Ask a past 50er + Psychology Lecturer anything you want about the course/exam!

[Slumdawg]

Hey guys!

Considering the exam is coming up in a few weeks, I thought I'd offer a chance to ask me anything you like about the exam or course. I'll only be available for this week (Monday-Friday), so get your questions in quick!

I'm a Neuroscience major, and I've tutored many Psych students over the years, and all of them received 40+ study scores. I'm also a lecturer for Connect Education (link below, PM if you want a discount code or further info). So there's plenty of experiences and knowledge that I'm happy to be asked about.

I don't usually offer something like this, but since it's the first year of the single end of year exams I thought it'd be good to provide extra support to the ATARNotes community. I'm sure quite of a few of you would have attended some revision lectures from other providers already, so if you wanted to clarify information from those I'm happy to hear anything.

So go ahead and please don't be shy! This is your chance to get an upper hand in the last few weeks before your exam! I've heard so many questions over the years, I don't think anything could surprise me! PM me if you'd feel more comfortable that way, but it'd be better to post it here.

All the best

[spectroscopy]

so ive finished my SACs, and have elaborative notes on every topic. i have elaboratively rehearsed all of the topics, and know exactly what they all do and can apply it, but i cant remember the key words i have to include in answers and definitions, and key things i have to include in answering question for example; i know what allostasis is, and in conversation i can explain it really well, but writing it down i lose marks for missing out key words

how can i improve?

and also - what is your general advice from now to the exam day (~3 weeks)
thanks for doing this ! please give me your tips and tricks as well, THANKS

[Slumdawg]

so ive finished my SACs, and have elaborative notes on every topic. i have elaboratively rehearsed all of the topics, and know exactly what they all do and can apply it, but i cant remember the key words i have to include in answers and definitions, and key things i have to include in answering question for example; i know what allostasis is, and in conversation i can explain it really well, but writing it down i lose marks for missing out key words

how can i improve?

and also - what is your general advice from now to the exam day (~3 weeks)
thanks for doing this ! please give me your tips and tricks as well, THANKS

No worries Everyone else, feel free to chime in as well!

I would create a list and write out the key words for each definition. Each definition in Psychology only requires a few key words/concepts to be included. It seems like you would benefit from having a defined list with specific words to memorise that'll help jog your memory for each definition.

E.g. Aphasia definition:
Aphasia is a general term that refers to language disorders resulting from brain damage, which can include speech, writing or reading.

In key words list I would put something like this..

Aphasia: Language disorder, due to brain damage.

Those are the key words/concepts. The rest can be added in yourself when you're constructing the definition, but it's not key to getting the mark! So practice using this technique and try writing out some of the keywords/concepts, then using these to construct your definitions.

From now till exam day, you should try to complete a practice exam at least once every second day. I'd use VCAA first because everyone is running out of time. I know some people like to leave VCAA till last, but I think it'd be good to go through them sooner rather than later.

Also, I would recommend hearing about the course from another source other than your teacher. You may have already done this, but if you haven't, there are many lecture providers still running Psychology over the next few weeks. I think it's important because it's good to hear about the course from another perspective and see whether you have gaps in your knowledge. I remember when I was in year 12 I went to one lecture for each of my subjects and although some weren't great, it was good to hear other opinions and views on the subject material.

All the best

[vashappenin]

how can i improve?

and also - what is your general advice from now to the exam day (~3 weeks)

Go to the Connect Education lecture run by the man himself

[#J.Procrastinator]

What exam companies do you recommend tackling after the VCAA ones?

Also, how did you use the 15 minutes reading time given, effectively?

Thanks in advance!!

[Slumdawg]

What exam companies do you recommend tackling after the VCAA ones?

Also, how did you use the 15 minutes reading time given, effectively?

Thanks in advance!!

My preferences back when I was completing commercial practice exams were:
1) Insight
2) STAV
3) Trials for Teachers
4) Neap
5) Lisachem
6) Engage
7) TSSM

Reading time should be used to get through as many MCQs as possible in my opinion. In both of my own exams I completed all 45 of my MCQs in the 15 minutes reading time. After taking 10 minutes during writing time to fill out the MCQ answer sheet, I had 1 hour and 20 minutes to perfect my short answers. In Psychology, the top students do well in short answer, you can't really differentiate yourself much when the average for MCQs is around 80% from year to year. So try to get through as many MCQs as you can during reading time. I personally wouldn't recommend looking at Sections B or C because they could be a tad overwhelming..

Hope that helps your strategy. Feel free to rejig it to fit your own style, but I think trying to get through MCQs in reading time is best.

