Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Focus of the Month April 2016 Revision This month, with GCSE, A level and other examinations drawing ever closer, our focus is revision. Here, attention will primarily be drawn to revising for GCSE examinations; help for mathematics AS and A level revision can be found by reading the Further Mathematics Support Programme’s (FMSP) Focus of the Month for March. In addition, helpful advice is available here regarding common errors found by examiners in A level Mathematics papers. Everyone has their own ideas about the best way to prepare for examinations; revision timetables, highlighter pens, cards and post-it notes are popular examples, but which are the most effective? Revision advice A 2013 article, featured on the BBC website, refers to research into the effectiveness of different approaches to revision. A team from the US reviewed 1000 scientific studies, looking at 10 of the most popular strategies. From their findings, the two strategies which appear to be the most effective are ‘practice testing’, described as “self-testing to check knowledge – especially using flash cards”, and ‘distributed practice’, meaning “spreading study out over a period of time”. Three further strategies are described as moderately effective; these are: ‘elaborated interrogation’, “being able to explain a point or fact”; self-explanation of how a problem was solved; and ‘interleaved practice’, meaning “switching between different kinds of problems”. Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI) has written this useful guide to preparing students for examinations, which forms part of a contextualisation toolkit Revision resources Video clips can prove incredibly useful to students struggling with a question. There are many good websites which collect such clips. The FMSP has produced some recordings of online GCSE revision sessions that work through solutions to GCSE Mathematics examstyle questions: • GCSE Algebra & Simultaneous Equations • GCSE Algebraic Fractions & Shape • GCSE Graph Transformations • GCSE Statistics & Probability 1 of 2 AE 16/03/15 Version 1.3 MEI, funded by the Education and Training Foundation, has also produced some video clips of work solutions to some GCSE Mathematics exam-style questions: • Trigonometry • Statistics • Standard Form MEI was also involved in the development of videos, demonstrating worked solutions to GCSE and A level Mathematics exam questions, for Keele Video Solutions. These resources are free until August 2016 if you sign up using the voucher codes displayed on their homepage. Other helpful ideas Most examination boards offer past papers and other resources and advice as part of their service. Check out their website or contact the subject support team. The KS3 SATS contained some good assessment questions most of these can be found on the emaths website. 2 of 2 AE 16/03/15 Version 1.3