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Conquering STEM Subjects: Enhancing Productivity and Time Management for Struggling Students

Mathematics, physics and chemistry (STEM) subjects often pose a challenge for many students, demanding a deep understanding of complex concepts and a knack for problem-solving. For those struggling to grasp these subjects, the path to academic success can seem daunting. However, with the right approach and effective study habits, even the most challenging STEM subjects can be conquered.

Embrace Active Learning: Engaging with the Material

Passive learning, which involves simply reading or re-reading material without actively engaging with it, is often ineffective for retaining information. Instead, students should adopt active learning techniques that encourage deeper understanding and application of concepts.

Master Time Management: Organising for Efficiency

Effective time management is crucial for juggling multiple assignments, studying for exams, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Students should develop strategies to organise their time effectively and avoid procrastination.

Optimise Note-Taking: Capturing Key Information

Effective note-taking is essential for capturing key information during lectures, discussions, and personal study sessions. Organised and well-structured notes serve as valuable resources for review and exam preparation.

Seek Help When Needed: Overcoming Challenges

Struggling students should not hesitate to seek help when they encounter difficulties. Tapping into available resources can provide the necessary support to overcome challenges and improve academic performance.

Cultivate a Healthy Learning Environment: Fostering Focus

Creating a conducive learning environment can significantly impact productivity and focus. Establishing a comfortable and organised workspace can minimise distractions and promote effective study habits

• Do questions – don’t make notes. Anything you can’t do in a question, use the CGP revision guide to help you understand it.
• If you really do need to go through a topic before questions, don’t highlight or make notes. This is useless. Read a section of the CGP revision guide (buy it! – buy the full revision and practice ones. A-level ones costs about £19 on Amazon, GCSE about £10), shut the guide and read back in your own words what you read. This will test your recall AND understanding. Expect to have to repeat this 4-5 times per section to get it right. Do not try to memorise, try to understand. Give your own examples of things – this is harder than you think, and forces you to understand the topic. If you need to spend 1 hour online looking at videos/reading information/using textbooks, to understand something, then do it straight away. Reading further will only make things more confused – not clearer. Then move onto questions ASAP.
• Join Save My Exams for a year. It is a well organised site, with plenty of questions for many subjects at GCSE and A-level. It has unique questions not from past papers for a lot of subjects and exam boards. It’s very cheap for a year. You cannot see the answers without a login, and you need to see the mark schemes to help you learn between lessons. You also have access to the by topic questions and past papers in my resources section on my website. The two complement each other. Use them!
• Think of similar but different questions to ones from past papers. The questions you have done are from past ones, and WILL NOT BE IN YOUR EXAM. Similar but different ones will, so think of what they could be.
• Any questions you couldn’t do, or thought up and can’t answer – bring to the next lesson. Take screenshots of the question and mark scheme if you can, ready to drop them into the bitpaper.
• People who do the above most weeks get 8/9s, and A*. Those who don’t – don’t. It’s that simple.
• You will know you are doing it right if it is hard. If it’s easy – you aren’t doing it right. Learning should stretch and challenge you.