This guide on how to prepare for GCSE exams has been developed in collaboration with our team of expert tutors, mentors and consultants, where we lay out the best revision methods and learning styles – with tangible examples.

 

When should I start revising?  

Revision should be a part of a student’s daily routine at school. Revising throughout the year will help students stay on top of their school and revision work, whilst also providing enough time to consolidate their understanding of the syllabus. Digesting content will be easier when revision is broken up, into small sections.  

Consistently revising will also train students to develop their own learning styles and manage their time more effectively.

A student’s revision schedule should start as early as possible. April and Easter break will also play a big part in the run up to the final exams. Whilst students should rest, they should also take this time to rectify any revision they have missed.

Getting this sorted early on, will relieve cramming later.  It is also the time to understand how comfortable a student is with past papers, the syllabus and get to grips with their time management for the summer term.   

Tutors and mentors should set up their own mock exams with students, tailored to their areas of weakness, giving them constructive feedback and pointing out areas to improve. This will make the final exams seem more familiar and less overwhelming. Contact our tutors for a bespoke revision plan.  

Tutors and mentors are also a great way to develop metacognitive learning processes that stretch far beyond their ability of helping with a particular exam or syllabus; mentorship for study skills is a way to advance how students understand their own learning processes, their revision techniques, and contextualising their learning. Learn more on metacognition here.  

 

Best methods and learning practices  

Knowing how to revise is equally as important as knowing what to revise. Students are encouraged to identify the revision methods that are the most effective for their personal learning style. This will make revising content-heavy material much easier to deal with.  

For example, visual learners will differ from tactile and auditory learners in that they process and remember information differently. Visual learners depend more on visual cues when learning, whereas tactile learners are contingent with a ‘hand-on’ approach to studying. Auditory learners focus more on voice, sound and hearing to effectively take in information.  

People learn through all these different ways, but many of us have preferences in how we learn, fostered by past experiences, our balance between thinking practically and theoretically, and the complexities of one’s cognition.  

Regardless, being open to different techniques and revision methods will help a student discover methods that resonate with them. Encouraging them to be conscious of their learning practices will save them invaluable time to the run up to their exams.  

 

Visual Learning  

Visual learners make up 65% of the population. Visual information takes on many formats, such as images, diagrams, flowcharts, graphs, cartoons, colours, PowerPoint presentations, films, artwork, games.

More recently, AI and Augmented Reality has also been seen to enact on visual learning processes, given the highly immersive visual experience created within these paradigms.  

The Journal of Education and Practice published a paper on the role of visual learning in improving students’ high-order thinking skills. The paper analysed how visual learning helps students improve their problem thinking skills through a high-order thinking framework.

Essentially, the paper concluded that students were able to increase their problem solving and collaborative skills through visual cues and representations.  

These buzzwords and theorised ideas are a good starting point to get students to think about their learning practices in a theoretical way. But how do they translate in the real world? How do students know which visual cue or medium best suits them?  

Practising revision with different visual representations and media might be the easiest way to understand how information is better processed. Overtime, students will naturally gravitate towards their preferred learning method, and will surpass their need to consciously think about their metacognitive processes.  

The following is a list of useful visual learning methods and techniques to help students get started:  

1. Emphasise notes by underlining and highlighting using different colours.
2. Create mind maps, flowcharts, and infographics when constructing arguments or exploring complex topics.  
3. Use flashcards when memorising facts and statistics.  
4. Utilise the use of images and diagrams in curriculum books and articles.
5. Find relevant videos on the subject.  

 

Tactile Learning  

Whereas visual learning is highly location specific, tactile learning uses movement, spatial parameters and a sensory approach processing information.

Tactile learners have a ‘hands-on’ approach to their learning processes. This means that they work best when they experience and practice first-hand with information or material.  

Passive learning has no place in the tactile learner. They are active participants of all their information processes.  This means moving around, actively using their hands during revision etc.  

A study which compared the learning style of different students found that students that relied more on one style of learning were outperformed by students that developed a combination of learning practices.  

Yet it is important to understand with which learning style students can get the most out of their revision. The following list include some methods and practices for tactile learners: 

1. The use of movement or movement patterns when revising  – Chewing gum, walking around the room, fidgeting.
2. Matching physical movement with certain answers or moving revision notes into patterns can work well.  
3. Explore other mediums which require active participants: such as attending live performances of the syllabus & books or incorporate games and props.
4. Physically creating notes, art or shapes to represent ideas for revision. Reading on a screen simply won’t cut it.  

  

Auditory Learning  

Auditory learners incorporate speaking, listening and verbal forms of communication to process information. These types of learners are able to recollect spoken information at a higher rate than tactile and visual learns. They are also subject to increased scoring in verbal exams and have a skill for speaking.  

Auditory learners prefer learning that incorporates a high level of discussion and requires active forms of listening. A study by the Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences found that student’s ‘skills, attitudes and predispositions to Auditory Learning Style are significative and determinative factors for learning effectively’.

Essentially, this means that students in their survey confirmed that learning through sonically emphasised communication has a significant impact in their studies and schoolwork.  

