GCSE's 2012, advice and support

[knittedslippersx3]

DD got her exam timetable yesterday and we are going to draw up a revision timetable based on this. Roughly how many hours a day should be spent on revision?

Dont immediately start worrying about hours - she needs to aim for quality not quantity.

What is her learning style?

Now is a good time to address this as this little bit of self-knowledge will help her in years to come.

Does she know her subjects but need help with exam technique? Many exam boards make past papers available. Going through these with her will help her look at approach eg dividing time up according to marks per question. This can help her not waste time on getting the last mark when moving on to the next question could help her secure the next 10 marks with far less effort.

Does she need to learn the subjects again. What works for her? Note writing? Answering questions? Extensive reading? A mixture of all of these?

Does she have the knowledge but lack confidence? Small quizzes can help her see that she knows far more than she realises.

All of the above?

Thanks Gnome, she knows her subjects but needs help with how to answer questions, mainly English and History.
Am going to ask the school for some past papers that she can do over Easter and ask her teachers to mark them so she can see what's good what needs improving.
Have pinned some big sheets of coloured card on the study wall (one for each subject) that she can stick post it notes on.
Any other tips are greatly welcomed.

Advice written below by DD (taking GCSEs this year):

For most subjects at the end of each section/module/unit/whatever in the text book there will be some form of examiners tips/key points/quick reviews. You should go through each of these summaries. Find out what you don't remember clearly and revise that. Dont panic about the stuff you already know. I've taken a GCSE, AS and A2 in Dutch and as part of my preperation I read through examiner's report (available from the exam board for each subjectafter each sitting). These are coments that the Examiners have made about what students have written in previous exams, they mention where they have gone wrong, or common mistakes made when answering specific questions. I suggest looking for these for the subjects you are taking if you are worrying about exam technique.

Specifically for history:
If the question has sources to refer to, REFER to them. If you don't, you will only be able to get a maximum of half marks. Also use Key Factors. They are the main things that have made things progress or regress for example Technology, Religion, War, Government. Refering to these can very easily boost your mark. If you are unsure of these Factors talk to your teacher. Frequently history exams will include a 'how far do you agree with...' question, for these you should include more than just what you think, you should say why you think it and why someone else may say differently. Lastly, use of your own knowledge is key, don't just write about what is included in the source or question, however do not list what you know. Writing fairly detailedly about two or three things of your own knowledge is normally enough to give you full marks. (basically try to show off what you know, and pretend that the examiner knows nothing)

Thank you Gnome and DD! Will pass this on to DD and keep my fingers crossed. Good luck with your exams!

you can download and mark the exam papers yourself from the exam board web sites

Am happy to mark maths and science where the answers are either right or wrong. Not sure I could mark essay style answers though, even with guidance.

You can probably do more than you think. GCSE isn't that hard.It's main function is to help teenagers learn to think like an adult, which you already can, so although it is a challenging level for teenagers, it is much less so for adults.

asiatic - ok, thanks I'll give it a go. Am willing to give anything a go to make for a calm, stress free house at the moment. Gcse's have all of a sudden become very real and not something that can be put off any longer! Never mind, deep breath...

Good luck, your DD is obviously one of the lucky ones with an interested and involved mother. that makes such a diffeence to the outcome. I wish more of my students had that.

We have had several meetings this year about revision techniques and what happens 16+ and am always stunned by how low the turnout is. My thought is if I don't care how can I expect my dd too. Have actually learnt quite a lot myself over the last 2 years!