Methods Of Obtaining High Marks Essay Example

thing. If it gets you to where you want, with the results you expect, then why not? Whenever I approach an exam, I think to myself: 'how can I achieve this in this most efficient way possible'. This is the first question that should cross your mind before you even begin revision.

Once you've one that, then you should think about your strategy - how you're going to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve. If you approach it in this way, you can be sure to revision too. " - Jayvee Sings At the end of the day it's all about finding out what works and then using that information to achieve your exam pass in the quickest and easiest way possible. In that respect, Vive done all the hard work for you and documented the best approach to adopt when studying & revising for your math exam - all you have to do is apply it. How The Brain Works The main purpose of this report is to reveal the best way in which to prepare for your tats exam.

.. But before we do that, let's explore how the brain actually works. Remember the brain is the most powerful organ of the body. It controls our entire body and defines who we really are as human beings. It's important to understand the basics about how it works.

There are 3 important ways of learning: Visual, Verbal & Rote. You should not focus on one form in particular, but rather have a good balance of all three. The first two forms: visual and verbal tap into different parts of the brain.

The main part

of the brain is called the Cerebrum. This is what causes an individual to think and act. The cerebrum itself is divided into four sections, called 'lobes'.

Refer to the image below: Figure 2: The Brain The Occipital Lobe is where the visual processing takes place. Whenever an individual sees something, the brain interprets it; the shape and color and then, attempts to store it. The Temporal Lobe is where auditory perception takes place, or in simple terms, verbal learning. As a matter of fact, this 'lobe' is where memory is stored too.

Remember a large part of any exam and not Just math is based on how much content you can remember.

Thus, memory retention is vital when preparing for an upcoming math exam. 5 When the brain recollects a memory, it looks for neurons (cells which hold information) that's associated with it. Then it connects all these neurons to complete the whole memory. It is like a Jigsaw puzzle: fitting the pieces (neurons) together to create the whole picture (memory).

For example, suppose you are trying to solve a problem on percentages; What the brain will do is look for neurons such as: When did I do What are they?

Did I learn this Have I done an method through exam question on a diagram? This already? Figure 3: How the brain works Once the brain has retrieved all of these neurons, the student will understand the problem and proceed to solve it. This is basically how the brain operates. When the brain thinks about a particular scenario, it looks for anything that's associated with it. That's why it's important not to stick to Just one

learning style; make sure you use all of them.

The learning style known as rote learning is simply learning through constructive repetition; hammering-it-home until it's retained in your memory banks.

This is the same approach followed by the smartest civilizations of our world today: China and Singapore . You will discover later on, how we can include rote-learning in our revision schedule, especially in the form of typical math questions. Self-Learning Schools are there to help you with math. However, you should always adopt a level of selflessness as well in order to consolidate your knowledge.

Self-learning Just simply means self-taught from a particular resource. This resource could be a textbook or online, for example. Self-learning, although a lengthier process, is the most beneficial learning tool for many reasons: 1 .

It increases independent (critical) thinking.

2. Students develop responsibility. For example, learning to complete a task by a set time. 3. Students can learn at their own pace, without any 'restriction' from a teachers lesson.

4. Student develops a good work-ethic. 5. Self-satisfaction is gained through learning a new concept on your own as opposed to a teacher explaining it to you. 6.

More theory is retained when self-learnt instead of parents 'spoon feeding information to you. 7. An increased likelihood of reaching ones potential. 8.

Students are better prepared for higher education when their background has an 9. There are alternative ways of learning as opposed to the fixed learning methods of schools. 10. The student can take their learning-experience as far as they want it go. 7 The innumeracy rate in the I-J The overall innumeracy rate, in the I-J, is plummeting - In 2006, the programmer

of international student assessment (PISA) ranked I-J in 24th in the worldwide innumeracy rate, and dropped a further 4 places to 28th, in 2009 (see Appendix A). The innumeracy level of our population is very critical to the economy.

Innumeracy skills are required in most areas of work, particularly in the highest paid professions. Eric Schmidt, Google's chairman, recently said that Britain are at risk of becoming a 'dusty assume of the past' if it does not address the current mathematical decline. Here are some interesting facts and figures, taken from the IBIS Skills for life survey 2011, about the innumeracy rate in the I-J: 0 In 2011, only 22% of the working-age population in England (7. 5 million adults) passed their GEESE Math (Grades A* - C) 0 In 2011, 42% of pupils in England failed to achieve a GEESE A*-C grade in mathematics. Many of those who scrape a pass at Grade C are still incapable of truly understanding how to calculate percentages and fractions or to interpret data. " 17 million adults in England (fewer than half the working-age population) have a math level equivalent to a primary school student.

0 Adults with poor innumeracy are twice as likely to be unemployed than those who are competent. 0 The annual cost to the public purse of children failing to master basic innumeracy skills in primary schools is E. Bin 0 Every year more than 30,000 children leave primary school at 11 with the mathematical skills of a seven-year-old What is being done?

