So, is this going to help me in my life?

A lot of the time, we have to appreciate that, no. This particular thing may not assist you in what you end up doing a fter you leave school. I’m not going to convince you that after you leave school you will constantly be needing to factorise a quadratic equation or apply the pythagoras theorem to situations. You might, but highly likely you will not. But… the skills you are having to use to be able to factorise quadratic equations or apply the pythagoras theorem you will almost certainly find helpful.

You may not realise when these skills have helped you, but every time you learn a new skill or fact, your brain makes new connections and the more you practise this skill, the stronger the connections become. These connections are flexible. You are not only learning how to factorise a quadratic equation, but you are also learning how to solve problems and understand symbols and patterns. The more different skills you learn, the more adaptable you become and the more able you are to solve a multitude of problems. You may notice that the smart kid in school who gets straight As also often comes up with novel solutions to problems that are completely unrelated to anything taught in school.

Learn it faster

You also just get better at learning, so when you have to learn something new, you learn it faster. I was never very interested in French at school until I went to France and actually used the language to communicate with someone and buy a cream cake from a shop somewhere in Paris! It was awesome! Years later, I travelled around Asia and learnt many Asian languages. The first one took me a while to pick up, the next I picked up more quickly and so on. Later in life, I have had to learn computer languages and I picked them up quickly because it was similar to learning a linguistic language. Learning languages also helped me to notice how my own language is constructed and how it uses various rules to convey meaning.

Learning can be fun!

If you really immerse yourself in the learning process, it can be a lot of fun. Try not to think too much about the looming tests, exams and coursework all of the time, and enjoy learning for learning’s sake. I might hear some interesting thing on TV, or read an interesting book and I don’t really think “Do I really need to know that sharks can detect magnetic fields? How will that help me?” I just find it interesting. It’s fun. 

But… Don’t forget the exams!

Ok, so you’re learning something that you don’t see the point in and you are trying to find it interesting, but you just can’t. Well, let us not forget completely that you do have these exams coming up and while they may be stressful, the qualifications they lead to are quite useful little things!

With these simple A4 pieces of paper, you can open up doors! Metaphorical doors that is… They are only bits of paper. It’s important to not pigeon hole yourself and think ‘I must get this grade or that grade’, but if you did get such and such grade, you could do this thing or that. So, whether or not you see the point in something, one big point is to increase the chance of opening up those (metaphorical) doors!

Don’t let your mind distract you!

So, next time you see that thought creep onto the centre stage of your mind, just don’t give it any importance. Don’t try to not think the thought. You’ve already thought it! You can’t change something that has already happened and you’ll just exhaust yourself trying. Instead, just think in response, “Hello thought. Not right now thanks, I’m busy.” and then get back to your learning. No need to identify with the thought. Sometimes you can see your unhelpful thoughts as sounds, or maybe another person living in your head. Sometimes this person is helpful, sometimes they just moan! Pay no attention to them and they’ll shut up.

5 REASONS WHY GOOD STUDY SKILLS ARE IMPORTANT 

A bit about the author, Paul H:

Paul is a qualified and experienced Physics, Maths, and Science teacher, now working as a full-time tutor, providing online tuition using a variety of hi-tech resources to provide engaging and interesting lessons.  He covers Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Science from Prep and Key Stage 3 through to GCSE and IGCSE. He also teaches Physics, Maths, and Chemistry to A-Level across all the major Exam Boards.

You can enquire about tutoring with Paul here

The post Learning: The ‘How is this going to help me?’ thought appeared first on The Tutor Team.

We use assessments ourselves all of the time to assess whether or not someone likes us, or how good a movie is or a song, or band and so on. Assessments are a necessary thing. We learn many things to gain a qualification. We want a qualification to show various people and ourselves that we can do something or other and to what standard. This means some sort of assessment is entirely necessary. Tests are not the only way we can assess, but they are the most common, and most likely you will have to do many in the course of your life. 

So, assessments are just something we have to live with and exams are the most common type of assessment and so let’s learn some tips on how to best get the marks in an exam.

Exam tips to follow during the exam

• To reduce the stress you can imagine the test as something else that you see as less important, but that you still want to do well at such as a video game. Each question is a new end of level boss or challenge. Just do the best you can in each case.
• Keep an on the clock. You know how much time you have and you know how big the test is. Try to move through the test so you will have the right amount of time on all of the questions. It would help to practise this a few times before the real thing by timing yourself doing past papers.
• Keep an eye out for command words before jumping straight in with the answer. (Eg. State, describe, explain.) Different subjects have different command words. Use your revision guide, ask a teacher or a revision website to find out more.
• Ensure you have not missed any questions. Sometimes when it might be completing a table, or a diagram you might not notice the question.
• For multiple choice questions, if you’re not sure which one is right, start eliminating the ones you know are wrong and, if needs be, guess out of the remaining options.
• If you cannot answer the question in around a minute or so, mark it with a symbol of your choice (Maybe an arrow) in the margin and come back to it later. 

