1 Revision and exams

Most likely, you are reading this unit because you feel unsure about your ability to do yourself justice in exams. You may never have taken an exam and are wondering how to prepare yourself. It may have been a long time since you took an exam, and you feel a need to refresh your technique. You may be looking for reassurance and advice because you may have had a bad exam experience in the past. Whatever your reason, we hope that this unit will help.

This unit is a practical one, and we w
Author(s): The Open University

Learning outcomes

This unit will:

• help you to manage your time more effectively when you're revising and in the exam itself

• help you to learn, or brush up on, revision and exam skills

• offer reassurance to those of you who experience anxiety and stress at exam time.

10.1 Further reading

OU books

• The Good Study Guide, by Andrew Northedge, published by The Open University, 2005, ISBN 0 7492 59744
• The Sciences Good Study Guide, by Andrew Northedge, Jeff Thomas, Andrew Lane, Alice Peasgood, published by The Open University, 1997, ISBN 0 7492 341 1 3
• The Arts Good Study Guide, by Ellie Chambers and Andrew Northedge, published by The Open University, 1997, ISBN 0 7492 8745 4

Other boo
Author(s): The Open University

9.2 What is reflection?

Is reflection different to just thinking about your study? And how do we do it? Can someone teach you how to reflect or is it a matter of practice? Can everyone be reflective or are some students - and some people - more reflective than others?

There is no clear definition of reflection or precise way of describing what we mean by a reflective learner. But we can discuss some characteristics of the process, and encourage you to develop your own preferred ways of developing it.

Ref
Author(s): The Open University

9.1 Reflection and the four main phases of learning how to learn

If your course encourages this approach to learning, or if you have read other material on learning how to learn, you may have come across the term 'reflection'. Maybe you have been encouraged to reflect on your learning or on your assignments. In this unit, we have deliberately not used the term until now. This is not because we think the term - or the process - is unimportant, but because it can seem vague and not particularly helpful to you as a learner. In fact, all the activities in this
Author(s): The Open University

7.3 Review the whole process

Before you file away your assignment and return to your current study, spend a little time reviewing the whole process of preparing, exploring, implementing and reviewing your assignment. Review what you did and how you did it in each of the four phases. Trying to identify just one thing that went well and one thing that you could have done differently can help you in your future study. Remember that your review should focus on the process of the preparation
Author(s): The Open University

7.2 Learning from feedback

This is actually quite a difficult thing for any student to do. It is most effective when your assignment is returned, but by then you may have moved on to the next part of the course. Even so, you do need to make time to re-visit your assignment when it is returned and take note of your tutor's comments. It is the one time when your tutor is able to give feedback and advice to you as an individual student so it is well worth taking time to really absorb their comments. Try to separate
Author(s): The Open University

7.1 Reviewing

This phase takes place after a period of study and an assignment have been completed. It is when you focus on reviewing your performance on your assignment as well as the whole cycle of study you have just completed. The two activities of this phase are:

• learning from feedback
• reviewing the whole process.

6.3 Making a self-assessment

The ability to self-assess your work is a critical skill for you to develop if you want to improve your performance. If you can assess your own work accurately and identify the gap between what is required and what you are producing, you are more likely to be able to close the gap. But making an accurate and honest self-assessment is not an easy skill to develop, even though it is crucial in learning how to learn. Some courses do ask you to self-assess your work and submit your comments as pa
Author(s): The Open University

5.3 Monitoring your progress

Of all the components in the learning how to learn process, this is probably the most difficult. As you study, you need to make a conscious effort to monitor your progress while working on the course, always with the main task in view. This is where a flexible plan devised in the preparation phase can be revised, particularly if you meet a difficult patch. Knowing when help is needed and where to go for it is important, especially if you discover that your learning skills need improving. Sour
Author(s): The Open University

5.1 Exploring

This is the phase when you will be studying your course material, using and developing your learning skills. The two activities of this phase are:

• studying the materials
• monitoring your progress.

2.1 Introduction

In encouraging you to think explicitly about how you learn, as well as about what you learn, we are drawing on research about learning which has shown that this approach can actually improve your performance. Certainly it can and will make you a more efficient and effective learner. Before we start to explore the process, let us consider two general points about learning.

1. There is no single method of learning that guarantees success. How
   Author(s): The Open University
   

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