Experts tell us that a feature of the current math education system is students are not being challenged enough from an

early age. If students are pushed from the outset, they are likely to develop greater mathematical skills at a faster rate. In response to this, the government are replacing the current curriculum set in primary schools. The department of education wants students to know their 12 times-table by the age of seven and have a solid foundation in basic mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

The lack of interest in studying math is also a concern. Many students find math 'boring and fail to recognize the underlying importance of it in everyday life. Less than 20% of students go on to study math post-16. The Norfolk PM, Elizabeth truss, that the majority of students in countries such as Korea and Japan study math up to 18 years of age, and England should follow suit if it wants to keep up with these countries.

In response, the government are releasing new math qualifications in 201 5, known as the 'core' math program.

These qualifications are aimed at 16-18 year olds to encourage young adults to study math, beyond 16, and equip them with the right skills necessary to compete for the higher-paid Jobs. It will suit students who achieve a grade 'C' or 'B' at GEESE math - around 50% of students every year. These students sis out on a top grade and thus, are unsuitable to study A-Level math. The government are going to spend EWE million over the next two years to support schools and colleges in providing these extra courses.

9 Visual Learning One great way of learning math concepts is by visual learning.

Visual learning basically means learning by looking at

the subject matter you are trying to get better at. Research shows that children learn in a number of different ways; verbal, written, visual, etc. ALL, a US education research body, concluded after 29 studies that visual learning improves student performance in the following areas: 0 Critical Thinking Retention Comprehension Organization I myself have seen (first-hand) the benefits of visual learning experience among students. So what is the best way to teach your child math using visual learning?

The best approach is to pick an area of math that your child is struggling to master. Alternatively, it could be an area he/she wants to learn in order to prepare for a pending exam.

For example; let's say your child wants to learn percentages. The best way to tackle this is pick 2, 3 or 4 concepts from percentages. This could be something like the following: 1) Percentage increase ) Percentage decrease Now all you need do is write up the concepts on an AH size sheet and put it up on a wall. Be sure to put it up where it will be seen every day by your child.

The key here is to ensure that the sheet is looked at every day (at least several times a day).

Every time the student walks past the sheet he/she should look at each concept and verbally read it and absorb the principles. I would also advise a couple of simple related questions are worked through each time the sheet is looked at. If you want, you can create more than one sheet to cover different areas of math. I would commend you don't have more than 4 concepts

on each sheet. Feel free to use colors in order to highlight key points. Also vary the size of your writing for emphasis.

I use a product called a magic whiteboard which is a roll of disposable whiteboards. You can tear an AH sheet off the roll and stick it to the wall - it sticks to virtually 10 anything (and doesn't leave any marks). It acts as a whiteboard and you can re-use it as many times as you want. You can purchase a magic whiteboard from http:// www. Microwaveable. Co.

UK for around EWE. Figure 4: Make use of a whiteboard to aid visual learning This is a great way to learn and can make the learning process more effective. Just be sure the concepts sheet gets looked at several times a day (morning and evening, as a minimum, is essential).

Once you feel satisfied that the subject matter has been mastered, remove the sheet & transfer the details to your notebook for future reference. At this point it's a good idea to put up a new (whiteboard) sheet detailing another area you wish to improve in.

11 Verbal Learning Most children don't like the thought of sitting down and writing down answers to tricky math questions. So whenever you can give them some math work in a different format' it helps the learning process. This is where verbal learning comes in. Children who don't like to do repetitive math problems may very well see verbal problems as a bit of a challenge.

This helps create interest and turns math (considered to be boring) into a game. I have had first-hand experience of this when

tutoring.

By removing the handwriting element from math problems it enables the students mind to focus on fundamental mathematical skills. This results in a slow but steady improvement in mental math skills - an important foundation required to aster math. Verbal learning is also a very efficient method of learning which goes 'unnoticed' and is relatively 'painless'. This approach to learning involves creating questions and solving them through the spoken word.

So you can give a question to the student and he/she would respond by giving an answer. The beauty of this method is that questions can be made up anytime, anywhere. You could, very easily, turn a 30 you ask should be constructed on the subject area that needs more work. Allow me to explain let's suppose that your child is struggling with fractions. What you want to o is focus on verbal fractions questions until you feel that a certain degree of proficiency has been attained.

The idea is to start with easy questions and slowly increase difficulty. For example: you could construct your verbal learning program as follows... ) Week 1: Basic Fractions 2) Week 2: Adding/Subtracting Fractions 3) Week 3: Multiplying/Dividing Fractions 4) Week 4: Simplifying Fractions This is obviously a very simple example - but I hope you get the idea.

Remember, to only increase the difficulty of your verbal questioning based on the students progress. 12 Another time to use verbal questioning is when revising for exams. If revision is being carried out for an exam you can use verbal questioning as an aid. You can get sample questions and read them out to the student in order to arrive at a

solution. This can take place anytime, anywhere.

