Over a year go,
When only 1/5th of you were reading these newsletters,
I wrote a well-received newsletter outlining my favorite websites for revision.
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However,
Over the last year it became clear that,
Most students have the tools they need to revise!
The issue isn’t the tools,
It is how they are using them.
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In this newsletter I am going to outline my two favorite websites for revision.
But to be honest,
They don’t really do anything totally unique.
They’re good,
But nothing you couldn’t find anywhere else.
What I really want you and your teenager to take away from this newsletter is EXACTLY how I would recommend using them,
So your teenager can do better in less time.
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Physics and Maths Tutor -
https://www.physicsandmathstutor.com/
Physics and Maths Tutor (which we use for all subjects, not just physics and maths) is a classic Past Paper tool in the revision arsenal.
Quite a few of your teenagers will already be aware of it.
But I am pretty confident that very few of your teenagers know how to use this website to its fullest potential.
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The most underappreciated aspect of Physics and Maths Tutor is the Legacy Section (Pictured Below):
To access the Legacy all your teenager needs to do is to google the Physics and Maths Tutor-> click on past papers -> choose a subject -> and finally scroll down the page until they see the above picture.
The Legacy section is a gold mine for extra papers.
In short,
The Department for Education made slight changes to the way the GCSEs work in 2017 and therefore all past papers from 2017 and before are in the Legacy section.
Whilst there are slight differences in the papers,
Your teenager NEEDS a bigger variety of past papers than just those from 2018+.
This makes the fact that so few students know about the Legacy section scandalous.
Students NEED to do a variety of papers, including those from the Legacy section, whilst bearing in mind that their real paper will be most similar to the more recent papers.
(Also as a side note, Legacy papers tend to be a bit easier which can therefore help to build confidence).
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Just before I move on,
I am also a big fan of the Model Answers option that students can use to mark their Maths and Science past papers on physics and maths tutor.
The Model Answers are often a lot more understandable and useful for learning where a student went wrong in comparison to the mark schemes.
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Cognito - https://cognitoedu.org/home
Cognito is my preferred website for the LEARNING stage of science and maths revision.
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The videos on Cognito are short,
To the point,
Visually engaging,
And well organised.
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The issue with Cognito,
Is most students get sucked in to watching the videos,
And forget about being strategic with how they spend their time.
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I would rather a student spend less overall time but follow the below process when using Cogniot:
Step 1: PAST PAPERS COME FIRST
- Whether your child is in year 8 or in year 11 they need to start from the premise of identifying what they do not know in an exam context (I.e. a past papers).
Step 2: Learn the EASIEST topics/sub-topics
- Students get very easily overwhelmed. They need to break it down into how can I, as a student, get 1/2/3 more marks in Biology/Chemistry/Maths TODAY!
- The Easiest way of doing this is setting out to actively learn the easiest thing they just got wrong through Cognito and their textbook.
Step 3: Test yourself
- Whether you use questions by topic on Cognito, Google or do another past paper, watching the video is not the end of the learning phase.
Step 4: Be honest with yourself
- If you still do not know it – DO SOMETHING.
- Go to your teacher/tutor/friend, anything.
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Ultimately, I hope this newsletter has shown that it is not really about the tools but about how consciously, actively and strategically a student uses them.
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I hope everyone has a great week ahead,
Best wishes,
Joel