Grade Transformation Blog

Grade Transformation Blog

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2 keys to strategic revision planning

When it comes to revising, most students:
– Make a pretty wall planner that shows how many hours they are going to study on different days.
– Run out of time to cover everything they want to.

And yes, those two things are related ?

That’s why I developed and train students to use the Reverse-Engineered Revision Planning System to ensure they:

  • Cover the content they’ve strategically prioritised (using the 2-factor priority system)
    because they’ll almost always find there’s not enough time to cover everything in the detail they ideally want to when they PROPERLY plan.AND
  • Organise their revision according to outcomes in given time segments.

This excerpt from a recent Next Level Coaching Call (for grads of the 10WGT) gives details of these two keys to strategic revision planning – in real life exam prep.

 

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Optimising lockdown learning

If your teen’s studying from home during lockdown right now,

or might be at some point between now and Christmas
(which is a possibility for all of us)

or you just want to help them become more independent and effective in their study
(which is all of us?!)

I’m making available again, for a limited time,
my 7-Step Checklist for Parents of ATAR Teens.

I created it last year as the whole country (and most of the world)
went to online learning / alternative learning / learning from home…
(whatever your school is calling it!)
in order to give parents of teens some practical strategies to support their children.

Strategies that go beyond
‘have a quiet study space’
or
‘try to keep the same daily timings’.
(Which are perfectly valid, but not really going beyond common sense.)

And strategies that are immediately actionable and will make an instant difference.
As opposed to doing 10mins of extra reading about topical issues each day – which actually isn’t going to make any difference to their study strategy or results
(I’m happy to expand on this point if requested!)
and even if it did, it would take a loooooonnnng time to see it pay off.

You can download all seven in one go at:
https://www.gradetransformation.com/7steps
and please feel free to go ahead and share this blog post/that link with any friends and family or on your social media.
​

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{Advanced skill} Comment on Vs. Analyse

Your teen *thought* they’d analysed, but didn’t get full marks.
And now they’re not sure what went wrong.

It’s likely that they’re ‘commenting on’ their quotes or evidence,
rather than actually analysing it.

(That phrase ‘comments on meaning’ is even used in mark schemes to accommodate students who ‘under-analyse’ in this way.
That’s how common this problem is.)

If they’re not going further to state the ‘impact’ of that sentence, technique or description, then this is likely what’s happening.

– Here’s an example of this in action on a real life essay,
where our English-Focus Coach Gemma shows how to take the ‘comment on meaning’ a step further
to become a full analysis.

 

Notice how the student has explained what the character means when they say that quote.

But, they haven’t analysed WHY the author decided to use this to influence the audience’s understanding and feelings about the character/scene.

What does that quote make the reader think or feel about the character or the situation?

HOW does that quote contribute to theme/character being asked about in the original essay question?

In other words:
What is the IMPACT of using it?

This is how your teen up-levels from explaining (commenting on meaning)
to analysing (stating the impact in relation to the focus of the task). 
​
Yours,
Katie

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Time pressure vs. stress in exams

Some stress is good.
In fact, it’s helpful.
It keeps us focused, energised and alert.

I’m often telling students this.

Because the word ‘stress’ (understandably) has a heap of negative connotations.
And a lot of my training is indeed centred around reducing students’ stress.

But there are times (like having to write an essay in exam conditions!) that it’s natural to feel some stress.

The key is understanding when everything is going to plan and we’re just under pressure
(time pressure of the exam and the pressure to perform well – the latter of which is even greater when it’s a seen essay Q that you’ve prepped for!)
​
​VS.
Stress because we don’t know what we’re doing.

The first type can be beneficial.

The second… well, that can be fixed 😉

 

 

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Revising in lockdown

With so many states and cities in and out of lockdown or on alert right now,
students are having to deal with home-learning, online study and independent revision for trials.

So it’s no surprise that this topic was one of the requests on this week’s Next Level coaching call.