Exam Preparation

• Practise past paper questions and mark them yourself to learn how to get marks in different questions. You can also get examiner reports. These write about certain questions in the test and how students tended to lose marks in that question.
• Get familiar with command verbs. Command verbs are verbs at the start of an exam question (e.g describe, identify, explain) that can often give you a clue as to how much detail you might want to put into an answer.
• Practice time management. When completing practice questions in preparation, time yourself and give yourself roughly a minute or two per mark.
• Make sure you know what will be on the paper you are about to sit. For example, what topics and what types of questions. Eg. “Calculator paper 1” might have specific topics and you know you can use a calculator, so you don’t need to practise any mental arithmetic for it.
• Get plenty of rest! Often students prepare and revise too much, so their brains are not able to function properly when trying to understand harder concepts or during the actual exam. Keep an eye on your energy levels. If you are finding it harder than you normally would, maybe you need a break.
• Revise steadily a little bit at a time way in advance of the test by reading over your notes after the lesson rather than spending hours every night in the last couple of weeks before the exam. Imagine you were planning to run a marathon in 1 year. You should start training now. You wouldn’t run everyday in the last couple of weeks before the marathon.

Last Minute Prep

• Eat a good meal before the exam and have a good night’s sleep before the exam.
• Don’t revise too hard the night before, Let your brain be fresh.
  

  

5 REASONS WHY GOOD STUDY SKILLS ARE IMPORTANT 

A bit about the author, Paul H:

Paul is a qualified and experienced Physics, Maths, and Science teacher, now working as a full-time tutor, providing online tuition using a variety of hi-tech resources to provide engaging and interesting lessons.  He covers Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Science from Prep and Key Stage 3 through to GCSE and IGCSE. He also teaches Physics, Maths, and Chemistry to A-Level across all the major Exam Boards.

You can enquire about tutoring with Paul here

The post Preparing for Exams appeared first on The Tutor Team.

Ok… Actually, most of my students most of the time are like this. Some of my students are a little… less enthusiastic! There are varying levels of enthusiasm amongst students whether in school or managing their own learning in a home environment. So why is this? And also, why do children seemingly not not enjoy learning as often as their parents do? And why do some children love learning and others watch the clock until they can be doing anything else with their time?

LEARNING ONLINE – HOW TO ABSORB INFORMATION

A day in the life of a student

Let us start by understanding what it is like to learn in a school environment for a child. Studies have shown that teenagers’ body-clock prefers them to wake up much later and go to bed much later. This produces the typical lazy teenager stereotype who keeps refusing to get out of bed until the last minute after repeatedly pressing snooze. They might miss breakfast and rush to school still bleary eyed in time for their first lesson. Sleep deprived and malnourished, they are made to sit in rows and listen to someone explain algebra, World War 2 or the different parts of the digestive system. Anxiety builds as they realise they have not been listening for several minutes in a row and now the teacher catches their eye. “Just nod and smile. Look attentive!” they think. “Please don’t ask me a question…”

Distractions and social media

Well, it’s well and good moaning about how hard life is, but that’s not going to fix the problem is it? We all have our struggles and we don’t get anywhere wallowing. So, let’s make sure we get to bed on time, up on time, have a good breakfast and take on the day! Hang on… but oh what’s this? Someone just posted something on Facebook, and there’s this new funny TikTok video people are all talking about and I need to make sure those photos are ok for Instagram and… buzz buzz… Argh!

Social media is no joke. It is a serious issue. It is not all bad of course. There are lots and lots of benefits, but aside from the obvious distractions and very real threats of cyber-bullying, they can encourage a very egocentric outlook on the world.

Of course, social media is not the only distraction, but I think most people agree that it is the main one nowadays. There are a lot of very useful learning tools on the internet and as phone-apps, but that’s not much good if you have to use the very tool you are addicted to to access the learning!

So what’s the solution??

The first thing to do is to realise why it can be hard and to not beat yourself up or, if this is a parent reading, to sympathise with them. So, we accept the situation just as it is and then we formulate a plan of action to move forwards. Here are some suggestions:

• Get a good night’s sleep: I know you are a teenager and your body wants to go to sleep much later and wake up much later, but accept that that may not be an option. You still need to sleep, so get used to it. No phones at least an hour before bed. Ideally no screens. Read, chat, meditate… Relaxing stuff. Avoid bright lights. Make sure you don’t eat too late.
• Get up early enough: Now you have got to bed early enough, you will find it easier to get up early. This will mean a calmer, more stress-free morning to start the day with.
• Eat a good breakfast: Slow release carbohydrates. Avoid high-sugar cereals. They wake you up, but they you’ll crash mid morning and feel tired and hungry.
• Consider giving yourself some distance from your device(s). Notice your environment. Notice who you are with. Whatever you are doing, just focus on doing that.
• In lessons, try and pay more attention to what the teacher is saying. If you notice any negative thought patterns come up, just notice them, smile, and let them go. You may start to notice the same patterns in your classmates. Empathise with them as you have been there too.

5 REASONS WHY GOOD STUDY SKILLS ARE IMPORTANT 

A bit about the author, Paul H:

Paul is a qualified and experienced Physics, Maths, and Science teacher, now working as a full-time tutor, providing online tuition using a variety of hi-tech resources to provide engaging and interesting lessons.  He covers Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Science from Prep and Key Stage 3 through to GCSE and IGCSE. He also teaches Physics, Maths, and Chemistry to A-Level across all the major Exam Boards.

