AAAARRRGHHHHH!!! The Exams are Coming!! Top Ten Tips for Exam Success.

As exam season approaches, teachers and students across the country are feeling increasing levels of stress… This is understandable, as exams are a big deal, but there’s no need to panic!

Revision is ultimately down to the individual – No-one can learn stuff for you, so you need to be as prepared as possible.

Good exam technique, however, can give you an edge, and could gain you the extra few marks that push you up over a grade boundary.

I have experienced exams from all possible perspectives – as a student, as a teacher, and as an examiner. My current focus is GCSE science but I’m sure the following advice applies to most subjects, at any level (including University!) for any paper with a combination of short and long answers.

Here are my “Top Ten Tips”:

1. READ THE BLOODY QUESTION! (RTBQ!)

Don’t just skim read the question and latch on to a key word… That may put you onto the wrong track… Read each question carefully, and make sure that you understand what they’re asking.

2. Write Clearly in the Space Provided.

If your answer is correct, but the examiner can’t read it, they can’t give you a mark! Also keep your answer within the space given on the paper – Nowadays exam papers are scanned to be sent to examiners electronically, so if your answer isn’t within the area that gets scanned the examiner won’t even see it!

3. Allow Yourself About 1 Minute Per Mark.

A munute doesn’t sound like long when you have to read the question, think about your answer, and then write your answer down, but actually it should be plenty of time, so don’t panic! (If you’re doubting that 1 minute is actually quite a long time, just try holding your breath for 60 seconds… It seems like ages!) Also remember that lots of exam papers group questions together, so the same information that you need to read through can be used for several answers, which saves you time.

4. Use the Information Provided.

If the question says “Use the information in the table to support your answer”… Guess what?.. They want you to USE THE INFORMATION IN THE TABLE!! (see 1 - RTBQ!) That means you actually need to include information / data from the question in your answer – You will definitely drop marks if you don’t do this!

Also, don’t assume that pictures are there just to make the paper look pretty. Often there is a lot of information in pictures and illustrations that can help you to work out the answer.

5. Don’t Re-state the Question.

You have limited time and space (see 3), so don’t waste either by repeating the question in your answer!

For example, if the question says “Why did Mary have a little lamb?” your answer doesn’t need to start “Mary had a little lamb because…”

“She was a shepherd” will do fine – The examiners know what the questions are!

Keep your answers short and to the point.

6. If You Don’t Know the Answer – Leave it! (but don’t forget to come back to it later if you have time at the end!)

Time is precious (see 3). Don’t spend ages staring at a question and hoping the answer will pop into your head, especially if it’s only worth a few marks. Move on, then come back to it later if you have time.

It helps to put a star * next to the questions you want to come back to so that you don’t miss any when you look back through the paper at the end.

7. If You Still Don’t Know the Answer When You go Back – Guess!

If you give no answer at all, you get no marks at all.

Even if you’re not sure, you may as well write something. This is especially true for multiple choice, or questions where you can choose your answer from a list of suggestions – Use a process of elimination - Rule out the ones you know are wrong to narrow down the possiblilties, then pick one of the answers that’s left – You might be lucky!

8. If the Question Says Explain This AND That, Your Answer Should Include This AND That.

This type of question normally carries higher marks, so they’re worth getting right! If you give the most detailed and accurate explanation of ‘This’ in the entire universe, but forget to mention ‘That’, you will limit the number of marks that you can be awarded (see 1 - RTBQ!)

9. Don’t Scribble Answers Out.

It’s better to have some kind of answer than no answer at all (see 7).

If you cross out your answer, but don’t write anything else, the examiner can give you marks for the crossed out stuff (if it’s even partially right)… But only if they can still read it! Use  a singe line to cross answers out instead of scribble!

For long answers (6 mark Qs for GCSE Science for instance) don’t even put a line through the stuff you think is wrong… leave it there… If it’s not crossed out, the examiner has to read it, and if it contains something worthy of credit they have to give you the marks. If you cross it out it can’t be given any credit even if it’s right!

10. Look Out for BOLD Text in the Questions.

The exam board are trying to help you by putting words in bold – It’s their way of showing you that the information is important!

