Episode 23: Exam-Focus Q&A: Music During Study, Pre-exam Routine + Time Fixes
SHOW NOTES
Tune in for answers to these listener questions:
FEATURED ON THE SHOW:
You’re listening to the Parents of Hardworking Teens Podcast, episode 23 - and this is the third of 3 listener Q&A episodes where this week I’m answering your questions about exams, revision, exams, music, and exams. Did I say exams?! Let’s go.
Hey VIPs! I hope you are having a brilliant week. Mine is going really well because I’m getting everything ready for our ‘Get Your Teen Ahead Over Summer’ Event Week which is - mark your calendars, tell your friends - running from 15th to the 21st November.
And I know that for some parents and students, the school holidays are a time for total rest, relaxation and not even thinking about study - which I totally get. I am definitely not someone who wants your teen studying every hour of every day. In fact, the strategies and skills I want every teen to have are all about get tasks done faster and more easily, so they HAVE a better life balance.
So if you ARE interested in finding out two or three small but mighty ways your teen can set themselves up for success next year, while they have more time and headspace, then keep an eye on your emails and I’ll share more info with you in a couple of weeks. And - I can’t help it, I’ve got say it - if the reason that the holidays stay totally sacrosanct is because your teen is just so burnt out from term, then actually, I really would love for you to hear some of the advice and tips I’ll be sharing. Because that is one type of student I really want to help, so that holidays aren’t just for recovery, because they aren’t holding on for dear life to make it through. So that holidays are part of a balanced life, where term time is do-able, and burn out isn’t hovering, threatening to take over.
Okay, so more on that in a couple of weeks. And if you aren’t already on my email list, you can get on there by grabbing my free parent guide - the 3 huge mistakes even smart students make in exams and assignments - so go to - www.rocksolidstudy.com, fill out the request, and you’ll be added to my list.
Okay, so let’s get into today’s episode which is our 3rd of 3 listener Q&A episodes.
I’ve really enjoyed answering your questions and so I hope you’re finding them helpful. The previous two are in episodes 15 and 19 if you want to check those out. And I might do some more in future, but I’ve also got a long list of lots of topics and tools and concepts I want to share with you over the coming weeks and months, so stick with me and make sure you’re subscribed or following the podcast on your device to make sure you get each new episode as it’s released.
Now, I’ve picked out for today, some exam-related questions because I know that many of you have teens sitting their finals right now and that most other students will have some end of year style exams coming up too.
So let’s kick off with this one:
What are your top revision tips? My daughter is currently spending hours writing notes and although I’ve heard you talk about active revision, I’m not sure how to explain what she should be doing.
Okay, I love that you’ve mentioned active revision here and you’re definitely on the right track with this. Active revision is the opposite of passive revision - and passive revision is what many students are doing.
Passive revision is where we ‘go over’ information. So if they ‘go over their notes’, which might mean reading them, highlighting them, or re-writing them, this is passive revision. If they just watch a study video, read a chapter from a textbook, or copy out information, like copy out a diagram or copy out a set of quotes, this means they are seeing or listening to the information, but it doesn’t mean they are understanding it, digesting it or actually going to remember it.
And so not only can these passive revision techniques, to put it bluntly, be a waste of time, but, more significantly, they can actually be detrimental. Because what happens is, the fact that doing this makes students FEEL like they’ve been studying or revising, they’ve been putting in the hours, and so it gives them a false sense of accomplishment or confidence.
It leads to what I call the ‘familiarity delusion’. Where because something feels familiar, we feel like we know it. There have been many studies done to prove this, but one example is to think of the Google logo. We all see it a lot. We’d all recognise it. And we could probably start to describe it, but could we get the order of the colours of the letters correct? Or the apple logo. Which angle is the bite out of the apple, and which way does the leaf point? Try to replicate things like this on paper and it’s really really hard. Something being familiar is very different to actually being able to recall it and apply it. And that’s just something as simple as colours and symbols on a logo.
When it comes to study, there’s of course information that’s much more complex that your teen needs to be taking in, recalling and getting down from brain to paper.
This is where some students feel like they go blank in the exam hall. They usually aren’t going blank. They just didn’t truly understand or digest or commit the information to memory in the first place. They just felt like they did because they ‘went over’ it.
That’s why I encourage students to revise ACTIVELY. Where they are actually doing something with the information, transforming it in some way. So, if it’s a set of notes, the most simple version of this is condensing and re-writing those notes into bullet points and their own words. That does count as transforming because they are not just copying, but even better, is for them to put that information across in a different format. A mindmap, a flow diagram, a table. Perhaps categorising, or ordering statements. Or if it’s already in a visual form, say it’s a diagram of the heart, instead of re-drawing it, even if that’s testing themselves on regurgitating it, what will make that information stick better is if they can write 5 sentences explaining what each part does and how, where it’s positioned, how different parts they link up?
So, how to explain this to your daughter - for the parent who wrote this in - the key question here is how will she know that she knows it? How will she know that the information has not only gone in, but is truly understood AND can be retrieved from brain to paper in the exam hall?
