GCSEs/homework etc

[Lifeisweirdandamazing]

Can I ask anybody who has been through GCSEs with their DC how they motivated them to study. We have a lovely DS turning 15 soon. He works hard at school and always does homework. For these next two important years (year 10 and 11) we want him to spend more time through the year revising his subjects as it’s all getting serious. Is it possible to motivate/encourage them as nothing seems to work for us. He will do what he needs to do but no more. Am I asking too much?? It’s really stressful and I don’t want to argue all the time. Do we just leave him to it now?

y10? I would leave it for now mainly.

However when he has end of unit tests encourage him to make revision notes (cards, mindmaps, whatever) properly and to take the tests seriously.
he will be glad at the end of y10 when he already has notes done for half the work studied and learning stuff properly once makes relearning it easier.

I wouldn't get him doing too much in Yr 10, maybe read over what he's done during the holidays to help keep it in his head. Perhaps get the CGP books if you haven't already and get him to read over what he's done in them during the hols.
Apart from that I'd just let him concentrate on whatever homework he gets.

i know you are well intentioned but is it necessary? “slow and steady” seems like an attractive strategy but a lot of people prefer revising closer to exams (“cramming”) and do just as well. The reality is that at GCSE the material is repeated quite a lot both in class and through coursework/tests. As result, Routine Independent study isn’t actually always needed. Rather than just wanting them to “study more”, might be better to see how this term goes, if any weakness become clear then target that specific area? You can incentivise with rewards if necessary.

If he is doing his homework then what's the issue? Doesn't "revision" come under homework?

@Hotsaucegal How recent is your experience? The new GCSEs are more content heavy, most are without coursework. There are far more exams at the end than pre-reform. For some subjects schools don't have time to revisit material as they only finish the syllabus at easter. Cramming at the end is less viable than it used to be.

I think it has to come from within them.

Either they're studious or they're not. DDs school made her very competitive and she always wanted to be top of the class. The school advised 2-3 hours studying every night from year 10 onwards, which she did on the whole.

But if they're not interested, i don't think you can force them. I'd just let him get on with it to a large extent, with words of encouragement when you see he's working.

@Dacadactyl that can't be 2-3 hours PLUS homework surely?
There would physically be enough hours in the day. When schools say that don't they just mean "do the homework and assignments set" - which the OP says her son is doing?

Used to tutor it a while ago (3-4 years ago) but things may have changed :) obviously quite a lot of factors as play: learning styles, individual aptitudes, educational support… just giving my 2 pence ;) @TeenDivided

@Needmorelego I think she revised 2 hours a night, yeah. I'll ask her when she gets home and let you know.

She had a very strict timetable that set out when she was revising around extracurriculars/her social life.

You can't force them, just encourage them and ensure they have resources available (as a poster above said, get the CGP revision and exam practice books), and are doing revision notes/mind maps, etc as they go.

Formal revision is pretty tedious and it's no surprise that most teens aren't motivated to do it until they have to (invariable far too close to the tests/exams). Give them something interesting to do instead, which is why I suggested CGP books and "on the go" revision, the latter will make pre-tax/exam revision so much easier if they've already got notes/maps etc prepared and can just jump straight into to reminders/revision mode.

We tried to encourage our son to do "something" on evenings where a particular subject teacher hadn't set homework as per homework timetable, and having CGP books gave him something to do, as did creating revision notes/mind maps for topics they were currently working on. So, not "extra" to homework, but basically deciding on his own homework to fill the gap!

Fair enough @Hotsaucegal

@Needmorelego just asked DD.

In year 10 she did all homework as it was set, plus bits and bobs of revision.

In year 11 she was doing 2.5 hours a day (on average) which included homework.

@Dacadactyl 2 and a half hours a day.....god poor teenagers. No wonder anxiety and stress is at such high levels among teens.
Modern GCSEs sound dreadful.
(sorry....I'm just rambling...)

Although I appreciate my view of GCSEs might be outdated 2.5 hours day in addition to homework some excessive!

I completely agree with @TeenDivided whilst in year 10, do the flashcards or mind maps now whilst the topic is still fresh in their heads. This will pay dividends when end of topic tests come round and most importantly year 10 exams. They can get small amounts done and ticked off rather than a large chunk later on.

Depending on the subject most are exam only, mine sat around 24 exams plus English oral and an language oral exam. Mine both did History and those flashcards made whilst studying made all the difference to remembering dates and events. They studied 5 different topics for history and each one was incredibly heavy content wise.

It isn't about hours spent, you can spend 40 minutes being productive or 4 hours highlighting text and none of it goes in. Neither of mine did 2.5 hours a night but their revision stuff from school was brilliant and massively helped. They had lots of mini tests in school so were confident they knew the content. This showed in their results, and don't forget that GCSE results are an indicator of A level grades and then chances of getting into university if that is where they want to go. Also if that is where they see themselves make sure you look now at the expected parental contribution to support them through uni, it may cause your blood pressure to rise.

@ChalkMyDrive

It isn't about hours spent, you can spend 40 minutes being productive or 4 hours highlighting text and none of it goes in.

Exactly, it's about working smarter, not harder! Yes, preparing for revision is the key, so yes to making revision cards, mind maps, etc as you learn the topics throughout the two years, not as a last minute panic at the end, and buy cgp revision guides/workbooks at the start, not the end, so they can work through them alongside the teaching and to help prepare for progress tests etc.

If he's already working and doing homework that might be enough. My DS got great GCSE grades and didn't start any formal revision until after Christmas of year 11 and only really stepped it up around Easter of year 11. For them to understand what they are learning is really important, so maybe strike up conversations about what they're doing in school at the moment – if they can tell you what it is and maybe what's interesting about it, that's a good way to keep it in their minds.

DS' school had fairly frequent but low key tests throughout his time there, and I think not getting stressed about the exams themselves was important in how well he did. He wasn't anxious, he was just doing them – and so didn't panic, read the question and answered it. If we'd put pressure on to aim for top grades I think that would have been counterproductive.

Some people are more studious and some people are procrastinators who do it all last minute and still perform well on the day (my DS). That said he's now really working hard for A-level in a way he never seemed to for GCSE...

Thanks everybody for your input 😊