You can enquire about tutoring with Paul here

The post Why do some people sometime not enjoy learning? Part 1: sleep and distractions appeared first on The Tutor Team.

Good study skills are important for several reasons:

1. Improved Learning:

   Good study skills can help you learn more effectively and efficiently. You will be able to absorb and retain more information in less time. This will ultimately lead to better grades and a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

2. Time Management:

   Good study habits can help you manage your time more effectively. By prioritizing your tasks and setting achievable goals, you can make the most of your study time and reduce stress levels.  Modern qualifications are demanding and students are almost always under time pressure before exams. Excellent time management will pay dividends as you approach your assessments.

3. Increased Confidence:

   When you have good study habits, you are more confident in your ability to learn and succeed. This confidence can carry over into other areas of your life, such as social situations and job interviews.

4. Preparation for Future Education and Career:

   Developing good study skills in high school or college can prepare you for success in future educational pursuits, such as graduate school or professional training. Additionally, many careers require ongoing learning and professional development, so strong study skills can help you succeed in these endeavors.

5. Good studies skills will help you gain a higher grade:

   If you have developed good study habits outside the classroom, you are much more likely to be on top of your subject, and to get higher grades in your exams. 

Overall, good study skills are essential for academic success, effective time management, increased confidence, and preparation for future education and career opportunities.

The post 5 reasons why good study skills are important  appeared first on The Tutor Team.

Sometimes we get all caught up with the small issues of our lives and end up viewing them as more important than they really are. I suppose you could say we see them as everything. For example, you’re studying for a test and it’s hard and you get completely absorbed in the work that you’re doing. You get so absorbed that the work ends up feeling as if that is all there is. This experience could be pleasant or unpleasant.

If the activity you are doing has no feeling of urgency or importance, you feel as if you are succeeding at it, and you are completely absorbed, the feeling is quite pleasant, but could be quite energetic.

Sometimes, however, while doing a task you might find it difficult. You might find it too difficult. You might get stuck and not know what to do occasionally and start to doubt whether or not you can do it. If this thought combines with the thought that you must do it, then there’s a problem. It doesn’t take much to realise having these two thoughts together is going to cause you some stress, but the problem is that we rarely notice we are having them.

LEARNING ONLINE – HOW TO ABSORB INFORMATION

Are these thoughts true?

Let us examine these thoughts a little more carefully.

• I can’t do this – PROBABLY NOT ENTIRELY TRUE… 

The most we can say is that “I am really finding this very difficult and I may not be able to do it with the time and energy that I have at the moment.” or “This is so hard that I am not really enjoying it anymore and I can’t be bothered.”

• I must do this. – FALSE – This is never true, but it could be that the activity you are doing is important to you and you would really like to complete it.

Are these thoughts useful?

Firstly, of course the answer is no. But, to realise that is not enough obviously otherwise it would be easy to not have them. What would be a useful inquiry would be the question, “Why do our brains do this?” If we had an idea about why our stupid brains did this and made our lives more difficult, maybe it could be a little helpful.

How did we get here?

We evolved to be here over millions of years and millions of generations.  Our great great (… x 300 )…grandma almost certainly wasn’t human. Our ancestors lived in a very different environment to us and we share very similar DNA.

In ancient times, if you were relaxed and care-free, you probably wouldn’t survive. If you were more tense and anxious, you would more likely run if you heard a sudden rustle in the bushes and occasionally that rustle would be a predator and so the tense and anxious people survived and passed on their tense and anxious genes. The relaxed people shrugged off the rustle, because it was usually just the wind and many of them lived a more happy relaxed life, but a few were eaten by predators. Over time, the population evolved to be more tense and anxious, in general to think the worst became a habit. We have inherited these genes. It is not our fault, but it is our responsibility to deal with our brain. We didn’t evolve to be happy, we evolved to survive.

How important is this task really?

The importance of the task will often be viewed as much greater than it is and then suddenly much less than it is. If you find it hard due to thoughts like the ones above, you might just convince yourself that it doesn’t really matter at al. Occasionally it might be true that it doesn’t matter, but sometimes it actually does matter…  to you. You actually might really want to succeed at that task, but you manage to convince yourself that you don’t really care, because the experience of having these conflicting thoughts is so unpleasant that you’re looking for an escape.

LEARNING ONLINE – HOW TO ABSORB INFORMATION

The Solution?

1. The alarm bell should be that you’re struggling and feeling uncomfortable. Check to see if these thoughts are present.
2. Take 3 slow deliberate breaths. If you’re in a lesson and you don’t want people to notice you, just breath normally and focus on the sensation of breathing, the sounds around you and so on for a few seconds.
3. Remind yourself of why they are not (at least completely) true.
4. Ask yourself how important the task is to you. Think carefully about what would really happen if you failed. Be honest with yourself.
5. Remind yourself that it is ok to fail. Failure is necessary for any form of progress.
6. Don’t get cross at yourself for having these silly thoughts. You didn’t choose to have the brain that you have. However, it is your responsibility to make the most of what you have.
7. Begin again. Start afresh with a new clearer frame of mind.

