Questions and Answers

I need a stamp that says "answer the question!" It's amazing how many times I could use that on any essay or test. It is so incredibly frustrating when I wade through pages of pages of knowledge, but nowhere along the way has that knowledge been used to answer the essay question.

I think this happens for a few reasons:

1. Students don't read the question, or just pick up on the main theme or character the question deals with and then just run with that.

2. Students don't believe the question actually matters, they just write down everything they can remember studying.

3. Students start by answering the question, but then they get sidetracked and end up just retelling the plot or explaining the characters.

4. Students get stressed and freak out, so to combat that they try to prove how much they know by squeezing it all into the one essay.

5. Students haven't thought enough about the text and don't have their own interpretation of it, so they can't address the question.

6. Teachers are good at teaching the content of the text and essay structure, but they forget to teach students how to understand and answer the question.

So, how do we do this better?

Stop. Read. Think. Plan.

Stop stressing for a moment and just breathe when the teacher gives you the essay question. Try to clear your head of what you hope the question is or isn't. Don't think about what you're going to write - you shouldn't know yet! Stop and be open to whatever the question is. 

Read the question carefully. Read it a few times. Rephrase the question either in your head or on the page. Highlight the key terms. Break the question into sections. Identify what type of question it is. Is it a direct question, a quote and stem or a propositional question? Is it asking you what, how or why? You need to know that question inside out. I often tell students to write the question nice and big on a spare piece of paper and keep that next to them while they are planning and writing. Check back with that question during every paragraph. Your whole essay should be helping you to answer that question.

Think about how you can answer the question. What are your personal thoughts on the question? Do you have lots of evidence and knowledge to support that view? How could you argue a contrary opinion? What's all the obvious stuff that everyone will write about? Is there anything more complex that you can bring into this essay? How can you address the whole criteria when answering this question?

Plan your essay. Your essay needs to be clear, logical and coherent. The best way to achieve that is by planning your essay. You'll need to work out how much time you can spend doing that based on how long you have to write the essay. You should identify your main ideas/arguments that help you resolve the question. You'll probably find it useful to dot point down your supporting ideas for each of those and your evidence. I recommend writing your topic sentences on your plan, that way you've got some momentum for each paragraph and it means you are certain that each paragraph is actually answering the question.
Finally, I recommend checking your plan against the criteria to make sure there's nothing you've missed entirely.

Sometimes teachers are just plain wrong

My year 9 Geography teacher used to say to me and my classmates:

"There you go again, flaunting your ignorance and proving yourself to be the lowest common denominator. Yes, that does make you less intelligent than pond scum."

I can still feel the slow burn of the anger that would growl inside of me, and the sense of futility in arguing with someone who had all the power in the classroom.

I hope you've never had a teacher like him. 

You may not have loved all of your teachers, but I hope you had teachers who were all passionate about learning, about education, about their subject and about students. 

I worry that this is unlikely.

I worry that maybe you've had a teacher who told you that you were dumb. Or just not good at their subject. Or more of a sporty type. Or better suited to arts subjects. Or the maths subjects. Or whatever was not their subject. Or suggested you do a trade, even though that's not what you wanted.* Or never asked for your opinion or answer in class. Or in a million other tiny ways made you feel not good enough. 

I hope I'm wrong.

But, if you have, I want you to remember, that sometimes teachers are just plain wrong

We are just people too. Sometimes we get it wrong. Some of us are just plain rude. Some can only appreciate students who think the way that they think.

Those types of comments from teachers can be damaging, but they are also just wrong. They represent a fixed mindset. They make people think that they are either smart or dumb and that there is nothing they can do about it. 

That goes against the very idea of learning, and the very purpose of teaching. 

You may not have a natural aptitude for a particular subject, that doesn't make you bad at it. The goal is not perfection. The goal is progress. 

Knowing that wherever your current ability is represents a moment in time, and that you can improve on that, is a growth mindset. If you have a growth mindset any negative statements have a "yet" on the end. 

"I'm not good at quote integration, yet."

That's ok. We can work on it and you can get better at it.

People with fixed mindsets tend to give up easily, because they don't see the point of working hard when they don't believe they can get better. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. When students believe it those teachers look at them and say "see, they don't even want to get better." And then the cycle continues.

