The next important thing to theoretical knowledge in a student’s life is practicality in life, and by practicality, we refer to real-life applications of the theoretical knowledge learned in classes. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has reformed its pedagogy of teaching after several years, and to relieve the students from the burden of Board examinations it has now started conducting practical examinations at the higher secondary level I.e 10th and 12th Board examinations. Now onwards, Students would not have to face a 100 marks paper in the final exam, and rather they would need to pass 30 marks practical as an internal assessment before the final external assessment exam. As the board exams approach, students have developed a habit of digging up the old remains i.e. starting with the revision of theory notes taught in class. Students are under the pressure of outperforming other students in the external assessment, that they often overlook the importance of the Board practicals which forms a base and is certainly very high scoring.
Here are some tips listed below that will help board aspirants to perform well for their practical exams:
1. Making Notes in Practical Sessions: The board provides students with a practical manual that has a detailed overview of the experiments to be performed in the practical sessions. Students are advised to go through the list of precautions and sources of errors in every experiment, to be ready beforehand in performing the experiments and they can make notes of every step they find important with respect to the experimental point of view. Students should make these notes timely throughout all the sessions, and carry one single notebook which they can refer to before the assessments.
2. Practicing Each Experiment Well: Students should understand the importance of practical sessions as they cannot perform these experiments at home or any place other than labs due to lack of equipment. Therefore, they are advised to perform and complete each experiment in the adequate time allowed during the lab sessions. This will help them understand all the key aspects related to specific experiments in one go, where they can easily identify and rectify the error causing instances.
3. Paying Utmost Attention in Practical Sessions: Students who are smart enough can read theory notes and practice their questions even after classes conducted inside school premises, but when it comes to understanding practical experiments it becomes very difficult if one misses out on any key element at that very moment. Students might feel that a lot of their time is wasted during school hours due to laying excessive time over one topic, but it is very important to understand the procedure used to conduct an experiment to finally perform well in the practicals.
4. Focusing on Graphical Representations: As important it is to lay the blueprint of the architecture before building a house, it is similarly necessary to visualize how the experiment is to be conducted by drawing rough diagrams before setting of the apparatus. Students are advised to focus on the graphical representations of every experiment, as they help them in visualizing how the procedures are to be followed; moreover, in the final practical exam, the external teacher can reset the apparatus settings and may ask students to redo it just to test their knowledge of the experiment.
5. Things to Keep in Mind: Before appearing for the final practical exams, students should be well-rehearsed with the formulas and basic concepts of the experiments. They should be able to visualize the follow-through of the procedure keeping the circuits and diagrams in mind once the apparatus is set. At this moment, students should gather their confidence and perform the experiment with calmness. They should not get nervous as it might hamper their confidence to answer questions asked in Viva.
Many students practice theory questions throughout the year and miss out on the procedures explained in practical sessions. Therefore, through regular practice and basic learning schedule students can perform outstandingly in the final practical assessment. It is recommended to students that they must pay adequate attention to each and every experiment explained during labs, to gather enough knowledge for performing well with perfection which will give a boost to their final grade.
Also See: Last-minute study tips for Board Exams
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