GCSEs feel like such a fever dream even though I only sat them last year. I always wished that I had someone to help me with revision techniques for my subject, as I learnt the hard way that you can't really use the same technique for each subject and that not all techniques work for you. Then there was also the question: well what are the techniques for revision other than the basic flash card and mind maps, how do you revise, as its all good and well saying that you should revise. But, it can be quite a mental block to start when you don't know how to use your time effectively, especially when you have 9/10 subjects that you are juggling.
To help, I want to share some of the general techniques that I used for my subjects that I did to help me achieve the grades that I wanted and that helped with the overwhelming task of revision.
Here are the subjects I took (with the exam boards):
Maths - Edexcel
Chemistry - AQA
Biology - Edexcel
Physics - Edexcel
English Literature - AQA
English Language - AQA
Geography - AQA
Physical Education - OCR
Computer Science - OCR
Graphics: Design and Technology (papers and boards) - AQA
Revision strategies:
These strategies are more active methods meaning they will show you what you already know and highlight areas you're struggling with. These strategies aim to improve retention, understanding, and recall of the material studied.It's important to recognize that revising topics/subjects you're not struggling in can feel uncomfortable and even discouraging at times. However, facing these challenges head-on is where you'll experience the most growth, and it will ultimately benefit you when it comes to your exams.
- Active Recall: This is where you test yourself on the material without looking at your notes, allowing you to strengthen your memory retrieval. How you could do this with for example flash cards is answer a block of questions like 10 or 15 on a bit of paper, then mark your questions by looking at the answer and depending on how well you have answered the question place them into three piles, I like to put mine in a colour light system (red, orange green), so I can see where I struggled the most and at the end review the questions in the red pile. For the questions that I wasn't able to answer at all, before I looked at the answer I would set them on a different pile and try and find the answer by looking at my notes or textbook and then double check the answer.
- Blurting : The way I used the technique of blurting is I would get the specification for my subject and take one topic for example Topic 2 - cells and control in biology and take the section 2.1 which says : Describe mitosis as part of the cell cycle, including the stages interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase and cytokinesis and I would write everything I could remember for that point in the specification and then taking a different coloured pen I would use my textbook or my notes to write down any of the key points I missed out on. Something to keep in mind is that this can be quite time consuming for some subjects or topics so I would recommend looking at the spec and using this on topics you struggle on.
- Feymans technique : This is where you choose a topic, teach it to someone else (this could be a sibling, a friend or a teddy even) and explain it in a simplified way almost as if you were teaching it to a child, Identify your gaps in knowledge by going back and looking at your notes and understanding areas of confusion, then refine your explanation making it clearer and using more technical terms. This technique really helped me when I didn't feel like writing or was quite tired, using a whiteboard or annotating things as you speak really helped me to not only understand the theory but also have a visual representation of what I was explaining.
- 5-10-15 method : There are two different version of this method that I have heard about, I have only used the second one but I would like to try the first method
- The first method is used almost to get “addicted” to studying by hacking your hormones. This where you complete a section of your revision eg) using active recall to remember quotes for english literature, and then take a 5 minute break and do something to increase your dopamine levels eg) listening to upbeat music, you'd study again and for 10 minutes do something rewarding like reading a book or scrolling on your phone, and after another sessions studying do some sort of exercise like going for a walk or yoga.
- The second version of this method is to study for 5 minutes by doing something quick like stater questions for maths then taking a 10 minute break, then do some deep focused work for 15 minutes. This is a good technique for reducing the chance of burning out and also when you're feeling quite tired but want to do some work.
- Spaced repetition : The Forgetting Curve is a concept developed by Hermann Ebbinghaus in the late 19th century that describes how we lose information over time if we don’t actively reinforce it. To counteract this, frequently reviewing over topics even if it's for 5 minutes helps with retention. In an ideal world you would review the topic covered within the first 24 hours of learning the content, then after 1-2 days, then 1 week, 2 weeks, then 4 weeks. However, it may be challenging doing this for 10 subjects, altering the method to work with your schedule by ensuring that you can review the information at gradually increasing intervals.
- Interleaving : This learning technique is where you mix different topics or types of problems in a single study session instead of focusing on just one subject or skill at a time. You can do this in two ways: either switching subjects or switching between topics in a subject - this helps with problem solving skills and long term retention and it also enhances the brain's ability to differentiate between similar concepts and apply knowledge with flexibility.
- Active note taking : If you like creating revision notes the best way to do it is to read through and understand the section or paragraph and without looking at your notes summarise them into your own words instead of copying the notes word for word then go back and use your textbook to add any key information. I would recommend doing this on a computer or a device where you can edit your work easily. Another method of active note taking is called Cornell notes, where you divide your page into cues, notes, summaries and questions.
- Creating a revision timetable : I found this really helpful as it gave me a structure to follow and I was able to split my time for each subject equally. How I made my revision time table to make it less painful was to rank my subjects from 1 to 10 in how much I enjoyed them and then I would pair my 1st subject to my 10th and my 2nd to my 8th and so on. Then each day I would aim to revise both subjects for at least 30-60 minutes. (It is important to note that you shouldnt overwork and burn yourself out and also factor in breaks and things you do that you enjoy instead of purely just having work, work and more work as it can be very draining and damaging)
- Past paper/Past exam questions : I am sure you have constantly heard about doing past papers from your teacher and other people, but it works so well not only because you are trying to actively recall information but it also helps develop exam technique and you understand the way topics are tested for in each exam. Doing these in exam conditions would be most ideal but more so closer to your exams. I found that after revising a topic, doing even just one exam question at the end of each session is very helpful. When doing non-essay based exam I find that writing in bullet points is best as it reduces the chance of you contradicting yourself and shows that you know what you are writing about, then when checking your answer write down any points you have missed in a different colour