A bit about the author, Paul H:

Paul is a qualified and experienced Physics, Maths, and Science teacher, now working as a full-time tutor, providing online tuition using a variety of hi-tech resources to provide engaging and interesting lessons.  He covers Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Science from Prep and Key Stage 3 through to GCSE and IGCSE. He also teaches Physics, Maths, and Chemistry to A-Level across all the major Exam Boards.

You can enquire about tutoring with Paul here

The post Thoughts that can stop you studying appeared first on The Tutor Team.

STARTING UNIVERSITY – 5 TIPS FOR NEW STUDENTS

What are you applying for?

The first thing is you need to be fairly confident which sort of engineering you are planning on applying for. Some universities, including Oxbridge, offer general engineering for the first two years, followed by the option to specialise in the third (and fourth) years. Others offer specialisation into civil, mechanical, electrical, aeronautical and so on from an earlier stage, even at application. Once you know which universities you are interested in, and the course you intend to apply for, it can really help with structuring your personal statement for engineering.

Do you have the skillset?

Secondly, you need to have an outline of the skills, qualifications and wider reading you want to comment on. Before you write anything jot down in rough all the things your might want to include that are relevant. This might include:

• Courses you’ve been on such as Headstart
• CREST or Industrial Cadet awards
• Books on engineering
• Lectures you’ve attended (virtual or in person)
• Scholarships such as Arkwright

What is your USP?

Thirdly, you need to consider your unique selling point. What is it that makes you the ideal candidate? How are you going to show your passion for engineering as a subject. A formulaic personal statement will not meet this criteria. I’m not going to give you a template to fill in (sorry!). It is important to have in mind the key ‘take away’ you want the admissions tutor to know about you. It’s worth emphasising this at the start and/or the end (it’s nice if it’s both as it bookends the statement well but don’t repeat yourself!).

Once you start writing, you want to begin with a bold, punchy statement that gives a flavour of you are and why you want to study engineering.

An example might be:

‘As a keen reader, aiming to keep my knowledge of engineering developments current, I often turn to magazines produced by the IET. My passion for electrical engineering was ignited when I read an article on freeze-thaw batteries as the benefits for society are impressive. This led on to further reading around development of low-cost, renewable electricity provision and the importance of considering low-cost materials as alternatives to more rare options currently in use…’

Or

‘Theo Jansen said ‘The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds’. As a student of art, physics and mathematics I am fascinated by the interplay between aesthetic design and practical construction. Creative use of engineering to build structures to serve humanity fascinates me. I believe this is seen in civil engineering constructions throughout time. No one can doubt the beauty of the Pyramids, the Hoover Dam or the Golden Gate Bridge…’

WHAT CAN YOU DO IN 5 MINUTES? STUDY TIPS FROM TOP TUTOR JESSICA

Back It Up

Bear in mind that whatever you talk about you need to be able to back up at interview. If you say ‘I want to do mechanical engineering because I’m fascinated by F1 cars’, you need to really know about the engineering of those cars. How does the internal combustion engine work? How have they engineered for safety? What new features are on this year’s car that show interesting engineering? You need to demonstrate passion, but this needs to be backed up by genuine interest. It is advisable to have more than one example. Admissions tutors will be looking for breadth as well as depth, particularly for highly competitive courses. This is especially true for the general engineering courses.

You also need to make sure you mention skills you’ve developed that will benefit you in an engineering degree, and give some evidence to back this up. How have you demonstrated attention to detail? When did you show mathematical aptitude? Where did you show leadership skills?

An example could be:

‘Obtaining a gold certificate in the Maths Olympiad enabled me to showcase my mathematical skills and take on a challenge to excel. I enjoyed applying my maths knowledge to problems beyond the specification and am keen to improve on my skills during my degree.’

Or

‘Having obtained my Young Leader Qualification by supporting my local Brownie unit for the past two years, I have developed my leadership skills. I am comfortable designing activities for a meeting, delegating tasks to other members of the team and resolving conflicts between the children.’

Again, make sure this is accurate and don’t exaggerate! There’s often a temptation to over-inflate your involvement in things. Much like with the topics you are claiming to be interested in, you may get challenged on this at interview so make sure you are honest!

Educational Insights

Finally, you should work in something of what you’ve learnt at school and how it sets you apart form others. You might talk about how your Design and Technology A-level has developed your technical drawing skills, or how discussion of superconductor magnets in physics has led you to consider the challenges of engineering the particle accelerator at CERN. This is also an opportunity to discuss future challenges in engineering.

An example might be:

‘My studies in Physics introduced me to the engineering challenges inherent in the development of nuclear fusion power. The need for containment of plasma at high temperatures presents an intriguing problem and one which I decided to explore further by attending a virtual lecture on the ITER reactor.’

The best statements will interwork discussion of engineering you’ve found exciting and the skills you’ve developed whilst exploring those topics. Make sure everything you say is relevant and links back to showcasing why you are a great choice of student. Get a teacher or tutor you trust to look over your statement, but don’t go to too many people, as everyone will have a different idea!

Remember most of all, this is YOUR statement. This is your chance to showcase your love for engineering. The best way to structure your personal statement for engineering is to be yourself and let your passion shine through!