People with growth mindsets show persistence. They believe that they can make a difference in their own learning and are more intrinsically motivated. They are not afraid of failures, as they realise they don't define them as a person.

Surely, you can see that a growth mindset is the healthiest and most productive attitude to take? Surely, you can see that any teacher who ever told you that you were just bad at something is wrong?

If any teacher ever says that to you again, I hope you have the courage to say:

"No, I'm just not good at it yet. And you're not great at teaching it yet either."

(Or at least think it in your head, and know that it is true.)

A growth mindset gives you both the possibility that you can get better.

Exam Stress

Last Sunday I tutored my niece for a couple of hours, although I was more like a study buddy. She was studying for Further Maths and the last time I studied maths was some statistics in uni for my Psych major. We sat at my dining table, her working on the prac exam and me reading the solutions provided, so I could prompt or guide her when she got stuck.

Watching someone I care about study hard and feel stressed made me think about exams in general and all the things I want to say to my students each year in the SWOTVAC period and just before they head into their exams...

1. Make a choice.

Realise that your results will mostly be a reflection of your choices. You are not passive. You are not a victim of exams. You are not powerless. Make a choice. Preferably make it a good choice. 

Choose to be interested.

"I'm bored" is the single most boring thing anyone can ever say. Have you ever met someone really intriguing? Really exciting? Really charismatic and a lot of fun to be around?

I bet they weren't bored. Bored people are boring. 

Choose to pay attention, focus your brain and try to understand. If you understand, you're much more likely to remember. 

Make that choice while you are studying. You do not need to love a subject in order to pay attention, work hard and do well at it. 

Make that choice in the exam. Stop. Take a breath. Read the information slowly. Roll it around in your head for a bit and try to make sense of it. Then give it your best shot.

Blank pages do not get marks. Trying gets marks. Try to eke out as many marks as you can.

2. It's never too late, until it is. 

Until the exam supervisors say "pens down" you still have a chance. Read carefully. Review your work. Edit your work. Have a crack.

And then, when it's over. Let it be over. Don't talk about the exam with every person you know. Don't dissect it question by question. Let it go. (Sorry having a Frozen moment here)

If you did your best be proud of that. Put a big mental tick next to that exam, give yourself a reasonable period to celebrate and then focus on the next one.

If you tried your best, but stuffed it up, let it go. You did all you could. We all make mistakes. Sometimes we make stupid mistakes. Work out if there is anything you can learn from it. And then move on. Life's too short to worry about the past. 

If you didn't try your best and it went well - you're lucky, you may not be next time. Or, you're delusional. Enjoy that.

If you didn't try your best and it didn't go well. Focus on what you can control- the here and now. Make your next exam better than the last one.

3. You're a member, not a number.

Who are you? Tell me about you.

Think about it. How would you answer me? 

As well as telling me your name you might tell me something about your cultural, religious or ethnic background. You might tell me about the family you belong to or club you're a member of. You might make reference to key relationships in your life.

What I am hoping you would not say is:

"I am an ATAR of 67.2" or of 99.97 for that matter. 

Your ATAR is just a number.

It's based on less than 12 months of your life. It's based on a curriculum that someone, somewhere thought was
a) somewhat important
b) required some level of hard work
c) was easy enough to assess
d) would help universities decide who should get to do which course

It is not a reflection of who you are. It doesn't tell me if you're kind, compassionate, funny, clever, generous, persistent, resourceful or creative. 

An ATAR is useful if you want to go to university, but not essential. People will ask you about it from December, when it's released, until March at the latest. Then it becomes an irrelevant number, like how much you weighed at birth.

The people who love you will still love you, no matter what that number is.

The people who don't love you, don't matter. 

Good luck for your exams.

But, more importantly, good luck at life. Good luck at being a good human being.

That matters a hell of a lot more.

