6 Tips for Making a Revision Plan
Planning is important and can be the thing that means that your person succeeds. I love the simplicity of that quote and alongside it the concept of the five Ps: ‘Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance’
Any business coach will tell you that the best strategy for business is to start with planning. It’s the same with learning and revising for exams. However, we must also realise that a revision plan is a guideline and it isn’t a stick to beat your young person up with. Cover the essentials, and allow some slack time for if they start to slip.
1. Start early
Your young person can never begin revising too early, and I mean either at an early age, throughout their education, or early in the exam year. Revision is about improving and revisiting so the more they do that the less work each topic will need in the future.
The benefit of starting them with the habit of revising young, they will not only feel comfortable going over things but they will have less weaknesses in their foundations. Stress will also be reduced because there will be less cramming for tests.
2. Repeat topics
Use the forgetting curve (which I wrote about here) as a model to plan going over topics regularly, and then when they get close to an exam go over past papers. You can find past exam papers online for all exams.
3. Take account of their learning preferences
Every young person learns in a different way, make sure you understand their learning styles by using a learning style quiz. My guide to learning styles explains 3 different learning styles and will help you identify the preferences of your young person for only £4.99 and is available here.
For example, If they are an auditory learner then use podcasts, maths songs and speaking out what they are learning. For visual learners mind maps are a great way to visualise a topic.
4. Create a style of plan that suits their needs
What the plan actually looks like isn’t important. If they are a visual learner they might like a coloured plan with blocks. They might be the sort of person that needs to tick things off and need a weekly or daily list.
If they get overwhelmed easily keep it simple and do an overview with each week drilling down into it.
5. Focus on weaknesses
Last week’s blog post explained how to choose which topics to revise. The revision plan should focus on their weaknesses. Use a list of weak areas and make sure they are covered first, interspersed with other topics.
6. Create a routine
Set aside the time that is needed for effective revision, at the moment that may only be 1 hour a week, and then increase as you get closer to tests or exams.
Remember to Include rest and downtime. Rest and play is as important as studying. Our brains need the time to switch off. Studies have found that during rest periods our brains consolidate and solidify the learning. Rest doesn’t have to be sleep, we just need to take a break from learning.