A bit about the author, Joanna P:

As a fully qualified teacher of Physics with 10 years teaching and tutoring experience including as Head of Department in a very successful Independent Girls’ School, Joanna’s undergraduate degree was in Natural Sciences from Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge, and her MSc in Education was from Loughborough University.

An experienced 1-2-1 tutor and examiner for Edexcel, Joanna has as excellent track record of results in my students. This includes improved grades up to three times above their university predictions from school. She is also a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and a Chartered Science Teacher, sitting on the Education Group for the Association for Science Education. She also serves as Regional Secretary for the East Midlands, showing her commitment to exceptional physics and science teaching practice.

You can enquire about tutoring with Joanna here

The post Personal Statement for Engineering – How to Structure Yours appeared first on The Tutor Team.

Fast forward a year, and their opinions about the virtual school day have changed drastically. “I’m tired of staring at the computer screen,” they tell me now. “My head hurts. I feel like I don’t remember anything I learn online.”

While (unfortunately) science agrees with them, distance learning isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Online universities and even online secondary schools are exploding as students realise that distance learning can offer a wider variety of academic opportunities, often at a lower cost.
Luckily, we can also look to science for some evidence-based tips and tricks on how to absorb information while learning online.

1. Change your leisure activities

Pre-COVID, we would get home from school, soccer practice, piano lessons, etc. and unwind with some screen time, perhaps popping on a Netflix show or scrolling through Instagram on our mobile phones. But if you’re going to school online, you’re already staring at a screen for six to eight hours a day. And if you’re trying to relax after that with more screen time…you’re doing
it wrong.

How much screen time a person can handle varies widely, so it’s important to pay attention to what our bodies are telling us so we can set appropriate limits. Some signs you may be getting too much screen time include dry eyes, blurred vision, headaches, neck and shoulder pain, and insomnia.

Sound familiar? Then tear yourself away from your newsfeed and take the dog on a walk. Experiment with making elaborate meals for dinner. Weed the garden. Take up knitting or crocheting while listening to podcasts in the background. Have a hot bath. Do literally anything that doesn’t involve a screen.

LOCKDOWN LEARNING: 6 WAYS TO HELP YOUR TEEN COPE

2. Take brain breaks

Productivity experts have known this secret for years. Human brains simply can’t focus uninterrupted for longer than 20 minutes on average.
This forms the basis of the popular Pomodoro Technique, which prescribes using a timer while studying to ensure that you take 5-minute breaks every 25 minutes or less.

Walk around, have a glass of water, watch a five-minute YouTube video, whatever.

If you can’t swing that because you’re stuck in an online lecture, do what I do: Zone out for a few minutes. Turn off the camera and do a few quick minutes of yoga, stare at the fish tank, whatever feels good. You may have noticed already that your brain does this naturally, so instead of fighting it, embrace it.
Worried that you’ll miss important information if you zone out? It’s online learning—record the lecture!
And if you have a good relationship with your teacher, maybe send them this blog post and ask if they could kindly incorporate short breaks into their lectures (because science says they should!) to help everyone focus better.

3. Use a blue-light filter

Smartphones, computers, TVs, and anything else with an LED screen emits blue light, which is simply blue-hued light that has high energy and short wavelength compared to warmer hues.

You may have heard that blue light during the daytime is good for us because it promotes alertness, but blue light at night is bad because it keeps us from sleeping. However, too much blue light during the daytime can also be bad and contributes to those dry eyes, blurred vision, and headaches make it impossible to focus on learning.

Other than decreasing screen time and taking breaks, we can combat this by installing blue light filter software on our computers and mobile devices, or by using special eyeglasses that block blue light.

7 WAYS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF ONLINE TUTORIALS

4. Turn on the lights

Bad lighting isn’t just a recipe for bad selfies; it can also contribute to—you guessed it!—dry eyes, blurred vision, and headaches.

Sitting in a dark room staring at your phone or computer screen is definitely a big no-no, but the solution for this may not be as simple as flipping on the overhead light. Bright overhead lighting can actually make eyestrain worse, and it’s not flattering on video calls either!

Instead, go for natural light. PC World recommends placing your screen perpendicular to a source of natural light, then adjusting the angle to eliminate glare. For night-time cramming, choose a lamp that diffuses light widely, and place it so that it lights up the area behind your screen.

5. Use a printer or an e-reader

I know, I know, going paperless is everybody’s eco-goal. But most studies show that people read faster and more accurately on paper compared to when they’re reading on a screen. Many students also find it easier and faster to highlight and take notes on paper vs. on a screen.

This doesn’t mean you should hustle to the nearest copy shop and print off the entirety of your textbooks, but if there is a particular topic you are struggling with, print just that chapter. Use recycled paper and print on both the front and the back to stay green.

Alternatively, e-reader devices like Kindle and Kobo are designed to combat digital eyestrain. While you may be more limited with note-taking options with an e-reader than with tablet computer, the trade-off might just be worth it!

6. Get moving!

The negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle are well-documented. Sitting still too much can contribute to heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. It is also well-established that exercise helps us focus. So, swap your desk chair for an exercise ball and entertain your classmates by bouncing up and down on your video feed.

