Having been a teacher for the last 21 years, I can certainly tell you that many students miss the mark when revising.
Many learners test themselves instead of revising for their exams. You will realise that every time you tell a learner to do some revision, they will turn to their revision books and start working on a paper. After which they mark using the scheme on the back of their handbooks.
For me, this kind of revision can’t help a student to understand the concepts taught. It’s certainly a retrieval system or recall of the previously taught concepts. Therefore, no gain has taken place.
There are several things that should be considered when revising, and several questions should be answered before embarking on your revision.
- Which topics or subtopics are challenging to me?
- How much time do I have for my revision?
- What is the timetable for my exams?
- Which subjects are a challenge to me?
- Which revision books can I use for my research, study, and revision?
- Do I need a timetable for this revision?
- Do I need to engage someone else in my revision? If yes, who?
All these should be taken into consideration. Having done that, you have to make a list of the subjects you want to strengthen, topics, and subtopics you need to tackle.
After this preparation:-
- Go into reading and study mode.
- Read with understanding.
- Make mental pictures and connections.
- Get engaged all the way through until the end of the topic or subtopic.
- Make short notes on the striking things to remember. This should be done in the shortest manner possible.
- Take a glance at your short notes after the topic or subtopic.
- Do the questions that are at the end of each subtopic or topic.
- Go to past papers or set papers and check the questions for the same topic or subtopic.
- Do them, mark them, and revise the questions not gotten.
- Make genuine remarks on the work done.
Hurray! You are done with one topic or subtopic.
Do this systematically. Following through all the subjects, combing through the topics and the subtopics. You will go further than you thought.
Remember to keep track of everything that you are studying; in other words, keep a record of work done. This will help you in the future to know what work is covered.
This kind of revision will go a long way to improve your subject mastery and overall performance in each subject. Do not test yourself; study.
Also remember, if there is anything that your facilitator or teacher needs to know or to come to your aid, do not hesitate to ask.
You can read more from my favorite book, sold as an ebook here on this site, Learners Success Guide in The 21st Century, nugget #7.