The following is a list of real-term methods in enacting upon an auditory learning practice: 

1. Play background music when revising, linking certain music with certain information.  
2. Participate in group discussions and debates. Talk through an answer or question with a peer or tutor. 
3. Watch videos on the subject. 
4. Read aloud. 
5. Memorise through mnemonical practice (using songs, rhythm, acronyms)
6. Listen to lectures, talks and podcasts on the required topic.  

 

Learn your learning style  

Students might find that one learning style will benefit them more than another, or that certain parts of each will resonate with them. Whatever the style and methods chosen for revision, that feels right, students often struggle to know if their revision is effective.  

This consciousness in learning style and techniques will help students far past their GCSE exams, and past their university graduation – into their career and everyday adult life.  

Academic mentors and tutors and a great way to aid in the development of  student’s learning styles by accurately assessing their learning.

Gabbitas mentors and tutors have a high degree of subject, pedagogical and metacognitive knowledge, a combination that can help students through their revision and exams – whether that is to prepare for GCSE exams, A-Level or Higher Education.  

To contact our mentors and tutors here. Alternatively, email info@gabbitas.com,  or call [].

There are strong views surrounding the benefits and disadvantages of taking on a tutor to help students prepare for these important exams.

Does tutoring improve academic performance, or would the student get more benefit from having time to relax or play sport? Does tutoring help build confidence or make students miserable?

Tutoring is best used to help a student who is not up to speed in a specific subject or has missed lessons and needs to catch up. In some cases, a tutor is taken on to stretch a bright student’s exceptional abilities in their best subjects. So, what’s not to like?

However, there are some simple guidelines when employing the services of a tutor to ensure the experience does not lead to more stress and become counter-productive.

Choosing the right tutor

Choosing the right tutor is paramount – a good tutoring company will carefully match the personality of the tutor to that of the student. Do they share a love of music or a sport? Communication and empathy are key to getting the best out of the time spent together.

Once a tutor is selected, a tailored plan with clearly defined goals should then be agreed.

Be sure to engage a tutor who has recent experience of teaching the chosen subject/s. It is important that they understand the body of work required to pass the exam and are therefore able to offer the right level of tuition.

Talk to the school or college about your child’s progress to understand fully where, and if, there are areas in which they could do with some help. You are not trying to work against the school or college but with them to ensure the best end-result for the student.

Carefully timetable to ensure you are not overloading their work schedule and be sure to add fun family activities to counter balance the time spent studying. Do not make the sessions too long. Forty minutes for a subject is about the right level and there needs to be a break between subjects if you are looking for help in more than one area

One to one support can help solve gaps in a student’s knowledge giving them more confidence to proceed in their chosen subjects.

The benefits of tutoring are indisputable. For struggling students, it can boost confidence and academic performance. For the very bright, it can expand their horizons.

Objections to tutoring arise when it’s used excessively, when a child is stuck at home with the tutor every day of the week, while their peers play sport or video games, or go to the cinema with their friends. But, that essentially is not a problem of tutoring, but of parental choice. As with all good things in life – moderation is key!

---

This article from Anastasia Hatvany, Education Consultant Gabbitas, first appeared in the March 2020 editions of The Life Magazines

For students who are preparing for big public exams this year, the New Year break may well have been overshadowed by the looming prospect of mock exams. Some students will be wondering how important these exams really are and whether they can scrimp on the revision now and go for broke for the real thing. Whilst this strategy may be tempting it is not advisable!

The GCSE, A Level and IB mocks are important for several reasons. Firstly, it is an opportunity to find out how you are performing at this stage in the process. Secondly, it means that you will have cracked a significant part of your revision ready for the real thing, so you should only need to top up nearer the time and, importantly, these results will be the ones that will go forward if anything untoward happens in the real thing in the summer.

Preparing for mock exams – our top 10 tips:

Tip 1 – Get Familiar

Be familiar with the syllabus and style of the exam – go into the exam board websites and download the specification and exam objectives.

 

Tip 2 – Get Organised

Be organised with your notes – this is the time to get all of your work in order so that you know where to find everything.

 

Tip 3 – Practice Past Questions

Have a list of past questions so you can see the ways that you may be asked to test your knowledge – that way you can tailor your revision in the context of exam questions.

 

Tip 4 – Summarise

Make summary notes from your original notes and do this by hand – research shows that writing things out is proven to aid memory.

 

Tip 5 – Use Colour

Use colours in your revision noes – this is known to support memory retention more effectively than just black and white – colourful mind maps are useful here or post it notes for the key points dotted around the house.

 

Tip 6 – Remember Your Environment

Revise in a quiet area without distractions, checking your playlist and changing your music does not count as revision.

 

Tip 7 – Check Your Timing

Do some timed questions in exam type conditions so you get used to getting across all the information under time pressure.

 

Tip 8 – Write Don’t Type!

Make sure you do lots of writing in preparation for long stints holding a pen in the exam room.

 

Tip 9 – Ask Questions

If there are parts of the subject you are still not clear about, then make a list of these to go through with a teacher whilst you still the time to really understand them.

 

Tip 10 – Benchmark

Use the mocks to give you familiarity with what you will be facing in the summer – these results will give you a benchmark of where you are now and what you need to do before the real thing and keep you motivated to achieve the best possible results when it really counts.