Things NOT to ask your teacher

1. What homework?

2. Oh, was that due today?

3. When is the SAC? (as you walk into the SAC)

4. Is the book like the film? (when you're studying the book)

5. What was that main character's name again?

6. What was the author's name?

7. How much more work do I need to do to get a 50? (in the week before the exam)

8. Can I see you in your spare period? (after wasting time or talking throughout the class time)

9. Why do we do so much writing/reading?

10. Can I get my books from my locker?

11. Can I just take this phone call quickly? It's important. It's my Mum/Boss. (No.)

12. What month is the exam in?

13. Is this compulsory?

14. Have you marked our essays yet? (No, or they would be here.)

15. Can I miss tomorrow's class to study for my Maths SAC? (No.)

16. Can I miss the next two weeks to work on my folio? (No.)

17. What are we doing today? (If you wait one moment you'll find out)*

18. Do I have to read the book?

19. When am I ever going to need to know this in real life?**

20. Teachers don't get paid much, do they?



*Because I'm about to put the lesson's learning objectives up on the board. I don't think the lesson should be a surprise. I like to know what I'm doing, I think students deserve that too.
** I actually like answering this question, but it's usually asked in a whiney tone which is a little less enjoyable

Support Crew: The Role of Parents in VCE

At parent teacher interviews I am always sympathising with parents that it's not just a student who goes through VCE, it's a whole family. Your child's stress becomes your stress, and no doubt affects their siblings and probably even your pets too! It is an overwhelming year.

I'm always interested in the 'types' (huge generalisations coming - parents don't come in types, they are as unique as students, but please bear with me) of parents who come to parent teacher interviews in year 12. Ask any year 7 teacher and they'll tell you that basically all year 7 parents attend interviews - their schedules are booked out. But, by year 12 the crowd has thinned and it's usually only a handful of parents who attend. That often makes my night easier, but it's disappointing too.

I think some parents don't come because they think it's important for their children to be independent learners by 17 years old (I agree) but come along anyway! There's still lots for us to talk about and ways you can support your child to be an independent learner.

So usually I see parents who:
A. Are super stressed about VCE and their child
B. Don't know what VCE entails and want to find out
C. I've met every year since I started teaching their child in year 7 and they mostly come so we can have a nice chat
D. Know their child is brilliant and hard working but enjoys hearing that (I don't blame them at all!)

All of those options are great - so definitely come.

The sad thing is that it's often the parents that I really need to see that don't come.

Here are my main messages for parents of VCE students:

1. Yes, they do have homework or private study they could be doing at any point in the year, so don't believe them if they say otherwise

2. They should still have some breaks and a life, particularly exercise and sports

3. English always counts towards their ATAR so it is very important, but they should also spread their study wisely so they don't get behind in any subject

4. Please let me know if your child is particularly stressed, their behaviour or mood changes significantly or if there is a major event in the family (death or separation in particular). The school can support your child and family a lot, but only if we know that you need it.

5. If at all possible you should read the set texts we've assigned and try to chat about them when you can. You don't have to be an expert or teach them, but it's really handy for your child to be able to talk out about their ideas to someone who has a vague understanding of the text. You probably won't have to say much, just listen and prompt their ideas.

6. If your child does not have great organisations skills, then personally I think this is the year to support them, not to let them sink or swim. Put a calendar up in the toilet and remind them to keep putting their SAC dates in it. Check it yourself and check in with them every now and then about their preparation. Be aware of any before or after school SACs and make sure they attend (and that they change their work shifts if needed).

7. Contact your child's teachers or coordinator if you are concerned about their progress. Any issues will still need to be addressed with your child, and preferably with your child taking a very active role in finding solutions, but you are still their parent and entitled to ask questions or seek assistance on their behalf.

8. Finally, the happiest, healthiest and most successful students I see generally have good relationships with their parents. Those relationships usually include parents having high expectations, regular communication and respecting that their child needs balance in their life.

This is an important year in students' lives, but it is just one year.

I often remind my students that as much as I love this subject, and I am committed to their learning, however, first and foremost I am interested in them as human beings. I think it's important that I remember that, that parents remember it, and that we encourage students to see themselves as more than their ATAR scores.

The Secret to Success

Do you want to know a secret? One that will improve the quality of your work significantly? One that has the power to help you improve your results? One that works for every single subject you study, every assessment task you do and is also the key to success post high school and post university?

The single most powerful strategy you can use to improve the quality of anything you do is to get FEEDBACK.