Watch your lecture standing up, or put the feed on a mobile device and take a stroll around your house while watching.

Worried about taking notes? Record the lecture and take notes later, when you can pause the lecture video every 25 minutes or less and take those brain breaks.

If it’s too hard to get moving during class, get moving after. Take the cat on a walk (my neighbour does this, on-leash!). Do 20 jumping jacks. Walk to the supermarket and buy yourself some cookies—you’ve probably been staring at a screen all day, so you deserve them!

ONLINE TUTORING: 5 REASONS IT WORKS WELL FOR STUDENTS

Good learning starts with good health and good habits

It doesn’t matter if you’re learning online or in a physical classroom, good learning starts with good health and good habits.

Happy, healthy students learn better, and that directly translates into better grades and more efficient studying. So, try some of these tips to take care of your brain and your body during online learning!

A bit about the author, Josh G:

Josh has worked at schools in Scotland, Slovakia, Egypt, Chile, Vietnam, and South Korea, teaching and leading a diverse range of subjects such as English Lang & Lit, Philosophy/ToK, Business, and others within the Humanities department. He has extensive experience teaching all curriculums – (I)GCSE, AS & A-Level, the IBO MYP/DP programs, and the Advanced Placement – and knows well the pitfalls and expectations of these courses and their assessments.

You can enquire about tutoring with Josh here

The post Learning Online – How to Absorb Information appeared first on The Tutor Team.

CURIOSITY: REALITY IS STRANGER THAN WE CAN SUPPOSE

Can computer games help you learn?

The point is, computer games are enjoyable, immersive, and engaging. We would like learning to be the same, right? In fact, it is often the computer games which are distracting learners from learning. So, wouldn’t it be good if someone started designing games that teach you something in the process? We would then have an enjoyable, immersive, and engaging learning experience, right? That would be good. Well, spoiler… they already exist; and science is one of the best topics to use this approach. Let’s imagine you ask a gamer about their favourite game. Ask them to explain it to you. What is the aim? Why do you like it? The chances are you will not have a clue what they are talking about! It’s complicated. But they get it. They have learned something quite complicated without having to ask for someone to explain it to them. Minecraft is a good example of this.

Here is another article discussing the pros and cons of computer games in learning.

IMPROVING EXAM TECHNIQUE IN THE SCIENCES

Why would these games be good for learning science?

So, why would computer games be particularly good for teaching science? Well, a lot of scientific concepts are hard to teach because they do not match our experience of the real world. Real practical experiments are of course an extremely helpful and powerful weapon in a science teacher’s arsenal, but as any experienced science teacher will tell you, it is often frustrating when the experiment does not produce the results it is supposed to produce due to imperfect equipment and as such can be counterproductive. For example, if I am trying to show that two voltages add up to give the voltage of the battery to demonstrate voltages in a series of circuits, but in my practical lesson, they don’t in fact add up, I now have a student (or class) who is more confused than before the demonstration! So, for years now, it is often more popular to use computer simulations to perform these experiments. Computer games simply take this to another level. I shall post some of these for you to try in this blog as well.

WHY DO PEOPLE LOVE AND HATE SCIENCE?

Simulations and sandbox games

So what separates a simulation from a game? Well, it would probably be some sort of competitive element, I suppose. Although there are many games now, known as sandbox games, which do not really have that either. What these games have in common with a sandbox is that there is not much of a competitive or sequential element to it, the aim is simply to have a play and see what you discover.

Using games to teach thinking skills

The scientists who came up with the most out-there theories such as quantum mechanics and special relativity were creative, imaginative, open-minded, and logical. They did not rely on the theories of the time. They had to be willing to throw everything out that they knew and start from the first principles. Critical thinking is not just important in science but in most of our lives. We need to be able to listen to an argument and not take it as read but lookout for anything which does not add up so as we can make the best decisions. I have come across many games which teach this brilliantly by placing you in a world that behaves very differently from the world we currently live in and forces you to think outside of the box.

LEARNING STYLE: WHICH STYLE IS YOUR CHILD?

Ok ok! I’m convinced! Where can I find these games??

A Slower Speed of Light is a short sandbox-type game that allows you to experience the Doppler effect with light (known as red-shift) and relativistic effects by collecting orbs and slowing down the speed of light. As you move around and collect ‘orbs’ you start to notice very strange effects.

4D toys is a sandbox game that allows you to play around with objects in 4-dimensions. You get to see how hyper-cubes and hyperspheres interact with one another as they move around in all 4 dimensions.

Universe sandbox allows you to experiment with gravity to make your own solar systems and galaxies. Very good graphics and lots of options to change things and see how things interact in your very own galaxy!

Patrick’s Parabox is a game that might remind you of fractals… Difficult to describe, but check it out.

Antichamber places you in a world very different from the one you currently live in. It does not behave in the way you would expect!

Baba is you is a game in which you can change the rules of the game while playing it to solve puzzles. Great for teaching lateral thinking,

A bit about the author, Paul H:

Paul is a qualified and experienced Physics, Maths, and Science teacher, now working as a full-time tutor, providing online tuition using a variety of hi-tech resources to provide engaging and interesting lessons.  He covers Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Science from Prep and Key Stage 3 through to GCSE and IGCSE, plus teaches Physics, Maths, and Chemistry to A-Level across all the major Exam Boards.