They often use it for instructions about how to answer the questions – for example “Which two of these can be used to….” Don’t just pick one! (see 7 and 1 – RTBQ!)

… And Finally…

Examiners aren’t evil – They are trying to give you marks, not take them away, so stay calm, don’t panic, use your time well, and give it your very best shot!

P.S: RTBQ!

P.P.S PLEASE RTBQ!

P.P.P.S. RTFQ!! (my acronyms are getting angry now… but this is REALLY important!!)

Budding Botanists and Future Engineers

The week before last was a busy one for my alter-ego “Dr D” with two very different events on two consecutive days.

On Tuesday I spent the day at The Collection museum in Lincoln… Maybe not the most obvious place to find a scientist, but the Family Fun Day that the museum were running was designed to link in with their temporary exhibit about Joseph Banks.

Banks was a botanist who collected and catalogued many new plant species whilst on his voyage on the Endeavour, and one of the ways in which Banks classified these new species was to look at the structure of their flowers.

We all love flowers… They’re visually attractive, they smell nice, they make people happy when given as a gift… But what are they actually for?

Well, flowers are actually the plants way of reproducing!

In a series of workshops I showed children and their families what each of the parts of a flower is for (not just the pretty petals, but the male and female reproductive parts as well) by doing a flower dissection. We also looked at some pollen at 200 times magnification using my mini microscope.

Once the children had learned about the different parts of the flower they made some wonderfully colourful, and scientifically accurate, paper flowers… We had stamen made out of cotton buds, pistils made out of pipe-cleaners, egg-box sepals, and stems made from straws… There was such a lot of creativity on show it was wonderful!

Then, on Wednesday, I had been invited to attend an open evening for the new University Technical College which will be opening in Lincoln in September 2014.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I went along to the Engineering Hub at the University of Lincoln, carrying my rucksack full of science demo’s, and had a really entertaining and interesting evening!

The audience at the UTC event were older that the children I’d been working with the previous day, as most were considering attending Lincoln UTC, which will provide specialist education for 14-18 year olds who want to study science and Engineering subjects.

As well as staff from the UTC itself, and their partner organisations The University of Lincoln and Siemens, there were a wide range of other employers in attendance. The idea of the event was to highlight the different career possibilities that Science and Engineering qualifications can lead to, and the different companies and organisations who will be involved in providing training to UTC students.

As my career path within the world of science has been what might be described as “unconventional” my discussions with prospective students and their parents were a little different to those going on around me with representatives of larger companies!

Being based in a room with the RAF, NHS and RPC Plastics made my table full of apparently random household items look a bit chaotic compared to their very professional displays, but I still had quite a lot of interest.

I decided that the best way to ‘pitch’ my role was as an example of how varied careers in the sciences can be and tried to highlight the importance of effective Science Communication to these aspiring scientists and engineers of the future. I tried to get across the idea that a career in science can be very rewarding, even if it isn’t the career you originally intended!

I e-mailed the Vice-Principal of the UTC to thank him for inviting me to attend a few days later, and had a lovely reply from him saying “It was a pleasure to meet you last Wednesday – I am always pleased to meet another keen scientist!”… I’m glad that my enthusiasm shone through… To be honest I find it hard to hide my passion for Science, so it’s not really a surprise!

As well as making some valuable contacts at the UTC I also had interest from some local schools and businesses, and have raised awareness of the fact that Dr D’s Science Days is a local Lincolnshire company ready to provide entertaining science for any event…

What a fabulous week!!

Scientific Adventures and Events of 2013: A Poetic Review!

At the start of 2013 I wrote a 'poetic review' of the previous year's highlights... now I've decided to make it an annual tradition! 

Having limited myself to one verse per month, there are several events which I had to miss out - Cheltenham Science Festival with the BBC was a highlight of 2013, as was my first corporate entertainment booking at Welbeck Abbey Brewery. Reaching 100 likes on the Facebook page was another milestone, and of course there were birthday parties, school visits, and the charity fundraiser when we celebrated a 'practice Christmas' in September!

It's been a cracker of a year, and 2014 promises to be even more special with several bookings already in the diary including my first gig as an entertainer at a wedding reception!

So, here it is, my edited highlights of 2013 in verse... Happy New Year!

The year started off with a poem,

A review of the twelve months just gone.

