maths revision

I'm struggling with C3 and C3 of the OCR spec. Whats the best way to revise? I'm aiming for a B.

thanks

I'm struggling with C3 and C3 of the OCR spec. Whats the best way to revise? I'm aiming for a B.

thanks

There is no universal answer.

First:
Establish whether you need to (1) Learn the content or (2) Revise the content or even (3) Learn how to answer exam questions to gain max marks.

Then:
Find your way of learning/revising from a range including, textbooks, notes, powerpoints, papers, videos, study groups, 1-2-1 tutoring etc etc

One size doesn't fit all, it really doesn't.
I am anti 'past paper culture' for everybody.

Whilst i agree with you that past papers aren't the best way to cover all bases, the fact OP is looking for a B makes me think past papers are probably the best thing he could do

Why?
We had not established why they were struggling.

Because they give a good mix of exercises that can help people identify where they're stuggling and the fact there are video solutions for just about every maths past paper out there.
If the OP is aiming for a B then the issue is obviously going to be the understanding/application and i can't think of any better way to improve on that at home than to go through some questions and watch video solutions if you're stuck.
Obviously if he was going for an A* by advice would be slightly different because there are so many bases to cover but i still think doing past papers is, on the whole, the best preparation.

I still think it's a case of identifying what is topping the student getting a B.
You may well be correct that it is exam technique but exam papers not not test understanding. they test whether you can answer the questions in front of you on that one paper.
I have a student who will pull 65-70 on a paper but always loses marks on logs. Giving him more papers will not improve his understanding of logs. giving him 1-2-1 on logs, powerpoints, books or some videos I have done may.
I have another student who cannot recognise the level of work required for each question (relative to the marks awarded). past papers (with mark schemes would be great for her).
The 'everybody gets better by doing past papers' culture is one only favoured by students from my experience.

I'm sure you know better than me as you will have a lot more experience with this as a teacher so i won't argue with you :P but i still think that the best way to efficiently get better at A-level maths is to do past papers, identify weak areas and then go from there- I can't think of any better way to identify where needs improvement.

But you will not improve a topic by doing past papers like you would be isolating that topic and spending time understanding what and why.

I'm struggling with C3 and C3 of the OCR spec. Whats the best way to revise? I'm aiming for a B.

thanks

"Aiming" for a B is a counsel of the defeated IMHO. Maths is foundational - ie what you learn one week you need the next to do something else. If a person receives back a piece of homework graded B then the wrong answers are a goldmine of future marks gained with just a bit of work. Aim high is my motto. Demand perfection from yourself in Maths.

Perhaps the OP is aiming high

I think you should go on Mathswatch vle online as it covers the content from Grades A*-D for the higher specification or get the cd as it is helpful and imprioved peoples grades.

Unfortunately Mathswatch only does GCSE Bro - I don't know why they haven't got a CD out for A levels C3 and C4 are A level modules by the way, OP is talking about A levels.

Ohhh okay yeah i would agree with you there however, as you know the video tutorials that people make for past papers are an excellent way to increase understanding on areas you find hard