Mock Exams, how do go through them afterwards?

[partialderivative]

I always feel that there is a great learning opportunity for students after they have finished their mocks and it is time to go through them.

However, I always seem to make these sessions stiflingly boring.

Does anyone have any good strategies for making this time more engaging and useful?

(I teach maths)

Get blank copies and a visualiser and I do a 'walking talking mock' and show them how I go about tackling the questions. I don't do the answers I just show them how I would set about answering it and then I get them to do it too and then re do the questions. I teach mfl. I find it boring too and I'm sure I could do it much better, but this has improved things for me.

Maybe too late if they are marked, but I usually photocopy the unmarked scripts and then get them to mark answers which they bombed found tricky.

Walking talking mock is a good idea.

I'm pushed for time at the moment (DC2 is due in 3 weeks) so I will be sending the marked papers home for the students to improve their answers using text books, etc for homework, and then will give them the mark scheme to mark their improvements themselves.

Thank you for your prompt replies.

I'm being a bit thick, but I'm not sure I understand what a 'walking talking mock' looks like.

Could someone have another go at explaining.

In the past, it has always been me at the front saying '...now lets move to question 12, which many of you got wrong...'. Awful for everyone concerned.

Walking talking mock is where you project the paper and essentially go through it modelling the approach students should take. Ideally, use a timer and try to do it in the correct time too.

So you'd read the question, showing how to underline key words, etc. Then verbalise the thought process students will probably go through. And students re-answer the questions in the time allotted with your expert guidance.

For my subject it'll be deciphering exactly what the question is asking, remembering the difference between describe/explain, looking at the marks available to see how much should be written, thinking of the chapter it's referring to, etc. Allowing about 1 minute per mark.

It's very good for inexperienced students.

You could get them to do it in green/purple pen and edit their previous answers (thereby showing progress & acting upon feedback to the powers that be!)

Some ideas for giving mock papers back here:

mhorley.wordpress.com/2015/10/31/giving-the-tests-back/

I especially like where they have to code their incorrect answers as 'silly mistake' or 'forgot due to lack of revision' or 'revision wouldn't help here as I haven't a clue' or 'exam technique' then tot up the marks they should have got and compare grades.

Exam wrappers are also useful (the one linked to from the blog doesn't seem to work any more), it's a sheet reflecting on the exam: what went well, what didn't, how they revised and what was most effective, what they need to do next and what topics they need to work on.

If your department doesn't do QLA then pupils filling out their own question analysis sheet would be useful to see at a glance what topics they need to work on.

Here's the exam wrapper: www.mathedup.co.uk/5-minute-mock-paper-analysis/

That looks really useful ng, I will use that this week.

Thanks again to all who have replied

Primary here -,Y6 so SATS papers galore. As I mark, I asterisk questions, circle missed bits, jot a number line etc against any questions they get wrong that I think they should/could have done properly. I then total up scores and they're the scores I use for my purposes.
The children have their papers back next session and use red pen (teachers use green at my school) and have time to go through and retry all of the marked questions plus any they missed. I circulate and discuss with individuals or groups and we look at any that several struggled with together.
So far, they seem to enjoy the process, it's helping them get fewer wrong each time and, as Indominitable said, it looks good to observers!