Goal setting, Homework, Mindset, Results, Revision, Techniques & Strategies, Uncategorized
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If it’s not PROCESSING info, it’s not PRODUCTIVE

Many students right now will be in revision mode for Semester or half-yearly exams, or soon to be.

And most of these students will be revising in some of the least effective, in fact often totally useless  ways.

Here’s the bottom line:

Revision has to be ACTIVE rather than PASSIVE.

And that means that they have to be doing something with the information they’re revising –  processing it in some way. Here’s why, as well as some practical suggestions on how 🙂

Many students right now will be in revision mode for semester of half-yearly exams,

(or at least they should be), so I thought this would be a good time to share one of

THE . biggest . mistakes

I see students making in their revision.

(I know my personal coaching students will be so bored of hearing me say this, but I realised I actually haven’t hammered on about this publicly that much, so it’s time I did!)

Here’s the bottom line:

Revision has to be ACTIVE rather than PASSIVE.

I have a whole Catapult module dedicated to the specific strategies and techniques to make revision ACTIVE in my 10 Week Grade Transformation Program, but just getting to grips with this concept will be a huge step in the right direction for many students and parents for now.

By active I mean that they have to be DOING something with the information, processing it in some way.

So, no, reading or highlighting notes is NOT active 😉

Processing means transferring the info from one format to another and here’s why it’s so important:

Digesting the information and then making a decision about how to recreate it in a different format means that our brains have to have understood that information, not only proving to themselves that they ‘get’ the content, but also – this is much more likely to make it stick.

At the most basic level – this could be condensing full notes or text book info into colour-coded revision notes.

To do this effectively, students have to process and make decisions about which words and info are most important and decide which colour to use depending on the type of info it is.

For example is it a key word, a case study example, or is it a definition or is it a process?

But even better are techniques like converting text and notes into a mindmap, categorizing examples into a table, or turning a flowchart process into notes.

And I would advise, when time is getting tight, as it often does during revision

(unless of course, they use my reverse-engineered revision planning system!, also in the 10 Week program 🙂 )

that students are better off revising less information actively, than more information passively.

Because what’s the point of reading through 3 whole text book chapters if none or very little of it sticks or can be retrieved in the exam?

It’s waaaayyyyy more beneficial to get through just the key points of the 3 chapters, but know those really well and have them easily flow from brain to paper in the exam hall.

 

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Posted in Exams, Revision, Techniques & Strategies
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