Many parents wonder, “Is there still time for my child to perform well on ‘O’ Levels?” Each month, concerned parents will seek assistance for their children. Maybe they performed poorly on their CA1 mid-year and even preliminary exams.
After all, their child would sit for the national GCE ‘O’ Levels exams in a matter of weeks. Your child has more possibilities for schools and courses if they perform well on the O-Level exams.
From now until the ‘O’ Levels, pupils must maintain concentration and employ the appropriate tactics. Besides going for pure chemistry tuition, you can practise the following tips at home to help your child score well on their exams.
1) Establish a Solid Basis for Fundamental Ideas
According to our decades of teaching expertise, the leading cause of students’ poor performance in Chemistry is a lack of comprehension of the principles. The degree of understanding of the fundamental ideas is much below standard.
Using a topic-by-topic approach, establishing a solid foundation is critical to preparing for the ‘O’ Level. Before going on to the next topic, students must review and comprehend each topic’s underlying core principles or formulas.
To succeed in Chemistry, knowing and grasping the concepts taught in the third grade is essential. For instance, students must have a solid grasp of fundamental concepts from Secondary 3, such as Chemical Bonding, Composing Balanced Chemical & Ionic Equations, Acids & Bases, and Mole Calculations.
2) Pay Close Attention to Keywords in Structured Questions
Unfortunately, your child’s exam scores are disappointing, and they could not comprehend why.
This is because understanding crucial ideas is insufficient. Examiners will grade them based on correctly using keywords and key phrases.
Many chemistry students find it challenging to respond to structured questions with the correct, exhaustive list of keywords. In addition to their application abilities, mastery of chemistry requires a solid foundation in fundamental principles and unambiguous term usage.
3) Complete to Ten-Year Series Questions
Students are then encouraged to immediately begin working on the ‘O’ Level problems to assess their grasp on important ideas and application abilities, as well as to boost their self-confidence.
As a solid foundation is based on a topic-by-topic approach, topical books from the Ten-Years Series (TYS) are highly suggested, ideally one that gives extensive step-by-step answers. This enables students to review the answers at their leisure.
4) Continue to Clarify
Understanding the fundamental ideas for each topic, putting one’s learning to the test by completing the questions, and, most importantly, clearing any uncertainties and fixing any mistakes committed are necessary for establishing a solid foundation.
Several students have amassed so many uncertainties over the years that if they stay unresolved, they would be unable to do well on the ‘O’ Level exams. To feel secure and well-prepared, they must start asking questions to dispel their fears.
If your kid fears shame, encourage him to consult with someone with the most current understanding of Chemical principles and with whom he is comfortable, such as his friends, siblings, teachers, or tutors. With technology, he may even email or text his inquiries to a trusted individual.
Several TYS books even emphasise typical errors, enabling students to learn how to avoid them on the exam.
5) Improve Examination Techniques
Taking exams is precisely like a game. Your child plays to win within a specified time limit, and to win this game, they must be prepared and informed of the regulations. The actual adversary is oneself.
Once your child has grasped all of the topic’s main elements, the next stage is to teach him how to manage his time throughout the test. In order to imitate the actual ‘O’ Level test, the student can attempt a complete set of examination papers under timed conditions. With these timed tasks, kids can be exposed to a greater variety of questions that will enhance and test their learning in the future.
