Chunking Tasks: Making Revision Manageable

In class, teachers chunk tasks down into manageable parts for their students. By doing this, the work becomes more accessible and is step-by-step. Chunking also aids memory: it helps to facilitate effective learning. Your teen likely uses chunking without even realising it. For example, when they recall their address or their phone number, they probably learnt it in sections or ‘chunks,’ right?
However, when it comes to revision outside of the classroom, students may feel completely mind-boggled by stacks of revision notes staring them in the face. The list of things to do may increase- and even a small task can be overwhelming if your teenager doesn’t know how to chunk their study down! As a revision provider, we also believe in the power of chunking, so we’re here to help your teen consider how best to do this:

Getting Started

Your child has a few options to get them started. They could pick a topic or a subject to focus on. They might pick up a particular revision guide. They might select a past exam paper. Then what?
Whatever it is, choose to make a plan. Making a quick list of what needs to be done (bullet points are good for this) can be helpful. There’s satisfaction in being able to tick things off as they go, too!

Recall the Techniques

Each exam comes with its own demands. Therefore, your teen needs to recall the tactics and skills they have been equipped with in class. During our revision courses, we revisit these techniques, so it’s an excellent reason to sign up! Our course leaders are teachers and subject specialists themselves, so they know what the SQA exams ask for.
Depending on the subject, your child may have certain acronyms to remember how to paragraph, or they may have equations to memorise (examples.) Start with these as structure. Encourage your teen to use these at home and apply to their independent study.

Work in Bursts

We run our revision courses intensively- over just a few days. This is a way of exposing your child to core revision aspects in a focussed and purposeful environment. When your child is revising at home, it is best that their study time is just as focussed, too! Therefore, working in sensible bursts of time, with breaks, is most likely to lead to impactful revision.

Feeling confident and ‘less stressed’ about exams is largely down to having prepared and practised for what’s ahead!

Mind Maps and Sections

Lastly, one of the reasons that subject experts tend to recommend ‘mind maps’ is because they are excellent for chunking ideas. They- as the name suggests- allow your child to map out their knowledge and ideas. From this, your child is able to select the most important ideas, organise their thoughts or gauge how much they know. Breaking tasks down into sections, tables or numbers is an alternative way for your child to tackle their revision. For example, if they’ve got an essay to write, it’d be wise to plan out each paragraph into sections, then use this to revise from.
The courses we provide are for students studying National 5s, Highers and Advanced Highers, and we guide your child through excellent revision techniques, such as this.