How can good tutors help students to prepare for exams?
Some of the most talented and experienced tutors know that every student is unique in his or her own way of learning. Some students are rather calm before their exams while others are absolutely anxious.
For certain subjects like English (English tutors always have a whole lot of study strategies at their disposal to be exam-ready!) and Mother Tongue, students would seem clueless as to how they should prepare for it a few days prior to examination and these confusions leave students with lots of stress and self-doubt.
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There are various tutoring agencies in Singapore which has various tutors of a good range of expertise all ready to take up tuition assignments to guide students in the best way possible. Especially during this pandemic, traditional classroom learning has shifted gears to become home-based independent learning which requires students to internalise all the material and understand it all by themselves which is challenging to a great extent.
So, here are some ways tutors can help students be prepared for examinations!
MASTERING THE INFORMATION
Not all information is created equal; some are high yield information while others are just supporting statements or details which doesn’t necessarily have much significance. Students need to be able to understand the content being given to them and should be able to decipher the important parts that are actual testable material for examinations.
Source: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/university-credit-transfers-support-report-1.748938
This is indeed something difficult to do so as students would not necessarily know what’s important and what is not. Tuition teachers however, are fast at picking out the important pieces of information and they have an efficient way of explaining a topic in a fast manner. This process would take so much longer if students were to struggle all by themselves.
REVISION SCHEDULE
Planning is key. But unfortunately, some students who are not used to planning their day out or for those who don’t make to-do lists, this may seem like a tedious and annoying process. However, whether you like it or not; it’s essential.
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If students don’t know how it should be done or just simply find it difficult to do it all alone, students can seek the help of their tutors. Tuition teachers (having known the strengths and weaknesses of their students) would be able to better guide through this process.
Revision schedule takes many factors into account:
- The date of examinations
- The number of subjects
- The difficulty level of the subjects
- The amount of prior revision that has been done for each subject
And so on. Some subjects may need to be prioritised over others and only you, as a student will be able to understand which needs more attention over others.
DON’T NEGLECT MENTAL HEALTH
Good tutors would know that good performance is not solely dependent on the amount of practice papers and assessment books completed. Students ultimately need to be mentally prepared for challenges in order to conquer them. Unfortunately, many students suffer from exam anxiety and are unsure of how to tackle it all by themselves.
Source: https://critpath.org/health-information/mental-health/
Tutors are always there to be a strong pillar of support for their students and they know that examinations can be strenuous mentally. Tutors can talk through this with their students and let them know that nothing should be the make or break and what matters is that students put in their 100% of effort in everything they do.
SET GOALS
Being goal-oriented will create a clear pathway and gives some sort of clarity as to how further steps should be taken to progress. Everyone’s level of competency may vary but it’s not something static as it can change over time if the right amount of effort and dedication is put into yielding the best results.
Source: https://www.purdueglobal.edu/blog/student-life/goal-setting-worksheet/
Tutors can have an elaborate discussion with their students as to how improvements can be made step-by-step. If the first test’s result if 60 out of 100, then students can take small steps to reach a goal (it shouldn’t be too over-ambitious) that’s probably 70 out of 100 for the next test.
Small improvements will add up and coalesce into something much bigger and better. It is essential for students and tutors is to understand and admit that it takes a great amount of time and consistent effort to see good results over time. Being aware of this fact makes the learning process a lot less heavy and it fact over time, learning would become enjoyable.
BOTTOM LINE
Examinations are crucial checkpoints that act as indicators which tell students about the level that they are at and it’s also reflective of how much more effort needs to be put in to get to where they need to go. Tutors can guide students to realise that it is possible and it’s just a matter of time before excellence can be achieved!
