Peggy Hughes is a writer based in Berlin, Germany. She has worked in the education sector for her whole career, and loves to help make sense of it to students, teachers and applicants. Read more on her website.
The more effective student revision is, the more likely they are to feel enthusiastic about getting stuck in. Students need to know that their effort is worth it; to be equipped with techniques and activities to revise with; and to feel as if they are working towards personalised goals.
Here are some steps to take to teach effective revision and, therefore, to generate enthusiasm for revision in your students:
1. Use Spaced Recall Techniques
Revision works best when spaced over time. Students will be able to remember more subject content if they revise in short, spaced out segments, rather than in one-off, marathon-like sessions. If we space out revision and leave gaps in between sessions, it gives our brains time to “forget and re-learn” the content. The space left between study sessions generally depends on how far in the future the exam in question is: for an exam in a month, for example, information should be reviewed once a week; if in a week, it should be reviewed once a day.
Spaced recall boosts student enthusiasm for revision because it works. Practicing it improves results, and improving results will prove the relevance of their revision. And, as we explored in our article on motivating your students, demonstrable relevance of the learning process directly improves student enthusiasm and engagement.
2. Make time to set personalised goals
Since relevance is a crucial facet in student motivation and enthusiasm, students need to feel as if their revision is relevant to them, and the effort they’re exerting is useful. If students feel that they’re aiming for a goal set by you, their parents, the exam board, the school – or any other person that isn’t, in short, them – they’re going to have a hard time drumming up the necessary enthusiasm to persevere.
It’s therefore worth setting time to allow and encourage students to set their own goals at the beginning of the revision process. Work with them to do so, where possible, and guide them to visualise success. Then, assist them to create their own revision timetables – ones that are tailored to them – by personalising the process, you can help it feel relevant and achievable.
3. Give structured activities and exercises on how to revise
Time set aside for revision should focus primarily on building student ability to remember subject content, long-term. Different students will find different retrieval activities more helpful in achieving this goal. Here are a few that you can encourage your students to try their hand at:
- Mind maps: great for essay planning and note-taking. To improve and test retention, students can also attempt to replicate these from memory.
- Quizzes: students can test retrieval via quizzes – there are many free tools available for them to make their own. Remember, multiple choice answers will test retrieval ability less effectively than a blank answer space.
- Key word recall: students can set a timer and write down key words and phrases from one topic – or write as much information down from that topic as they can remember.
- Flashcards: students can test their knowledge with a question on one side and an answer on the other. This technique works particularly well for dates in history, formulae in maths and science, and other facts-based revision.
- Teach someone: students can explain their newly-learnt knowledge to a partner to test both their memory and their understanding of information.
- Get creative: Invent journeys, sequences, and adventures to connect and remember information (read more on how this works in Jonathan Hancock’s explanation).
4. Test effectiveness and build in reward
The phrase “regular testing” may not seem a natural enthusiasm generator in students. However, it is – for four main reasons.
First, the obvious: small classroom tests give students a chance to trial their exam technique in a lower-stakes setting.
Second, testing allows students to identify weaker areas of their knowledge and therefore create targeted and effective revision plans. In line with deliberate practice, this ensures that students are always getting better as they practice and revise – and remember, there’s no motivator quite like seeing your effort pay off.
Third, tests provide a short term goal for students to aim for. An exam in many months’ time might not feel worth the effort, but one that’s only two weeks away does.
Fourth, and finally, regular testing provides frequent opportunities for reward. If students are set short term, achievable, and regular goals, then they have many chances to achieve those goals – and you have lots of chances to celebrate their effort.
5. Remind students not to skip the self care
No less crucial for its simplicity, this one can be easy to miss. To remain enthused and motivated, students need to look after themselves. Remind students to take regular breaks, get lots of sleep, eat breakfast, and exercise.