That sounds obvious, and it is, but the reality is just because it's obvious doesn't mean it's easy, one of my favourite sayings is "commonsense is not common practise."

If you want proof of that consider the nutrition, diet, fitness and weight loss industries. My year 11 Health and PE teacher (big shout out to Mrs Mallinder!) told me the most simple yet life changing health advice I ever heard... "The secret to losing weight is: energy output must be greater than energy input." She also went on to talk about how weight itself is not the greatest measure of health, but in terms of weight loss and maintenance that statement is absolute truth.

So, if all weight loss is that simple - one clear equation - how come obesity is still an issue in Australia (and the developed world more broadly) and how come there is a huge, booming industry focused on weight loss?

Because, just because something is obvious and simple does not mean it is easy.

I had a baby recently, and I was lucky enough to be able to deliver that baby naturally with no drugs or intervention. I can tell you right now - the process was simple, but the work was incredibly hard.

The same is true about feedback. The idea of getting feedback is simple, getting the right feedback and using it effectively is much harder.

If you want evidence that using feedback is going to help your work then all you need to do is google John Hattie + feedback and read his research. Or read his book "Visible Learning".

Once you've accepted that it's the best strategy you can employ to improve your work, here are my thoughts and suggestions about how to do that:

1. You MUST get feedback from the best source possible. You want VALID feedback.

I had a student a couple of years ago who worked pretty hard all year. She did pretty well on her SACs and she had high expectations for what she wanted to achieve in the exam. Therefore, I was really surprised that in the lead up to the exam I didn't receive any practice essays from her and she didn't come to our appointment time to plan her revision. She turned up on the morning of the exam and I asked her what had happened? Where has she been? Why hadn't she been doing any English study? She told me, "Don't worry Miss, I've written heaps of essays- I just didn't want to bother you so I've been getting feedback from my Mum and some of my friends."

Face meet Palm.

Your teacher is your best source of feedback. They know the course. They know what the exam is assessing. They know your strengths and weaknesses. They can be more direct and supportively critical than family and friends. This is their job! Family and friends are great support during VCE (in fact maybe I'll write about that soon) but they should not be your primary source of feedback.

2. You should get feedback in a timely fashion. (See John Hattie about this)

If you wait too long you probably won't get the feedback, or it won't be as powerful. The task you were doing needs to be fresh in your mind and in your teacher's mind.

The only time I ask students to wait for feedback is when I give them their SACs back. That's for a few reasons. SACs are both summatie and formative assessment (more on that another time) and initially I think students view it as summative task, which affects their openness to feedback.

What's the first thing you look at when you get a major piece of work back? The mark. That's because you believe that piece was a performance of your skills and abilities and is being used to rank/measure/assess those skills. I also believe, maybe for English in particular, you are likely to feel that it's not just your work being assessed it's also you being assessed.

That is not a healthy place to receive feedback from. It is quite possible you will be feeling some form of emotion (elation, disappointment, anger, sadness etc.) and if you've worked hard and you care about this task, you may be feeling that quite intensely. And if you are feeling that, you are probably not as open to the feedback you need to hear.

For that reason I ask my students to wait 24 hours after receiving their SAC back. In that time I ask them to do these things:

A) Let themselves feel that emotion for as long as they need to
B) Put that emotion aside
C) Re-read their piece critically and reflectively as a source of information that they can learn from
D) Then re-read any comments I wrote throughout the piece or in summation on the front
E) Write down a. What they improved on in this piece b. What they need to improve on next c. A question they have about their work
F) Make a time to see me and discuss those 3 things

3. Focus on quality not quantity

When discussing feedback with a student I have been asked to "tell me everything I did wrong." As much as I admire that student's commitment to feedback and improvement I think that's misguided and inefficient. I would much rather tell them all of the things that they did right. Not in a wishy washy "Geez you're the best" sort of way, but by being very specific like, "this sentence here is excellent, because..."

We often overlook the things we are good at and have mastered and I think that's a big mistake. Firstly, because it's great to acknowledge the progress you've made and celebrate those wins! Secondly, because often students don't realise the best parts of their own work, and if they don't know that they might not keep doing it.

