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 [].

Metacognition can be defined as an awareness and understanding of a person’s thought processes. In education, metacognition is the ability to think about one’s own learning, Playing a critical role in effective teaching and learning.

By helping students become more aware of their learning processes and strategies, metacognitive pedagogy can enhance academic performance and promote self-directed learning. Teaching practices that promote metacognition shares many similarities with those of Academic Mentorship.  

Academic Mentorship is a form of private tutoring that can be a powerful tool for promoting metacognitive development among A Level, Undergraduate and Master’s students, as they make the transition into ever more challenging academic realms.

Using a combination of pastoral, holistic and academic approaches, academic mentors support and guide a student’s understanding of critical and intentional thinking approaches to their studies. Read our guide on Academic mentorship. 

 

What research suggests 

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is an independent charity, supporting educational institutions in helping reduce the trend between family income and attainment.

The EEFs’ work specifically aims at distilling the myriad of studies and research into concrete strategies and tactics for excellent teaching practice. 

It has produced extensive guidance for teachers on how to promote metacognition in the classroom. The guidance recommends a range of teaching strategies, including modelling, explicit instruction, questioning, and peer-to-peer learning.

These strategies are designed to help students become more aware of their own learning processes, and to develop the skills and strategies they need to learn effectively. 

Recent studies have provided strong evidence to support the effectiveness of metacognitive pedagogy.

A meta-analysis conducted by the EEF found that teaching metacognitive strategies had a positive impact on students’ academic performance across a range of subjects and age groups, claiming that metacognitive strategies “can be worth the equivalent of an additional +7 months’ progress when used well.”  

Other studies have shown that metacognitive strategies can be particularly effective for students who are from disadvantaged backgrounds, or struggling academically, be it in their mandatory GCSEs, or their undergraduate modules at top universities. 

 

Peer tutoring  

In recent years, several studies have highlighted the benefits of metacognitive pedagogy for student achievement. Recent studies have explored the potential benefits of using metacognitive pedagogy within the context of academic mentoring in university.  

For example, Backer and colleagues (2011) investigated the impact of reciprocal peer tutoring on higher education students’ metacognitive knowledge and regulation.

The study found that students who participated in peer tutoring showed improved metacognitive regulation skills, including self-evaluation and planning. 

In institutions in which peer tuition can be difficult to carry out, the role of an academic mentor, as both as an experienced alumnus and professional tutor, can be a peer, developing and modelling their own study skills, research and articulate their learning processes alongside the student in tailored tutorials.

To learn more on Academic mentors, read our Academic mentorship Q&A with Gabbitas’ Director of School Placements and Higher education.  

 

English Language Development  

Another study by Al-Jarrah and colleagues (2018) investigated the attitudes of ‘English as a Foreign Language’ (EFL) students when using metacognitive strategies in their writing. Download their study here. 

This study found that students who received explicit instruction in metacognitive strategies demonstrated greater motivation and engagement in their writing, as well as improved writing skills. This is particularly pertinent for students coming to the UK to study.  

English is the global lingua-franca for business, international relations, research and the arts. Having a native, bilingual or fluent mentor upon whom a student can lean on to check the nuances of English for Academic Purposes, is hugely beneficial and provides that ‘edge’ in essays and dissertations. 

 

Enhancing Performance, Engagement and Motivation  

Dunn and Mulvenon (2009) examined much of the research on the impact of metacognitive instruction on students’ ability.

For solving maths problems, they report that students who received explicit instruction in metacognitive strategies performed significantly better on problem-solving tasks than students who did not receive this instruction.  

Perhaps students who articulated the thoughts in approaching difficult problems triggered verbal memory to recollect previous similar problems? The research concluded that “metacognitive instruction is a powerful tool for enhancing student learning in mathematics.” 

In addition to improving academic performance, metacognitive pedagogy has also been shown to enhance students’ motivation and engagement.

A study by Yan and colleagues (2018) found that metacognitive instruction increased students’ intrinsic motivation to learn and their confidence in their ability to learn.

The researchers noted that “metacognitive strategies can help students feel more in control of their learning, which can lead to increased motivation and engagement.” 

 

Practical Applications of Metacognition  

Real studies have provided compelling evidence to support the effectiveness of metacognitive pedagogy for enhancing student achievement, motivation, and engagement.

Mentorship can be a powerful vessel for exploring metacognition in learners, providing the scaffolding for a student to implement this ‘thinking about thinking’ into a student’s learning process.  

By analysing a student’s unique learning methods, and drawing upon a wealth of experience in tuition and academic study, Gabbitas Academic Mentors will provide tailored guidance and support to help students develop the skills and strategies they need to become self-directed learners and achieve their academic goals. Enquire to speak to our mentors and tutors here.  

 

To find out more on how specific metacognitive strategies tailored to an individual student can help their learning in exponential ways, email our experts info@gabbitas.com, or call +44 (0) 203 026 7443.  

 

 

This article was written by Gabbitas’ Head of Tuition, Johnny Reynolds, and is part of Gabbitas, a section providing in-depth, first-hand coverage of the UK education landscape and global market trends.