DD panics when being timed

Discussion of the 11 Plus

Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators

Post Reply
11 Plus Platform - Online Practice Makes Perfect - Try Now
dottie1974
Posts: 192
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:36 pm
Location: East Kent

DD panics when being timed

Post by dottie1974 »

I know it is still early days as DD has almost a year until taking the Kent Test, however, I sat her down to do the placement tests in the Bond 'Stress Free Guide.....' and when I told her I was going to time her she got quite upset and said she couldn't do even the beginning questions on it. I had reassured her not to worry and it was just to help me see what sort of questions she struggled with etc etc. As she was so upset, I told her I wouldn't time her and she managed to just get on and do quite well.

The following day we did the second placement test and I said from the start that I wasn't timing her and she just got on with it (but I was secretly timing this one :twisted: ) - she did go over the 30 mins they recommend, but she had it done in 41 mins and that included time spent answering the door to let sister in, having a chat to her, playing with the cat etc! I think she would be able to do most of it in that time but the pressure of timing just seems to make her have a wobbly.

Any ideas on how I can slowly, very slowly, get her used to the idea of being timed. I wasn't planning on timing her on tests until after May half term next year, but I am just thinking ahead :lol:

Thanks
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: DD panics when being timed

Post by mystery »

Maybe buy Andrew Brodie mental maths books - one minute tests. Start her off on something really easy so she gets the idea of doing something fast as she can in one minute without stopping for the cat etc.

And don't worry too much about timing yet. Instead of timing, just make a note of how long it takes to do different things, so for example if you find that code questions in VR take a long time, then work on them lots so she speeds up, rather thank making her so aware that this type of question takes her way too long so she freezes when she sees one.
scarlett
Posts: 3664
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

Re: DD panics when being timed

Post by scarlett »

I didn't worry about timing with DS1 until May/June. I just kept an eye on how long it was taking him , and as he was segregated in a room with no distractions ( apart from the ceiling, picture frames etc ) I felt he would probably just get on with it and I could get him to speed up a bit nearer the time. I think they need the practice of cracking the questions first before they can crack the timings. DS2 flaps around like a chicken if I try him on those timed online maths games so I think with him I might try giving him the work in sections and tell him I'm going to stop him after 5 minutes..maybe give him an egg timer. I'm worrying now.
dottie1974
Posts: 192
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:36 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: DD panics when being timed

Post by dottie1974 »

Sorry Scarlett - I didn't mean to make you start to panic!! Your ds is a Sept 2012 taker too isn't he so there is ages yet before we start panicking!

Thanks for the tip for those mental maths books, I will check those out. I have not heard of Andrew Brodie before.

I am still not sure why DD was getting in a flap when she knew she was being timed, especially as she times herself when she does a times table grid to see if she can beat her 'best ever time'. Most strange, but dd is a peculiar little thing at times :lol:

Thanks again
aliportico
Posts: 888
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:19 pm

Re: DD panics when being timed

Post by aliportico »

Yeah, I wouldn't be timing at this stage - they're going to improve over the next year, and timing them now is just going to be discouraging to you both I'd imagine :)

I was buying tickets on the Ticketmaster site on Saturday, and on every page there's a little box with red numbers ticking away, telling you you have 2/3/4/5 minutes to complete the page - I was on a massive adrenalin rush by the end of it, most unpleasant!
stevew61
Posts: 1786
Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:54 pm
Location: caversham

Re: DD panics when being timed

Post by stevew61 »

We too are working towards a 2012 exam and any mention of timing produced a mental block.

So I went back a step to a book containing a page of each question type that DD has seen before (but she doesn't remember :wink: ) we talk about the technique, she starts the questions and I time roughly how long it takes to do 20 questions. Then lots of praise for scoring highly and taking less than the allocated time and banking some time for the harder questions, the kidology seems to be working. Now have to convince her that 95% is fine you are allowed to get the odd one wrong, no wonder her brothers call her Penelope Perfect! :lol:

We are not timing for the sake of improving speed just so we can see where improvements in technique are required. The thought of 100 questions in 50 minutes with varying question types seems a long way off, it is thank goodness.
turtleglos
Posts: 455
Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2010 12:04 pm

Re: DD panics when being timed

Post by turtleglos »

We are doing some bond vr. I set the timer and tell ds2 that he is not to finish until the timer goes. I started it at 50mins and it now goes off at 25mins, he is now finishing in about 30mins. I intend to reduce the time by another 5 mins and then start to extend the timer back to 30mins telling him that I want him to finish before/when it beeps. This should be at about the right time.
Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will think it is stupid.
Post Reply