If you never try, then you can never fail by Jonathan Pitt
A common issue in boys' boarding houses are boys that don't actually understand what it means to push themselves. They are so unfamiliar with pushing their academic boundaries that when the time comes to revise, a small amount extra seems like they are doing 'enough'.
This goes alongside another issue, which is a pupil that is so worried about doing well they feel apprehensive to stop and worry about tasks like eating, sleeping and sport because it is 'wasting' revision time.
For this particular blog, I am going to focus on the boys that are unfamiliar with doing enough work and need a real 'push' for them to understand. This issue is one reason why schools are increasingly putting mocks earlier as a kind of electric shock to the system. However, an early mock is also accompanied by a poor result soon being followed by a comment of 'well, I wasn't going to do well because they are so early and I haven't started working properly yet'.
The real idea of a mock is to act as a practice for the real things. This means that the pupils must approach the exam in a familiar way and that their approach is also communicated with their tutor or Houseparent. With a communication between the pupil and their tutor, this means that different approaches can be tried and attempted but also worked at. 'Billy, doesn't know what works best for them' is a common parent comment, especially at parents' evening.
I strongly believe that pupils should think back to their prep/primary school spelling tests or times tables tests if they are to start understanding how best they learn. When the pupils had a spelling test every Friday, it would often take 7 days or look, cover write check before they scored even close to 10/10 in those tests. Well, unfortunately nothing has changed and the memory process is still just as hard. The pupil may now have more 'hooks' to attach the learning to, they may have a fantastic teacher that helps with kinaesthetic or visual learners but at the end of the day, the pupil still needs to learn a lot and in many cases, that is still going to take 7 days or repetitive learning and checking. I doubt many parents are doing the active learning and help that they gave for their child when they were 7 and had one test a week.
So now it is the pupil, on their own having to avoid the distractions of many social media streams, videos on netflix and anything else that can seem more interesting than making sure that those French vocal terms go in.
This is why pupils don't know how to work. They are used to having everything made easy. Teachers are spoon feeding notes, exams had been dummed down (only to be made hard again) and the pupils have to learn all these facts before they can even start to show understanding and depth.
There is no shortcut for learning. We can suggest visual aids, revision cards, videos, podcasts, auditory aids, revision sessions but unfortunately most of the hard work comes on a day to day basis (just like this spelling tests).
Plus, two years of work where the pupil was a long way away from fully engaged are now being tested and again the pupil is looking for a shortcut.
I know that I am being very negative and passing the buck back to the pupil but where a teacher can help most is with a pupil that is trying hard to learn, where they have created their own revision notes (the visual look of the notes can help to 'hook' certain areas of topics and they can be made to suit the pupil). It also means that a teacher can look over the notes well before the exam, add post it notes to areas where extra notes are needed and really offer assistance with learning styles. It can also mean that the pupil starts to see areas where they need extra support, meaning that they are attending revision sessions with an area in mind and a clear goal in mind.
This all starts from a pupil that is not sure how to revise but by perseverance, and effort they have suddenly started learning, started understanding areas of weakness and can go along to their teacher from a point where they really have worked hard.
This all, yet again, rings true from the point of view of a growth mindset. The only issues that is now left is those pupils that really have tried really hard and have not done well in their exams. They know that they have prepared and learnt but cannot get the exam right. If their approach had been correct for the 2 years of the course, this will have been picked up by the teacher and exam technique help tools will have been put in place. If is a last minute realisation (as before they had never actually tried hard as after all - its better to not try and fail than to 'waste time revising hard' and still fail). I write this sentence as a joke but unfortunately it rings true with may pupils. A revision homework is seen as a quick one rather than the 7 day preparation that it should be.
Exam technique is where past papers come into their own. However, I strongly believe that past papers should come after the hard work. They are the icing on the cake. They can help with learning and sentence structure during the course but as a revision tool, they should come last and help with a self assessment approach (again growth mindset).