Doing arithmetic mentally is critical for developing intuitive thinking as well as brain capacity.

If a question is too difficult to answer mentally, state the overall method of solving that problem. That way, you are acknowledging the overpopulated. Remember, math is a methodical subject and solutions to problems are given in a tepee-by-step procedure. In short, verbal learning is a great method to incorporate into your plans. It is quick, easy and very effective - highly recommended.

13 Rote Learning Once a student has grasped a certain concept within math the next step is to hammer it home.

I have given you two very effective methods already (visual & verbal learning) to aid in consolidating a students' math knowledge. However, practice is a key ingredient to ensure complete readiness for an exam or test. What do I mean by practice? Let say, for example, the child is studying fractions. Firstly, you would use visual and rebel learning to help the student gain an understanding of the concepts. Then once you feel that there is enough of an understanding you would give some simple written questions on fractions.

This will help in giving a basic understanding of the area of fractions. Now you can move onto the 'Rote Learning phase. The next step is to divide the area of fractions into separate components. For example we could create the following groups: 1. Fraction Basics 3. Fractions Subtraction 4.

Fractions Division 5. Fractions Multiplication 6. Simplifying Fractions 7. Converting Fractions Now the student should tackle a minimum of 50 fraction questions relating to each group. You can create these questions yourself (takes much

longer) or use pre-made worksheets.

You can find a number of worksheets from textbooks or revision guides; just pop-in to your local bookstore (Whist or Wheatstone) and pick one up. You should be able to find a workbook for under a fiver. Alternatively, you can find worksheets online. Simply Google: 'math worksheets' and you can potentially have access to thousands of questions.

The student should achieve a score of 90%, at worst, for each set of worksheets. If any roosters scores less than 90% then you should generate another 50 questions (keep doing this until you get that 90% minimum score).

If an exam is coming up make sure to also add sample exam question worksheets to the work. This will help to improve the students understanding in an exam context. 14 This technique I have highlighted is a very powerful way of teaching math. Intense practice helps to reinforce the subject being studied.

15 The Best Way To Prepare For A Math Exam It can be difficult drawing up a revision schedule prior to an exam. Many questions arise: Shall I read over the syllabus and make notes? Do I need to write brief notes or detailed ones? How many times do I need to read over a topic to make sure I fully understand it?

When shall I begin past papers? The most important thing to remember here is whatever revision plan that you decide on, you must stick by it. You cannot create a revision plan and not commit to it. A good starting point is to collect all the resources that you're going to be using for the next couple of months. By

resources, I mean a good revision guide and as many past papers that you can get hold of.

You're probably wondering why so many past papers? But you will see why in a few minutes. Once you've done this, structure your revision so you can get through all of the material you've compiled.

For instance, your revision guide is made up of 4 chapters and you have access to 10 past papers. If your exam is in six weeks time, a reasonable plan would be to study a chapter a week and in the final two weeks, work through the exam papers. Also, a chapter a week will be sub-divided into smaller sections or a certain number of pages a day. You must ensure that your revision schedule is realistic.

You do not want to be doing too much or too little per day. If you set yourself too much work to do in a day, the Hansen are you will procrastinate and end up doing very little.

Then, you will have to revision schedule a little earlier. Give yourself extra time so you can progress at a steady rate. If you do this, you will be able to free up time for other things besides working around-the-clock.

The way I would approach it is to break up the revision schedule as suggested above. You could aim to master a new concept every day. This is a good strategy because you're not bombarding yourself with work. You are only doing enough to master one new concept a day. A typical day of revision would entail: 1) Absorb the theory by adding the revision guide. ) Attempt questions, provided

by the revision guide, to see how you can apply this theory.

If the revision guide contains exam-style questions, pay particular attention to these. Exam-style questions are a LOT different to standard math problems. Get a feel for the nature of them now. 16 3) At the end of the day, write up a summary of what you learnt today.

What were the most important bits? Try to do this off the top of your head. If you missed anything out, briefly scan over your work that you completed today. Once you've read through the revision guide, it's time to begin those past papers.

Before you attempt the first one, quickly read over your notes page for some legitimate revision.

By this time, you should have a notes page, listing the most important concepts/formulas that you learnt over the past couple of months. Then, complete each past paper under exam conditions. Don't use any resources here. In the actual exam, you won't have access to any resources so get into the habit now. Don't be disheartened if you don't do as well as you hoped in the first practice paper.

This grade will bump up with each new practice paper you complete. This is because you'll pick up new concepts/ideas as oh go along.

It's important to save all your exam papers until the last minute. You want to be in that 'exam-mode' Just prior to an exam. This means completing exam papers over and over again.

This is where rote-learning comes into play. What you'll notice is math papers, in particular, follow the same format every year. The only difference is the values of the questions. Therefore, if you

complete past papers relentlessly, you will store these key methods into your memor