And the best way to know that is to be able to transform the information - to take information that’s in one format and turn it into another.
Okay, next question:
What is an ideal pre-exam routine?
Now, we’ve got two parts to this - the practical and the mental side of exam preparation. And of course there’s a whole lot that needs to happen with their revision scheduling, but I think from this question you’re meaning the morning of, and maybe also night before an exam. So I’ll focus on that.
Firstly, and I know you as the parent already know this, but I can’t not say it: There is SO much research that shows how much difference having enough sleep makes to our brains and how we perform in cognitive tests. Not enough sleep means more mistakes, and in an exam that means silly slips in Maths calculations like transcription errors like putting a plus instead of a minus, or mental calculation mistakes or conversion errors, like 0.5 hours equals 50 minutes. It can also mean mis-reading a question.
Just the other day I saw a student write out the start of their essay having re-stated the question incorrectly. Instead of ‘to what effect’, they wrote ‘to what extent’ and that would’ve sent them on totally the wrong path. May have been nothing to do with their sleep, I have no idea, but when we do have enough sleep, we are sharper and our brains think faster. So we can make faster links and come up with better ideas.
Same goes for hydration, loads of evidence on how adequate hydration helps our brains perform. So let’s talk briefly about food and drink. Encourage your teen to eat a good dinner the night before and not eat too late at night as that will make it harder to sleep well. Tea and coffee in the morning might be tempting for the caffeine, but it’s the caffeine that makes them diuretics, so they can be dehydrating and will also mean more bathroom breaks.
So water is best and they will likely want to take in a water bottle. Side note that for external exams, it has to be a clear bottle, no brand or label on it even. And have them make sure they keep it on the floor, not on their desk so there’s no chance of spills. AND being well-hydrated is important, but they only only want to be taking small sips from time to time. Otherwise, they’re going to be needing bathroom breaks and that uses up time and can interrupt their brain flow, so hopefully they can get a good balance there.
Let’s add in, having a good breakfast, something with slow-release energy: oatmeal, eggs, a banana. Definitely not energy drinks that give a quick burst, but then are followed by a fast drop off. Now, I know that I could barely eat when I was nervous before an exam, so they might not want to eat much. So something they can kind of nibble on might be good. Some wholemeal toast, a banana maybe. Those can help.
Okay, some other practicalities. It’s really important to know the exact equipment they need to have with them.
What they are permitted and not permitted in the exam hall. For example, do they need to be writing with blue or black pen?
Have they had their calculator pre-approved for external exams? Do they need a pencil or ruler for any graphs or other sketching or maybe multiple choice questions where they have those little bubbles to colour in? Plenty of spare, already sharp pencils are preferable to one plus a pencil sharpener.
No smart-watches are allowed for externals. Nothing with a sim card in fact.
You’d be amazed by the number of students that get caught out by these things.
Now, it’s not a disaster if they do, so they don’t need to panic. I’ve never seen a paper not marked because the student used the wrong colour pen, but we just don’t want anything that’s going to increase their stress just before the exam, or be a distraction for them.
Having all of that set up and ready to go at LEAST the night before takes off any pressure of finding and organising those things on the day. Or late at night.
Likewise, having a plan for getting to the exam venue. Do they know exactly what room or hall to go to? It may not be their usual place. And transport if needed. If they’re travelling by car, set off extra early in case of any traffic issues or parking issues.
If it’s by public transport, have the timetable to hand and make sure to pick a route and time that gets them there earlier than they need to be.
And then in that hour or two before the exam, this really is where every teenager is different. And so there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way to do this, but there are definitely some things to be aware of. Now, I know that a lot of advice says to not be cramming or revising just before an exam. And that phrase of ‘if you don’t know it by now, you’ll never know it’ gets thrown around. But, personally, I would actually feel more anxious if I couldn’t look over my notes.
Even now, before I give a talk or presentation, I like to go through some of my slides, or review some of the key points I want to say.
It can help calm your teen to just be able to review a few things, give themself some reminders or talk through some concepts with a friend.
But, when it comes to last minute revision, I think I’ve figured out the deciding factor on this - on whether or not this is beneficial or if it’s just adding to the stress. This is just what
I’ve seen and experienced myself as a student and with students I’ve worked with.
Are they reviewing, or are they trying to actually learn or remember something new?
I would suggest that they don’t want to be trying to learn or cover something for the first time so close to the exam.
That can be stressful if they feel like they’re not really getting it or if it’s challenging or confusing.
That’s why it’s so important to have well -planned revision - so that everything in the syllabus is getting covered well before the exam.
But I do think that covering what they have already learnt, and reviewing it so it’s fresh in their mind can give them some reassurance AND it can help them recall that information in the exam.