Anyway, I must go as I have got to go and help my daughter with preparation for her spelling test (mini white board, whiteboard pen and lots of practice). Or will I just get distracted by the next episode of Dark Mirror on Netflix?
Jonathan Pitt
This goes alongside another issue, which is a pupil that is so worried about doing well they feel apprehensive to stop and worry about tasks like eating, sleeping and sport because it is 'wasting' revision time.
For this particular blog, I am going to focus on the boys that are unfamiliar with doing enough work and need a real 'push' for them to understand. This issue is one reason why schools are increasingly putting mocks earlier as a kind of electric shock to the system. However, an early mock is also accompanied by a poor result soon being followed by a comment of 'well, I wasn't going to do well because they are so early and I haven't started working properly yet'.
The real idea of a mock is to act as a practice for the real things. This means that the pupils must approach the exam in a familiar way and that their approach is also communicated with their tutor or Houseparent. With a communication between the pupil and their tutor, this means that different approaches can be tried and attempted but also worked at. 'Billy, doesn't know what works best for them' is a common parent comment, especially at parents' evening.
I strongly believe that pupils should think back to their prep/primary school spelling tests or times tables tests if they are to start understanding how best they learn. When the pupils had a spelling test every Friday, it would often take 7 days or look, cover write check before they scored even close to 10/10 in those tests. Well, unfortunately nothing has changed and the memory process is still just as hard. The pupil may now have more 'hooks' to attach the learning to, they may have a fantastic teacher that helps with kinaesthetic or visual learners but at the end of the day, the pupil still needs to learn a lot and in many cases, that is still going to take 7 days or repetitive learning and checking. I doubt many parents are doing the active learning and help that they gave for their child when they were 7 and had one test a week.
So now it is the pupil, on their own having to avoid the distractions of many social media streams, videos on netflix and anything else that can seem more interesting than making sure that those French vocal terms go in.
This is why pupils don't know how to work. They are used to having everything made easy. Teachers are spoon feeding notes, exams had been dummed down (only to be made hard again) and the pupils have to learn all these facts before they can even start to show understanding and depth.
There is no shortcut for learning. We can suggest visual aids, revision cards, videos, podcasts, auditory aids, revision sessions but unfortunately most of the hard work comes on a day to day basis (just like this spelling tests).
Plus, two years of work where the pupil was a long way away from fully engaged are now being tested and again the pupil is looking for a shortcut.
I know that I am being very negative and passing the buck back to the pupil but where a teacher can help most is with a pupil that is trying hard to learn, where they have created their own revision notes (the visual look of the notes can help to 'hook' certain areas of topics and they can be made to suit the pupil). It also means that a teacher can look over the notes well before the exam, add post it notes to areas where extra notes are needed and really offer assistance with learning styles. It can also mean that the pupil starts to see areas where they need extra support, meaning that they are attending revision sessions with an area in mind and a clear goal in mind.
This all starts from a pupil that is not sure how to revise but by perseverance, and effort they have suddenly started learning, started understanding areas of weakness and can go along to their teacher from a point where they really have worked hard.
This all, yet again, rings true from the point of view of a growth mindset. The only issues that is now left is those pupils that really have tried really hard and have not done well in their exams. They know that they have prepared and learnt but cannot get the exam right. If their approach had been correct for the 2 years of the course, this will have been picked up by the teacher and exam technique help tools will have been put in place. If is a last minute realisation (as before they had never actually tried hard as after all - its better to not try and fail than to 'waste time revising hard' and still fail). I write this sentence as a joke but unfortunately it rings true with may pupils. A revision homework is seen as a quick one rather than the 7 day preparation that it should be.
Exam technique is where past papers come into their own. However, I strongly believe that past papers should come after the hard work. They are the icing on the cake. They can help with learning and sentence structure during the course but as a revision tool, they should come last and help with a self assessment approach (again growth mindset).
Anyway, I must go as I have got to go and help my daughter with preparation for her spelling test (mini white board, whiteboard pen and lots of practice). Or will I just get distracted by the next episode of Dark Mirror on Netflix?
Jonathan Pitt
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