You can enquire about tutoring with Paul here

The post Using computer games to learn appeared first on The Tutor Team.

Many years of teaching have shown me that the students who consistently do well at their schoolwork, assignments and exams tend to be those who have got control of their work and their timetable.  These pupils know what they are supposed to do with each task. They understand what the desired outcome is (what the teacher or examiner expects). Also, they make the physical and mental space to concentrate on their work.  So how can you help your child, of any age, become a study ninja and raise their grade?

LEARNING STYLE: WHICH STYLE IS YOUR CHILD?

You Can Help Them Get Organized

If you do nothing else at all, help your child get organized.  Without knowing where their notes and books are, or what they have done with the crucial handout they need for an assignment, they are unlikely to do well.

There is going to be a lot of stuff coming their way, especially as they go up the school years, and they need to be able to access their materials quickly and easily.  Help them get their paper notes in order in files, their notes organised on the computer and their textbooks together.   This will pay dividends when they need to revise for a test or an exam, as well as when they need to produce an assignment, inevitably helping to raise their grade.

MOCK EXAMS: 3 WAYS TO HELP YOUR TEENAGER PREPARE

Help them to Plan

Planning is a key skill for most subjects and an important transferable life skill.  However, the average student starting out neither knows how to plan nor sees the need.  An unplanned piece of work will never get the high grade that a carefully planned piece of work will achieve.

For any subject with essays, or writing in English, this is an essential skill.  It also applies in exams and tests – just because they are being timed does not mean that they can ignore the planning.  That is just an invitation for everything to go wrong!

Help them to get in the habit of thinking about approaches to a piece of work before diving in.  What needs to be included?  In what order should it be written?  Is there anything that needs to be looked up or researched?

We often have older students come to us for a block of tutorials to learn how to plan essays or longer pieces of work.  If your child is really struggling with planning, consider booking a professional tutor for some planning sessions.  They will be able to teach these skills quite quickly and give your child the tools they need for their academic career.

Check for Knowledge Gaps

A very good way to help a child of any age, at any point in their academic journey, is to help them spot knowledge gaps.  These are the bits of the course that, for whatever reason, have not sunk in or do not quite make sense.  It might be when they missed school for some reason, like self-isolating.  The result is like having pieces missing from a jigsaw.  Without all the pieces, you cannot see the full picture.

This is one of the skills that a professional tutor has in their repertoire – the ability to spot learning gaps in your child’s knowledge and then to fill them with your child.  But if you decide not to use a tutor, or funds do not allow for the option, you can help your child yourself.

For older students, encourage them to go through their work and make a note of anything they don’t quite understand, any missing notes, and any area where they are struggling for any reason. Once they have identified the gaps they can begin to address them.

For younger students, you can familiarise yourself with the curriculum. See what is required and then talk to your child about their work.  Look for hesitation, confusion and frustration.  If that is their reaction to a topic, you have probably found a learning gap.

STARTING THE SCHOOL YEAR WITH A* STUDY SKILLS

Work Steadily and Regularly

It is always better for students to get into the habit of working steadily and regularly across the academic year, rather than trying to cram like crazy before assignments, tests and exams.  Of course, it is tempting to leave things to the last minute and then work frantically to meet a deadline, but it really isn’t the best way to learn or to get high grades.  Slow and steady wins the race.

Even if your child really struggles to get into a rhythm and is a real last-minute person, at least encourage them to finish an assignment early enough that they have a chance to revisit it and review it for mistakes before they hand it in.  It is amazing how easy it is to spot errors when returning to a piece of work after a break, when we can’t see them at the time.  Reviewing and revising means putting in a more polished piece of work and that will raise their grade.

WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO GET A TUTOR? 3 TIPS FOR SUCCESS

Get Into a Routine

To do well at a qualification, it is usually necessary to do work out of school or college. As your child’s academic journey progresses, the amount of work they need to do outside the classroom increases.  By the time they are onto A levels/IB, they will be doing a substantial amount of self-study in order to hit the As/A*s/7s. At university level, they will be working almost entirely independently.

It is very much more effective to get into a study routine rather than just working ad hoc here and there.  If you allocate time for them to study throughout the week it allows them to get into a regular routine.  This, in turn, means that when leisure time arrives they can kick back and not worry about their work.  This becomes incredibly important in the run-up to tests and exams when a full study timetable is the best way forward. This will also help them to raise their grade.

A Bit About the Author, Janet R 

I am Dr. Janet Rose, an Oxford University graduate and a trained teacher.  I have both a Masters Degree and a DPhil in History, and  I have been teaching IGCSE, A-Level and prepping students for the HAT for 13 years.

As well as being a mum, grandmother, professional tutor and education blogger, I am the Founder & Managing Partner of The Tutor Team

You can find me and connect with me on LinkedIn here

We are based in beautiful, rural Wiltshire, in an old converted watermill.  We are a family business, where I work with my daughter Tess, my son Anthony and my daughter-in-law Anita.  I am also assisted by Lisa, my wonderful PA.   We understand parents’ concerns about their children’s education because we are all parents ourselves.  That’s why we set extremely high standards for our tutors. We are very proud to have a team of 81 qualified, experienced teachers and university lecturers offering high-quality private tuition.