After showing a student very clearly what they are doing well, I select 1-3 things they should focus their efforts to improve on. I think anymore is overwhelming and counterproductive. As a student asking for feedback the best question you can ask is: "if I were only to fix one element of my work, what would improve it the most?"

Once you've improved that one thing you can go back and ask again, but that's much more efficient than taking a scattergun approach and trying to fix 10 things at once.

4. Finally, be aware of your attitude towards feedback and your manners when receiving it.

All feedback is information, and all information is a gift. You can choose to use that information or not, but it gave you an opportunity to reflect on your work. Good feedback is not a criticism of you, although sometimes it may feel like it. Remember to be open to the feedback. Sometimes you need to mull it over for a few days and then re-examine your work with fresh eyes, looking for how you could apply that feedback.

If someone has taken the time to give you feedback, thank them for it. If it was given with the intention of helping you improve then it is a truly valuable gift.

It's the secret to success.

Start The Year Right

Start The Year Right

Are you feeling nervous? Have you got all of your books packed, stationery bought and tried on your school uniform?

No? Well in that case you are not as big a nerd as I am, but that's fine, I still accept you 😌
Year 12 is a llllooooonnnngggg year, the days will drag, you'll feel like you're constantly preparing for a SAC and waiting to hear how you went on the last one. Strangely, the year will also pass quickly and you'll be surprised that you've just finished your last ever VCE English SAC. You may not believe me now, but every year students tell me that this ended up being true for them.

Just like breakfast is the most important meal of the day, the way you begin VCE really does matter. The work you do before you even start can really set you up for a great year. I think of this period of time from the end of year 11 until about week 5 of term 1 as a power time. That's because for every hour of work you do now, I feel like it's worth 2 hours of work later in the year. If you work smart now, you can make the work you do later heaps more efficient, and also, unfortunately VCE is a competitive sport, it's essentially a ranking system (see my post on this), which means you need to outperform others (mostly others at different schools).

How many of your peers do you think are spending the end of year 11 holidays and the first 5 weeks of term 1 truly optimising their English result? Not many? Excellent- let's get you as far ahead now as possible!

Another good reason to work now, is that in theory this is the least stressed and most well-rested you are likely to be all year. Let's use that energy and brain power to improve all of your SAC results!

So, now that I've convinced you - what should you be doing?

1. Buy all of your set texts and textbooks as early as possible (sometimes stores run out!)

2. Label all of your books/folders for each of your subjects - absolutely ensure that you have one for each subject! I would love to do a study into predicting students' grades based on their stationery organisation. Each year I have students say "Nah, I keep all my notes in the one book. It works heaps better for me that way." These students ALWAYS end up doing worse than I expect. I don't know if this is cause and effect or correlation (go ask a math teacher) but it happens. Don't be that kid.

3. Read all of your set texts! The first time you read them (yes, you will read them more than once if you want to get a half decent score) you should read it like any normal audience member. Read as if the book is a gift from the author. They want to share something with you, be open to that and see if you can work out what that is.

4. Write down your initial thoughts about the texts and any questions you have.

5. Read all of the information your school has given you about the English course including which Area of Study each set text is for. Write that down in the front of your English note book.

6. Read the newspaper often (start with whatever newspaper your parents read, if they do, and then branch out. Sample from both The Age and The Herald Sun and then look further afield too.)

7. Write. As often as you can. About anything. Don't edit your writing. Don't be critical. Write fiction and non-fiction. Keep it somewhere in your folder.

8. Read. As much as you can. Preferably stuff related to your set texts. Start with Wikipedia (I know you were going to anyway) but then branch out. Check out IMDb if you're studying a film. Google the author of your texts. What have critics and others said about your texts? Any information you store in your brain now acts as a framework for future knowledge to be built up around. Someone in your class will ask "who's (insert name of author or main character here)?" Don't be that person!

Finally, balance everything I've just suggested with some time to yourself. You will be really busy this year. It's important that you don't burn out. Don't give up your team sport or your job, if you love them and they keep you sane, but you will have to organise your time more carefully. Use this time to do some things you love and spend some time with family and friends. Year 12 may be the first time in your life where you have to say no to things you'd actually love to do. So enjoy your free time now, if you are serious about doing well academically this year you will need to prioritise.

Go enjoy the sunshine.