School is nearly out…

Some revision suggestions

See also the REVISION BOOKLET, available on the Unit 4 downloads page.

In order to revise the basics of research methods, download this PDF of the class powerpoint.

The hints below could be useful for all your subjects. But of course, you’re only allowed to use them for Psychology.

LITTLE AND OFTEN – OFTEN BEING THE OPERATIVE WORD… Spaced practice is better than massed practice. In other words, half an hour a day is better than 3 and a ½ hours once a week. Of course, massed practice (or cramming) is better than nothing at all.

A LONG, SLOW PROCESS The longer the length of time you spend learning something, the better the retention. That’s why it’s worth concentrating all year long and not just swotting like mad at the end. But of course swotting is also better than nothing. Start early with your revising. Don’t do it all the day before the exam.

YOU ARE NOT A DROOLING DOG…Active learning is vital. Studying for an exam is best done through active forms of learning, not through “hoping it will get it there somehow”. The drooling dog should not be your model.

OVERDO IT! It is better to overlearn material, because in an exam, the extra tension and physiological arousal can have an adverse effect. Overlearning reduces the likelihood of forgetting, even when under pressure.

MORPH INTO AN EXAMINER… Students like working through old exams and of course that is a worthwhile strategy. All the same, it is not always the most active method of revising. If you are working through exams and finding them easy, then you will feel reassured, but it won’t help you all that much with the nasty question the examiner springs on you in November. Therefore, try to second-guess the examiner. Morph into an examiner yourself. Say to yourself, “What if he/she asks me THAT horrible question?” Make up some seriously nasty questions that demand in-depth understanding. Then answer them. Put that nasty little examiner inside you in his place.

INFUSE YOUR LIFE WITH LEARNING… Just for these two to three weeks, try to use a psychology term or phrase for everything that happens to you. When you learn something new from a friend on the computer, repeat the four processes of observational learning to yourself. When you hear music and it reminds you of a happy time with a close friend and therefore produces a warm inner glow, remember that this is a conditioned emotional response that you may have acquired through classical conditioning. When you get a fright, recall the symptoms and details of the fight-flight response. When you are practising your driving and recall a route without officially having learned it, ponder on cognitive maps and latent learning.

Kind regards from

Ms Bottrell and Ms Green