A question I often ask my students is, “What don’t you know?”. When they are revising for exams it’s important that they are aware of things they struggle with. It is all too easy for students to get comfortable and avoid tackling the harder topics, or the trickier key terms. However, if they just stick with what’s comfortable, they won’t be prepared when they are challenged and under time pressure in the exam.
A good way to approach this is to help students work out what they know and what they don’t know. They will then have a clear focus for the revision period. One way of doing this is to create a test in Focus on Sound that will assess areas of understanding. When they know about the gaps they can fill them in. You might focus on one area at a time, maybe a revision audit on rhythm and metre, or one on harmonic devices.
As teachers we need to help our students revise the right content. Using Focus on Sound to carry out “Understanding Audits” will show students what is essential. Whilst it may take some time to create these audits or tests, Focus on Sound is remarkably easy to use and, once created, you will have them for the future.
So, lets help our students work out what they don’t know in the hope that they will plug those gaps with knowledge and understanding. Focus on Sound is a great way to help us do that!
Watch the video below to find out how to drill down and find out what individual students are struggling with.