In this segment, we talked a LOT about the importance of turning that vague concept of ‘time management’ into outcome scheduling.

After all, if we could truly ‘manage’ time, we’d all have plenty of it and maybe even be able to control it, right?!
(If anyone has mastered that, please reply and share the magic) 😉

But we CAN schedule specific outcomes for ourselves in the time that we have.

It’s not only an effective way to plan, but it also means we can reduce any potential future stress or panic.

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Tiny tweaks = big results

Is it really possible to make big changes to your teen’s results and confidence
(and do it FAST)
with just a few skills, techniques and tweaks to how they study and tackle exam questions?

This analogy is a great example of what’s possible when current efforts and progress are optimised with some expert tips and specific tweaks.

 

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Tips for studying online in lockdown

Some students love the online style of learning during lockdowns.
Others hate it.

Either way, it certainly highlights students’ strengths and weaknesses when it comes to studying strategically and independently.

Whether your teen’s learning online or in the classroom right now,
the conversation I had this week with Sam Richardson from Hope FM in Sydney
will give you answers to Qs like:

– How can students avoid burnout?

– What can parents do if they have a teen who’s a bit of a (or master!) procrastinator?

– What’s the key to studying ‘smarter not harder’?
(Spoiler alert – I start my answer with the reason why I personally hate using that phrase!)

– For parents with students who put a lot of pressure on themselves, what can they say or do to help?

And more!

 

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Trick to Address the Key Focus of an Essay

The first step to tackling any essay is to…
(nope, not freak out, moan, or procrastinate – although those are common) 
is to…
dissect the question to determine what it’s really asking.

To do this, I train students in the 2-step Topic and Focus system.
​

However, their next challenge is to ward off marker feedback of
‘hasn’t quite answered the Q‘
by ensuring they actually respond to that key focus and stay on track in their response​.

I’ve got a cool little trick that gets the essay focus super-clear
and helps make sure the response is consistently addressing it.

I used it with a student on a group coaching call and I’m sharing with you that real life example
(PLUS!… A great example of a ‘Topic Trap’ – and how to avoid it!)
so you can see it in action:

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How to pick a great topic in an open-choice assignment

Having open choice of a topic in an assignment can feel exciting or daunting (or both!).

Here’s how to select a topic that gives access to the top criteria and makes the process of completing the assignment as smooth and stress-free as possible.

 

*** For more information on strategic study where hard work actually pays off in the end results, go to: www.rocksolidstudy.com

*** Use the Free Parent Guide: 3 Huge Mistakes (Even Smart) Students Make in Exams and Assignments to figure out what’s holding your hard-working teen back from achieving their best possible success, with less stress in their study.
Get your copy for free at: http://www.gradetransformation.com
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You don’t know what you don’t know

You don’t know what you don’t know.

You can’t ask about something if you don’t even know that ‘something’ exists.
You can’t change or improve something if you’re not aware that there’s a better way.

One of the best things about live group calls is that you get to hear questions you never thought of asking, but are super-helpful… even life-changing.

I’m hosting a live group Q&A for parents and students on my email list tonight!
See your inbox for your link 🙂

 

It happens all the time in the student coaching calls I do in the 10WGT.

Mikayla (a 10WGT student) told me that on one of our Live Group Coaching Calls
she didn’t have a question to ask and so wasn’t going to come on.
But, in her words:
“Mum made me. I didn’t think it would be useful,
but by the end of the hour I had over a page of notes…
And it turned out…
One of the tasks another student asked about, I got something really similar a week later, so I totally knew what to do, right from the start.”

That’s the beauty of group calls.

Students get THREE live group coaching calls with me as a bonus when they join the 10 Week grade Transformation Program – which opens just 3 or 4 times a year.

Make sure you’re on my email list to get future invites (plus weekly free tips!).

Just go to www.gradetransformation.com
request the free Parent Guide
and I’ll email it to you as well as add you to my email list!

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