The exam season is fast approaching and revising for exams can sometimes feel overwhelming. Help your child make the most of their revision time and ensure they are fully prepared with a few quick tips from us.
- Schedule revision sprints
According to Dr Ebinghaus and his forgetting curve theory, the strength of memory tends to lose its potency within the passage of time. Normally in a matter of days or weeks, retaining newly learnt information would be halved unless one consciously reviews the learnt material. As such, revision is definitely needed as preparation for major exams.
Thus, allocate small pockets of time in your child’s study planner to have 15-30 minutes of revision time for them to recall important science key concepts, practice steps to solve mathematical problem sums or review vocabulary words for their language-based subjects.
- How much is enough?
There might be certain learners that are able to focus through their syllabus for hours; there are also some learners who cannot focus for more than 5 minutes. Whichever learner your child may be, the proper and effective amount of time allocated for revision should be no more than 2 hours. 2 hours of studying and concentration would require your child to take a short break of 20-30 minutes to allow the memory trace formed to settle down. Needless to say, it is also for the resting of the eyes.
- Customise the revision strategy for PSLE
For Science
When it comes to subject-specific revision, Science requires the most effort. Notes need to be completed, revision needs to be done, memorizing of the information requires time and furthermore, practice papers are to be done. For last-minute revision methods, if notes are not yet done, we should forgo this step as time is of the essence.
For Math
For Math, practice is key. Collecting all the different question types for each topic can be an important step to allow practice from all angles. For last-minute revision, your child can focus on those topics that he or she is generally weaker in or topics that stand a higher chance of being tested during PSLE.
For Language-based Subjects
For languages, practice is also required. But instead of focusing on just exam paper formats, certain segments of the exam sections can be the focus instead. Reading model essays can help increase vocabulary and also aid your child in their writing skills.
- Task management, not time management
Given the 2 hours study session, it can be further broken down into smaller chunks of revision sessions. If your child is unable to focus for a stretch of 2 hours, an alternative would be to get your child to focus on the task instead of the time. For example, get them to complete revising a chapter. Taking away the concept of time might just enable your child to focus on completing the chapter instead.
- Revision between papers
During the exam week, do I get my child to revise in between papers?
Most students either take naps after their papers or do some light reading up before getting ready for the paper the very next day. Light reading is not a bad start but revision is essential for the memory trace formed to be reliable. You want your child to be able to recall the important key points or the crucial steps for maths during the paper.
But this doesn’t mean full-fledged hours of practice and concentration. After a paper is done, your child should get ready for the paper for the next day. He/she can go through the entire syllabus and list out a simple checklist to complete before the end of the day. Instead of completing tasks, focus on reviewing the information.
Find out more about how you can help your child to gear up for the last stretch to the examinations at https://astar.flyingcape.com.sg/
This article was produced in partnership with YouthCast powered by Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group.
