The year x to year y cohort
‘Simply the best’
Some years the grape harvest
produces ‘vintage’ wines
Year 11
• ‘One of the best year groups we have ever had’ (me)
• ‘GCSE Art students have been well motivated and a
positive group to teach.’ Miss Lands
• ‘Our Yr 11 BTEC group are working so hard to put on
their show on Feb 5th. They are a dedicated, motivated
bunch who are a pleasure to teach. They are rehearsing
lunchtimes, after school and even Sundays! The show
is based on a performing arts school and the school
motto is: Not to be is not an option-to be is the only
option-be an inspiration! You are an inspiration girls go for it! The P.A. Team.
• ‘The Biology GCSE group (approx. 3 classes)
entered for the exam in January left the Hall in
exemplary silent fashion to show respect for a
6th former who was continuing after their
exam had finished.’ Mr Smith.
• "There are some girls in set 1 who have really
grown in confidence and ability this year, and
are ahead of their predictions. That is so good
to see.“ Mr Mayhew
AIM HIGH(ER)
• Aim for the best that you can possibly be. You
may not get to the very top but you will certainly
do better than if you aim for what you think you
can do easily
• It is a bit like having to stretch to reach something
on the top shelf. Children always seem to find a
way to reach the sweet jar that has been placed
out of reach or the Christmas presents that have
been hidden, because they don't give up.
• Students need to apply the same sort of thinking
to their grades.
Mrs Photay
Why is it some students outperform
others?
• Do you ever look round your classes and think,
‘How did she get that module result – that girl
is not as clever as me?’
• Or do you think, ‘My result shows that hard
work pays off no matter what your target
grade is on paper’.
• Have you achieved a module result this year
that is above your target grade.
Will your dream results be inside?
What do you want to find when you
open your results in the summer?
My dream results August 20xy
Subject
English Language
English Literature
Maths
Science
Grade
The impossible dream?
• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7padnN66Wo&feature=related
So how are YOU going to achieve that
(im)possible dream?
• First some tips......
A definition of insanity
• Repeatedly doing the same things over and
over again and expecting a different result
• So if you want a different result you have to
make some big changes.
• How do you learn?
• What can we learn from how we learn sport
or how to play an instrument?
• How did David Beckham learn to score goals?
• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaGWrLFV
Ok
So like David Beckham (and other sportsmen)
• Train your reflexes – tennis ball at 100mph means
you have to be able to respond automatically
• Learn from your mistakes – the more you make
the more you learn
• Advice from the coach – giving you feedback, tells
you how to improve
• Identify what skills are needed for the particular
sport so you can practice and get good at them
• Practice and improve fitness levels
How does this relate to exams?
How do we learn?
• Asking questions – the question / answer
reflex
• Making mistakes – you don’t want to make
the mistakes in the exam but before!
• Feedback is related to advice from your coach,
you can create your own feedback and give
you confidence
• Repetiton = you need a system to repeat the
learning process – mental conditioning
Question – answer reflex
• If you don’t ask questions you don’t get any
answers and then you don’t learn
• Small child touches hot oven quickly pulls his
hand away – reflex action, doesn’t have to
think about it
• In sport you haven’t got time to think about
what stroke you are going to return the serve,
so you have to train your reflexes so it is done
automatically, but this reflex has to be trained
• Returning the ball is like giving an exam answer to
the stimulus of the question
• Stimulus = heat, reflex = pulling hand away
• In an exam you only have a certain amount of
time to respond, you are going to fail if your
reflex isn’t trained well enough, if trained you can
react at lightening speed – you’ve done all the
thinking in your training, so it is almost automatic
• Train for the exam in the same way as you are
expected to perform in the exam – question answer
Some advice
• Imagine that the person marking your exam paper is stupid
(bit like me really), who knows very little about the subject.
• It's up to you to "educate" the examiner by answering
questions is such a way as to prove you understand the
subject.
• I recommend you "pee" all over your exam paper.... make
your point, explain what you mean and give relevant
examples to support your answer.
• When answering longer, essay type questions, a rough plan
made before you begin to write will help to focus thoughts
and could gain a few extra marks which may make the
difference between one grade and the next.
• Good luck with your exams!
Mrs Fothergill
Making mistakes
• One of the most effective ways of learning
• In sport and music, making mistakes and
correcting them is called practice
• Learning is simply a process of making mistakes,
finding out what you don’t know and correcting
• In the sport of taking exams when do you get the
chance to make mistakes and learn how to
correct them?
• Mistakes tell you that that you don’t know
something that you need to know and then you
can address this yourself or with help
I can’t leave it until I’m happy
• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc5gHm8Po2
0&feature=related
Don’t expect overnight success
• According to analysis theory it takes 10,000 hours
to be an expert or elite performer, in sport,
music, art etc.
• Ten thousand hours is equivalent to roughly three
hours a day, or 20 hours a week, of practice over
10 years… No one has yet found a case in which
true world-class expertise was accomplished in
less time. It seems that it takes the brain this long
to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve
true mastery.
Time management
• Prioritise using to do lists – do the most
important things first; each day create a list of
five things that you need to finish that day; go
through your list and see which is the most
important
• Batching – answer your e-mails, go on msn or
Facebook twice a day – don’t keep logging in
• Stop time wasting – think of the consequences of
studying at the last minute; ask yourself ‘Do I
really want that to happen?’
Your support team
• Alongside your friends and people at home the
staff are on your side.
• It is actually much less work for teachers if we
just leave you to it.
• Teachers and your Heads of Community moan
and nag because we know that your summer
grades could change your lives – they are unlikely
to have any effect on ours.
• Teachers are not the enemy!!!!
• Some students are/will be given the support of a
mentor
Difficult is worth doing
• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hI2U7xkcgbc
And after this?
• Ask your family to help you plan a treat to
celebrate all your hard work!
• Sit back and wait for your dream results to
arrive!