I actually have an example of this happening for me - it was with my GCSE PE exam. And as I walked to school the day of that exam, I walked with a friend who was in the year below me so she didn’t have any exams on, and I literally walked whilst reading the text book on a topic I felt like I needed to go through again. I read out parts aloud and had her test me on bits and pieces from the book. And you know what - that exact topic came up as the big 10 mark question at the end of the paper. And I was able to write a really good answer. And I ended up with an A* grade which I’m certain that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t reviewed that topic right before the exam.
So, equipment ready, transport scheduled, a good night’s sleep, slow release breakfast, avoid high sugar, high caffeine drinks. And if they feel more calm reviewing their notes before, then go for it. If that tends to stress them out, have them find something else to do. Going for a walk, listening to music, something that keeps them calm but not put them to sleep.
And on a similar note, for some students talking and mingling with friends is good. For others they might be better off finding a quiet spot to themselves.
So have your teen actually take 10 minutes to think about what works best for them and then set things up to help make that happen.
Okay, next question:
Heated debate in my home right now! I know all teenagers are different, but I’m pretty sure that having music on is NOT helping my teen study, though they beg to differ. Would love your professional opinion. Thanks!
Easy answer for this one, but always unpopular with students.
There is a reason why many students feel like music helps them study - it’s because music can lift our mood and motivation levels. So we feel more positive and that can make us more inclined to get things done that we don’t really want to do.
BUT when it comes to using our working memory and having to process or compute information, we are best off with silence.
Now, caveat - if we’re working in a space where there isn’t silence, THEN music with earbuds or headphones on can help drown out other distracting noises. But that music needs to not have lyrics. No words. Because our brain will subconsciously be listening to the words which distracts from the information or processing we need to be doing. Which is why baroque and other classical music has been found to help with study. And there are HOURS of baroque music available for free on Youtube. But be careful there - we don’t want that to open up the whole phone distraction issue. Find a way to get the music, without ads interrupting or having the distraction of funny cat videos.
So how about this as a combo: they have their favourite motivating music for 5 or 10 minutes to get them pumped up ready to study, and then silence or baroque music during their study. And another burst of the fun stuff during a study break.
That could perhaps be not just a compromise, but could actually produce the best of both worlds. I’ve not tried it, but if you do, let me know how it works out.
Okay, final question for today!
Do you have any tips for time management in exams? My teen’s problem is he runs out of time to get every question done in as much detail as he’d like.
Great question. Running out of time usually occurs because students are writing too much in their answers. They’re including information that might be factually correct, but it isn’t earning them any credit on the mark scheme.
That might be because they’re repeating themselves a bit, waffling, or just trying to put in as much information as possible to show off their knowledge, AND likely because they aren’t sure exactly what will and won’t get them marks so they’re trying to cover all bases.
Now, I do help students work out how to divide up time in an exam for different sections of a paper, or figure out things like how many minutes per mark.
BUT, I spend a lot more time and effort training students in how to dissect the wording of the questions, how to understand mark schemes and actually be able to predict what the mark scheme will say from reading a question. Because if your teen can’t do those things, then even if they give themselves a time guide, if they have the WHAT, the time they’ve allocated, - they’ll still end up going over it if they can’t do the HOW - how to stick to it.
I’m all about the HOW. If they’ve worked out that they should spend 45 minutes lets say on Part A of the paper, HOW do they give answers, with the right amount of information and detail, within that time?
So, the wording of this question was really interesting. You said that ‘they run out of time to get every question done in as much detail as they’d like’.
The issue is likely them thinking, wanting, liking to put in as much information as possible.
Whereas this actually needs to be about them truly understanding how much detail is really required, and how to give that - at the right level and succinctly and directly. And it’s about them knowing what is and what isn’t required - what will and won’t get them marks. So they’re confident in not just what to include and how to give it, but also being confident on what to leave out; what ISN’T required. And the good news is that those both come from the same skills: dissecting the question and being able to understand, or even better, predict the mark scheme.
A great way to do this is to review exams they’ve completed in the past. Can they figure out what in their writing actually got them marks and what is there in their answers that didn’t earn any credit? And remember, for everyone listening - it doesn’t mean it was incorrect information, it just means it wasn’t required for that question.
Alright!
Thank you for all of your questions! If I didn’t cover yours in these 3 Q&A episodes, then rest assured, it is because I have a future episode planned where I’ll be diving deeper on the issue or topic you asked about. And so, if you haven’t already clicked to follow or subscribe to the podcast, do that now, there will be a little button somewhere with a plus sign on it. Click that and it will turn into a tick and then you won’t miss an episode. And if you have a friend or family member, or a school or parents group chat and you think others might find this podcast helpful, then please drop a screenshot of this podcast to them. I love sharing my favourite podcasts with people, not just because it feels good to be helpful, but also, selfish confession, it also means I can then chat with them about things in there and that’s fun and super-helpful for me too.
So that’s it for this week. Remember that if you want some tips on using a tiny bit of headspace over summer to get your teen ahead ready for huge success next year - without them touching a textbook and keeping PLENTY of time for you both to relax - then put the event week 15th to 21st November in your diary, and get on my email list if you’re not already. See you back here next week, have a great rest of your day, bye!
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