It’s hard to watch our children approaching exams, hoping that they are able to get the best out of themselves without becoming stressed - and wondering whether they’re doing enough.
Parenting on Female First
I’ve worked with thousands of students and found a few techniques that got them working healthily towards brilliant results without burning out. As parents, you can play a big role in supporting their effort - especially if you can get involved with some of these exercises.
Step 1: Find the gaps
Every student will have strengths and weaknesses in their knowledge, and mapping that out is the number one key to success in revision. Figuring out what they know, where they’re confident and where they should focus their efforts is easier than you might think… and it’s a good investment of time early on.
This is a really valuable exercise you can do together. Don’t presume that your teenager knows where their gaps are before you start.
First, go online and find your child’s exam syllabus. Just search for the name of the paper and exam board along with the word “specification”. You’ll find a big, downloadable document and, somewhere around the middle will be a list of everything they need to know for the exam. This document is an incredibly powerful revision resource.
Print these pages (or use a good pdf reader app) and go through that list together. Mark topics as red, amber and green (red is “no idea” and green is “totally fine”). This will spark healthy conversation and get them thinking about what they should be working on first.
Remember the importance of confidence and stress management: if you’re seeing lots of red, don’t get critical - approach that challenge with lots of supportive “we’re-going-to-sort-this-together” type noises.
Step 2: Find the focus
That analysis will probably yield a sizable topic list... but it’s not a finished plan yet.
Think about the amber topics which are ‘within reach’... things that can be fixed with a little reading and practice. These are the potential “quick wins” - time spent on these will instantly translate to gains on the exam.
All those topics that were green should not be using up too much revision time - but don’t ignore them! A few quick check-up questions now and then will keep them in mind and vitally boost confidence.
Lastly, consider those topics that seem completely terrifying. It’s a good idea for students to talk to a teacher about these: not only are they likely to help a bit, but more importantly they can identify which ones are the most important to tackle.
With red topics, your aim should be to select some to learn together, and prepare to sacrifice a few others in order to focus efforts. Unless the aim is to get 100% (and you can get a top grade with far, far less), then a couple of tactical omissions will be beneficial overall.
Ultimately, it will have been better to have spent your time getting 80% of the topics really strong, than to have spent ages getting 100% of your topics to “just about okay”.
Step 3: Learn through active practice
Now you’ve got your plan, it’s time to get on with the “doing”.... The number one way to learn is simple: quizzing - to test knowledge and rehearse memory recall.
At Tassomai we built our learning program using clever algorithms so that we can give students micro-quizzes that adapt to them. This means that, in a few minutes each day, they can fill knowledge gaps and commit learning into memory; it’s a really powerful resource.
But families can do something similar in a more basic way by making flashcards and getting students to test themselves regularly - it’s just going to require more work and organisation.
And think about changing up location - quizzing can be mobile - stick quizzes or word-lists around the house, or quiz together out and about, while walking the dog or shopping.
My top DO'S and DON'TS
DON'T: Colour notes with highlighters
Studies have shown that practices limited to reading, re-reading and highlighting have limited effect. Instead, students who make their revision exercises engage their brain better - summarising notes or turning them into diagrams - make far better use of their time.
DO: Use past papers... the right way
Students should approach past papers as a polishing tool to practice articulating the facts and skills that they have learned, and get some final validating feedback. Don’t use practice papers too early just to show up your knowledge gaps.
Students should also do their practice papers with the mark scheme alongside, otherwise it’s not a very efficient use of time. In my opinion, students derive far more value from practice papers if they answer and mark each section, rather than sit the whole paper and then mark it later. Quick feedback is crucial.
As a parent, you can really help with this - marking the work can start a productive conversation. Remember to keep your interactions constructive to keep motivation up and maintain momentum.
DO: Use teachers' help
Teachers want to help, especially if students come to them prepared, saying “Could you help? I’m struggling with these three things”. Making an appointment and going in with a brief ‘shopping list’ will show the right respect for their limited time, and make most efficient use of it.
DO: Prioritise R&R
Good mental well-being will directly translate into better mental performance.
Students wearing themselves out with worry, screen-time, stress and lack of sleep might cram a bit more knowledge into their brain, but will they be able to retrieve that knowledge under pressure? Don’t forget that the exam period is many weeks long: sustainable practice that maintains energy and motivation is essential.
Productivity experts recommend that we all break work sessions into a couple of hours at a time, taking 5 minutes break every 30 minutes and an hour or more between sessions. Revision is no different. Search online for “pomodoro technique” for more on this - you can even find free “tomato timers” that will help structure sessions.
Remember to give equal attention to life outside revision. Students who balance their work each day with rest, exercise and fun will find that both their revision and their results improve dramatically.