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Why how you revise mattersIs reading your notes really revising?

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Why how you revise matters

Think back to revising at school: hours of reading books and highlighting passages without really knowing what you were meant to be doing. For a lot of us, revision was "merely reading". It felt like work, but it wasn't a good use of time.

Since then, the psychology of education has moved on. We now know better ways to get information to stick. These tips work for any subject, but they suit vocational (practical, trade) subjects especially well.

The big idea
Revision is something you do, not something you read. Reading and highlighting on their own are the least effective use of your time.

"I learn by doing"

Many people say "I learn practically". Take that with a big pinch of salt. Usually it's an obstruction the mind puts up when a learner hits a plateau or a steep bit, as an excuse for struggling with the theory or not passing an exam.

  • Every trade has a theory element: bricklaying, electrical, gas, all of them. It has to be learned.
  • Years on the tools are spent doing: up steps screwing things in, hammering, drilling holes, stripping cable, bending and threading conduit. That isn't learning theory, and you don't think like that on the job.
  • It's down to you to get over that obstruction.
The driving analogy
On your first driving lesson you're learning to make the car move, and at the same time the instructor starts on road signs and markings. That's too much at once. That's why there's a theory test before the practical test: once you know the signs, you spot them on the road and think "I remember, that means 30 mph". Electrical theory works the same way. Learn it now and it clicks on site.

Test yourself on it

The tests are in the members’ area. Get one wrong and it shows you why, and where to revise.

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