The post Raise Their Grade: 5 Study Habits That Will Raise Your Child’s Grade appeared first on The Tutor Team.

2021 has arrived and with it the return of lockdown learning and home-schooling.  Whilst that has resulted in an enormous amount of juggling for parents (especially if you are working from home yourself) and teaching staff, it’s your teenager who’ll be feeling the effects – not seeing their friends or sharing classroom learning experiences with their peers – most keenly.

According to consultant psychologist and founder of the Chelsea Psychology Clinic, Dr Elena Touroni, young people have had their world turned upside-down this past year and explains that “limited social contact with peers, fears about COVID and worries around what the future holds post-pandemic could all be taking a toll on their mental wellbeing.”  Not the best backdrop for learning, I’m sure you’ll agree.

So, how can you as a parent help your teenager cope in an upside-down world, especially if they are struggling or are feeling isolated or anxious?  How can you make lockdown learning less stressful for all concerned?

How to prepare for teacher assessment

TALK TO YOUR CHILD

This is one of the best ways to help a teenager especially when they are feeling anxious.  Take time to ask them how they are feeling and really listen to their replies.  Remember to be open with your child as this will help them realise their fears, anxieties and worries are nothing unusual.  Do also remember not to pressurise them, they will talk if they want/need to.

If they are using their bedroom to study, try to encourage them out once and a while to engage with the rest of the family.  Left alone, it’s easy for a young person to get distracted or start brooding over worries.

Encourage them to connect with friends as often as possible.  Yes, it will be via a screen but it will be a lifeline for your teen at the moment.  You can always monitor the amount of time they spend chatting to make sure it’s not impacting their schoolwork.

STRUCTURE THE DAY FOR LOCKDOWN LEARNING

Whether they like it or not, your teenager needs a routine and works best when expectations are clear.  Now, while online learning at home can’t possibly replicate the school day, you can still put a structure in place to help them feel like they’re at school; factoring in their timetable, regular breaks and chats with friends. 

Continuing pre lockdown routines like getting up at the same time, sharing breakfast before school, making a packed lunch and chatting to them about their day, is a great way to build some structure. Do ensure there are plenty of breaks for refuelling – it’s especially important for your teenager to keep hydrated.  It’s also important to factor in some quiet time, time for exercise and for having fun!  If you can, try to encourage a regular bedtime and for them to turn off screens an hour before going to sleep. 

9 books your teenager should read in lockdown

DIFFERENT WAYS TO LEARN

There has to be an upside to home learning so remind your teenager that as they’re not in a classroom they don’t have to sit in one place or be in one room.  Give them the option to move around the house or even outside if the weather’s fine and it’s okay to do so.  Find whatever works best for your child and the rest of the household (bearing in mind that some rooms in the house might be off-limits due to working from home).

The most important thing is not to beat yourself up because your child’s online learning experience doesn’t look like anyone else’s.  Remember, there are no rules for how home-schooling should look.  We’re all making it up as we go along and doing the best we can.  All that matters is that you and your child are happy, and schoolwork is going as well as possible under the circumstances.

BREAK THE SCHOOL DAY INTO CHUNKS

One of the main drawbacks of online learning is the amount of time your teenager will spend staring at a screen.  That’s why it’s important for them to take plenty of breaks during the day and, where possible, split their schoolwork into bite size chunks.  

One of the advantages of online learning is that your teen won’t necessarily have to complete the work in one sitting, or in a particular order, and there is no reason why they have to stick to school hours or keep working on something that’s frustrating them.  They have the luxury of working to a schedule that suits them – providing they’re attending their live lessons, meeting the deadlines for submitting work and it’s not an antisocial one for the rest of the household!  

7 ways to get the best results from private tutoring

STUDYING WITH FRIENDS DURING LOCKDOWN LEARNING

If your teen likes studying with others – and it’s appropriate for them to do so – why not encourage them to set up a virtual study group with classmate friends where they can replicate a classroom feel, discuss tasks, bounce ideas around and keep each other accountable.  This is good for mental health and, providing they’re not just using the time to have a good old chat, can lead to an increased understanding of the subject or task and some seriously creative problem solving.  

ONE-TO-ONES WITH TEACHERS

The current situation is difficult for everyone, but if your teenager is struggling to cope with learning online you can always reach out to their school, or individual teacher(s) for some one-to-one help or advice.  Teachers have your teen’s best interest at heart and will be happy to talk to you (and them) about any learning worries or stumbling blocks they may have.  Once teachers are aware, arrangements can be made for additional learning support, guidance or resources to help your child.  If you still felt your child needed additional support, after that, you could always look at the services of a private tutor.

Are you looking for a professional private tutor to help your child reach their full potential?

You can contact a tutor here 

Or contact our friendly and knowledgeable office team to get a bespoke tutor match

For education videos, tips and news follow ourFacebook Page

The post Lockdown Learning: 6 ways to help your teen cope appeared first on The Tutor Team.