A record of all the places I’d been,

And all the fun science I’d done.

In February I learned new skills,

While improving my profile on-line.

With a STEM directories listing,

And an attempt at website design.

It was off to the Lincolnshire Showground

For a SoundLincs event in March,

While at college we did some dissection

Of a sheep’s lungs and heart.

In April, an opportunity

For my profile to be seen

By local schools and businesses

Thanks to Term Talk magazine.

May was manic at college

With coursework flooding in

As teaching sessions drew to a close

So the marking could begin.

In June I delivered some training

For teachers from primary schools

To prove science can be creative,

And that painting with plants is cool.

 

July brought us festival season.

The first “Funny as Folk” was a hit!

I entertained hundreds of people

With my science busking kit.

More CBBC fun in August

The Edinburgh fringe was the best!

Doing lots of exciting new demo’s

With Fran, John, Nate and the rest.

September saw a massive change.

My college days were done.

No more Biology lecturing.

A new phase had begun.

 

October was busy with Pumpkin Days

And an Expo for Molly’sGuide

And a visit to my old sixth form

To inspire about jobs that I’d tried.

Lots of trips to Theddlethorpe sand dunes

Meant November was a blast.

The kids learned all about plants and bugs,

And the folklore of the past.

So here’s to the end of another year,

One that’s been packed full of fun.

Let’s hope for more science and wonder

On our next orbit round the Sun!

Christmas Science Quiz

This fun Christmas-themed Science Quiz makes a great end of term activity, but is also good for a bit of fun to test your own knowledge... Answers are provided at the bottom of the post... No cheating!!

The End of Term is Nigh!

As the end of another year draws near children across the country will be expecting to do less and less work, and have more and more fun, while at school. Several years ago, in an effort to appease my students with a fun activity but without resorting to doing something totally non-educational, I produced the following Christmas Science Quiz.

Questions 1 to 15 are based on topics covered in Year 7 (B1, C1, P1) so offer a good re-cap of the basics for Secondary school students, and may also be suitable for Key Stage 2 Primary school pupils.

Questions 16 to 19 are aimed at GCSE students, and are based on the content of OCR 21^st Century Science units B1, C1, P1.

Question 20 is just there for fun!

Feel free to use these questions as you like, and share with others, however it would be lovely if you could acknowledge me as the source! 

www.drdssciencedays.co.uk 

www.facebook.com/drdssciencedays

Christmas Science Quiz Questions

1.   Which of Santa’s reindeer is named after an object in space? 

2.   One of Santa’s reindeer is called Vixen. What animal is a vixen the female of? 

3.   Which metal with the symbol Au did one of the wise men give? 

4.   Some people put a star on the top of their Christmas tree. Put these objects into size order (Big – small): Comet, Galaxy, Star. 

5.   Why is Santa’s sleigh environmentally friendly? 

6.   One of the properties of metals is that they are sonorous. Which sonorous metal objects often appear on Christmas cards? 

7.   Why would you never see penguins and polar bears together in the wild? 

8.   Baby reindeer drink milk from their mothers. Which group of animals do reindeer belong to? 

9.   The three wise men had to cross a desert. Which of these animals would they have been most likely to see: Cow, Elephant, Camel? 

10. Santa’s fed up with drinking sherry, and fancies a glass of water. He tests his water with litmus paper and it turns red. Why can’t Santa drink this water? 

11. Santa’s elves often have to muck out the reindeer stables because of all the reindeer poo. Which life process does this show? 

12. Which group of plants do Christmas trees (Scots pines) belong to? 

13. What item of clothing does Santa wear that stops 50% of the heat loss from his body? 

14. Santa drinks a lot of sherry. Which organ of his body might be damaged by this? 

15. Baubles that are put on Christmas trees are shiny. What do they do to the light? 

16. The gene for having a shiny nose is dominant, and Rudolph is double dominant (homozygous). What percentage of Rudolph’s offspring would have shiny noses? 

17. Santa has to cross the Atlantic to deliver presents to the children in America. Why does his journey get slightly longer each year? 

18. Reindeer have 48 chromosomes. How many chromosomes would there be in a reindeer sperm cell? 

19. Santa lives at the North pole. What effect will global warming have on the amount of space that his reindeer have to exercise in? 