[brenden]

I agree with that list ^^. STAV were the more difficult ones imo and Insight the most relevant. Never did any TSSM though.

[#J.Procrastinator]

Cheers for sharing with us all! Guess it's time for everyone to buckle down and start smashing through those exam papers.

[radl223]

Hi Slumdawg,

Thanks for all your advice and help on the psych forum

I was wondering, how many practice exams did you do for each unit? And also, what do you think of redoing the same practice exam twice? Do you think this method is useless or effective?

Thankyou very much

[Slumdawg]

Hi Slumdawg,

Thanks for all your advice and help on the psych forum

I was wondering, how many practice exams did you do for each unit? And also, what do you think of redoing the same practice exam twice? Do you think this method is useless or effective?

Thankyou very much

You're welcome Radl I completed 15 practice exams for each unit, altogether 30 practice exams that were 1.5 hours each. Most importantly, I went through each of these exams thoroughly and got them marked by my teacher. I also highlighted and read over the solutions for the practice exams too, since they had some interesting facts/info I didn't know previously.

Areas that I performed poorly in, I would go and read the topic again in my textbook. I think redoing the same exam is not the best thing you could do. Instead, after you've finished an exam, maybe note down all the question numbers you were unsure of, as well as the ones you got wrong, and go over those specifically at a later point rather than the entire exam again.

I think it's important to review practice exams carefully, but use your time wisely and go over the stuff you were unsure of or got wrong

[A+study]

I've got a few questions:

1. Does graduated exposure use a relaxation technique like systematic desensitisation?
2. How does the forgetting curve differ with elaborative rehearsal?
3. With extended response for research methods, should we try and include as much detail as possible? i.e. include definitions for key concepts or things about ethical considerations even if it doesn't ask?

What are some nuances for VCE psychology i.e. what sort of specific things are the examiners looking for?
What is a good way to differentiate from other students?

Thanks!

[Slumdawg]

I've got a few questions:

1. Does graduated exposure use a relaxation technique like systematic desensitisation?
2. How does the forgetting curve differ with elaborative rehearsal?
3. With extended response for research methods, should we try and include as much detail as possible? i.e. include definitions for key concepts or things about ethical considerations even if it doesn't ask?

What are some nuances for VCE psychology i.e. what sort of specific things are the examiners looking for?
What is a good way to differentiate from other students?

Thanks!

Hey there!
1) Strictly speaking, graduated exposure does not include a relaxation component, that's what differentiates it from systematic desensitisation. Many students get confused and believe they are the same thing, although the relaxation component is the key difference between the two.

2) The more meaningful the material, the slower the rate of forgetting. The forgetting curve for meaningless information is steeper than for meaningful material.

3) If it asks for ethical considerations then you should describe/define and explain them in relation to the case study. Including random definitions for concepts could lose you marks because assessors don't like seeing students regurgitating definitions. That's why they mark so strictly on linking back to the case study.

4) The biggest nuance is linking back to the case study, this may seem easy, but it's a skill that takes time to perfect. It's quite easy to slip into providing unlinked answers that look like they've come directly from a textbook.

[kawfee]

For the functions of the Broca's and Wernicke's area, is it fine to say 
Produce fluent human speech
Comprehend human speech (respectively)
So, is the 'human speech' part ok?

And also for Broca's, 
Is 'to produce grammatically correct speech' fine or should I use 'analyse grammatical structures of a sentence' ?

Thank you

[Slumdawg]

For the functions of the Broca's and Wernicke's area, is it fine to say 
Produce fluent human speech
Comprehend human speech (respectively)
So, is the 'human speech' part ok?

And also for Broca's, 
Is 'to produce grammatically correct speech' fine or should I use 'analyse grammatical structures of a sentence' ?

Thank you

Hi there! I would say "to produce grammatically correct speech" is better than the other option provided. I've listed below a few explanations, hope they help.

Broca's Area is involved with the production of articulate speech, i.e. one which is clear and fluent. It coordinates the movements of the muscles required for speech and supplies this information to the appropriate motor cortex areas. It’s also important for the grammatical structure of sentences including conjunctions such as "the", "so", "but", "and", etc.

Wernicke's Area is involved in the comprehension of speech, specifically, interpreting the sounds of speech. A word is not understood until it has been processed by Wernicke’s area. It also plays a role in locating appropriate words from memory to express intended meanings.

[#J.Procrastinator]

Hi again!

I just wanted to know whether it would be best to answer the short answer questions in dot point form? Because I've been told that we won't lose marks for incomplete sentences? Hence, allowed to answer in concise dot point form compared to waffling on and not getting straight to the point. Would you suggest this as this could potentially save me extra time to complete the rest of the exam?