20. A bear walks 1 mile South, 1 mile East, then 1 mile North, and ends up exactly where it started. What colour is the bear? 

Christmas Science Quiz Answers

No cheating...

Answers below...

1. Comet

2. Fox

3. Gold

4. Galaxy - Star - Comet

5. Doesn’t use fossil fuels / no pollution 

6. Bells

7. They live on different poles

8. Mammal

9. Camel

10. It’s acidic

11. Excretion

12. Conifers

13. Hat

14. Liver

15. Reflect

16. 100%

17. Continental drift

18. 24

19. Reduced / Less space

20. White (must be a polar bear staring out at the N pole!)

If you have any feedback about this quiz, or would just like to post your own personal scores, please leave comments below, or on the Dr D's facebook page - Thank you!

Have a very merry and science-y Christmas!!

People Power – Spreading the Word!

Spreading the Word

It’s difficult to build up a business profile when you’re first starting out.

You may have a great product or service, but if nobody knows that it’s out there, then nobody is going to place an order.

You may be the most energetic and enthusiastic person, with fantastic ideas, and a new business model, but it is unlikely that anyone is going to stumble across your business by chance.

It’s vital to spread the word, but advertising costs money, which can be an issue if you haven’t had time to build up your customer base – It’s a chicken and egg situation…

Networking

Since I began “Dr D’s” in February 2011 (a shocking 2 years ago!.. Doesn’t time fly?) I have called on the help and good will of friends, and some of those connections have led on to other things. I have been so pleased that people are willing to support me, and point me in the direction of things that might offer interesting opportunities, or introduce me to people who may be interested in my services.

These networks of personal connections, stemming from some of the fabulously supportive people that I know, have led to some really interesting bookings and work opportunities. Not least of these was my route into working with the BBC, which has established yet more friendships and professional connections, which I hope will branch out further in the future.

It really is empowering to know that there are people out there who feel that what I have to offer is worth talking about with their friends and work contacts, but I didn’t want to be a burden to those important people in my life by continually nagging them.

Facebook Friends and Social Networking

I didn’t want to become one of those ‘friends’ who is always on the ask, always wanting something for their own benefit, so I had made it a policy not to fill peoples’ timelines on Facebook with constant requests for support.

This weekend I decided to take the the drastic step of breaking with that policy, and sending out invites for my personal friends to ‘like’ my business page for “Dr D’s”.

I have seen a huge increase in the number of people seeing my posts on the Dr D’s facebook page through a ‘viral’ rather than ‘organic’ source (as a Biologist, I find these terms a little disconcerting!). This means that friends of friends are seeing my page as a result of those extra ‘likes’!

A Big Thank-you to People Power!

I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge “THANK YOU” to the friends who accepted the invitation… ‘Likes’ on my business page have jumped from 69 to 90 this weekend, and nearly 400 people have seen the page!

Your continued support and faith in me is very much appreciated, and I promise not to keep pestering you… too much!

Scientific Wanderings 2012 - A Poetic Review!

A bit late posting this, but it was written a couple of weeks ago, and then the usual start of term madness kicked in... Enjoy!

January was cold and frosty.

The weather wasn’t kind,

but with so much to look forward to

I really didn’t mind

Big Bang Fair, Birmingham 

February saw the lab coat parade

by Alice and her mates

at her science themed birthday party which,

though I say so myself, was great!

In March I joined the BBC

at the Birmingham Big Bang Fair.

Assisting the Bang Goes the Theory team

I did science with gusto and flair!

Bang Live, Edinburgh

In April I travelled to Edinburgh

for more science with a Bang!

Re-united with Dallas and Dr Yan,

and the rest of the BBC gang.

May saw me travel to Sheffield

For yet more science based fun

A city I’m very fond of,

and where my science career begun.

BBC Science Cheltenham Science Festival

Then June, the height of Summer –

It p*ssed it down with rain

but I worked at the Cheltenham Sci Fest

so I wasn’t about to complain.

More festivals and summer fetes

saw July pass in a flash.

Bailgate Busking Festival, Lincoln

Science busking in the Bailgate

Even generated some cash!

In August it was One Show Live

Back to Sheffield once again

for more work with BBC Science

in a muddy field in torrential rain.

Back to college in September

To lecture in science – OK…

and MATHS! Out of my comfort zone!

Not done maths since my own school days!

Molecular Jewellery
Ethanol earrings and pendant

October – a Hallowe’en pumpkin day

Spooky science was in the air.

The ideal day out for a skeleton.

Me and ‘My Mate Bert’ were there!

In November – a moment of genius,

an idea that came out of the blue –

Molecular jewellery – what everyone wants

It’s the next big thing – it’s true!

Bert gets festive
Santa Skeleton!

Then back to the festive season

December came round far too fast!

Christmas quizzes and secret Santas

Then New Year, and 2013 at last…

So once again I look to the future,

And what the next 12 months will bring.

I’m hoping for fun and adventure

And more wonderful sciencey things!

As a Busy Summer Turns Into a Busy Autumn…

Wow! I’ve only just realised that I haven’t posted anything since mid-July… It’s been a busy few months!

The road along which my freelancing adventure has taken me has had several twists and turns and, as I expected, has not been anything near the route I expected!

When I left full time paid employment I made sure that, despite my dissatisfaction with my job, I left on good terms with my colleagues. It was my good relationship with these wonderful people which led to me having the opportunity to work with the BBC’s Bang GoesThe Theory team, and it was also the reason for my incredibly busy summer.

I was contacted out of the blue by a former colleague to ask if I could help them out with a project. They needed someone who had the appropriate experience and CRB checks to assist on a residential course working with young people from across Lincolnshire as part of the National Citizen Service. They wanted me to start that very day… and so my relaxing summer break, along with my free time for writing and being creative, evaporated before my eyes!

I spent a week staying in the student accommodation at the University of Lincoln with several hundred teenagers, 12 of whom became ‘my’ group to work with for the next 3 weeks undertaking a social action project in the market town of Boston, Lincolnshire. I may have been nominally the group leader, but the young people made their own choices about what they wanted to do and how they wanted to contribute to their local community. They decided that they would like to help out a local charity, The Boston Woods Trust.

We met some wonderfully dedicated people who were extremely supportive and encouraging to the young people, helping them to gain new skills and confidence and giving them the chance to work with people of different ages and backgrounds as equals.

We weeded, uprooting tons of Ragwort.

We mulched, helping young trees to grow.

We dug trenches and laid slabs, helping in the construction of a ‘compass’ in ‘Jenny’s Wood’.

We all learned a great deal.

Some of the young ‘men’ in the group learned that running through a patch of waist high nettles bare chested as a show of ‘manliness’ can be very uncomfortable! Maybe… hopefully… one day, they will realise what it takes to really be a man!

Almost as soon as my adventures in Boston were over, it was back to work as a part time lecturer at Lincoln College, with hugely increased hours compared to last year. Not only am I teching GCSE Science, and Biology as part of the Access to Higher Education for Health Care Practitioners (Access HE HCP) course, but I have also been asked to teach Maths… Aaaarrrggghh!! (Oops, Sorry!!).

That was my initial reaction though…

I have to say that I’m actually really enjoying teaching Maths. The course that I’ve been charged with teaching is ‘Maths for Nursing’, which means that all of the Mathematical principles which I have to cover have practical applications, and aren’t the really scary kind of Maths (I dropped A-Level Maths after a term!). Having worked as a research scientist for several years I understand what it’s like to have to use Maths. Thankfully, I have always been pretty confident when it comes to the basics, thanks to a great start from my parents and some really good teachers when I got to school, so making the jump to any actual application of the Maths seems fairly logical for me.

The feedback from my Maths students so far has been encouragingly positive. I think they appreciate the fact that I’ve openly admitted that Maths isn’t what I chose to do… It’s something that I see as a ‘necessary evil’ if you will, but I equally make sure that I put across the message that it isn’t something to be scared of. It is, in fact, something that all of my students use every day, even if they don’t realise it. Sometimes it really is a case of fear of the unknown, and once you point out that, actually, these are all simple mathematical things that they do know, everything falls into place!

More busy times are ahead with long days lecturing at College, several bookings through Dr D’s ScienceDays, and some GCSE exam marking coming up in November… When you’re a freelancer you have to take the work as and when it’s available…