CBSE Notes

Preparing the right kind of CBSE notes is one of the most essential ingredients for scoring good marks in the final examinations. In order to gain the maximum out of this revision activity, it is very important for students to adopt the right technique for preparing the CBSE notes.

While preparing the CBSE notes students should keep in mind a few essential points to increase the overall relevance of their notes. 

• While preparing the CBSE notes students should take into account three vital points i.e. identify that which is important in the chapter, assess the current knowledge levels and try to fill the existing conceptual gaps. Rather than being a word-to-word reproduction of the major points from the chapter, the CBSE notes should be a customized document that briefly covers all the essential highlights and also helps in optimizing the understanding of the topic.
• Efforts should be made to prepare the CBSE notes in such a manner that they are a complete resource in itself. Apart from being comprehensive, enough care should also be taken to keep the CBSE notes brief. 
• The CBSE notes should be prepared in accordance to the preferred learning style. Learning styles can be defined as the preferred mode of learning for an individual that accelerates the pace of understanding. For example for a visual learner, components like illustrations, mind maps etc. will make understanding easy and fast. Therefore, a student should prepare the CBSE notes as per the learning style that suits them the best. CBSE notes prepared as per the learning style can increase the efficacy of these revision notes manifold.

While preparing and revising from the CBSE notes students often commit some common mistakes. In order to optimize the benefits from CBSE notes, students should aim to avoid such mistakes. Here are some pointers that you may keep in mind to avoid making silly mistakes:

• Last minute exercise! While planning the study schedule, students typically only focus on completing the syllabus within the available time and do not allocate time for the essential revision exercise. With less or no time in hand for revision, preparing the vital CBSE notes takes a back seat for students. Keeping in mind the benefits of preparing CBSE notes, students should prepare and plan their study schedule in such a manner that they do not miss out on preparing the indispensable CBSE notes. If students are experiencing a time crunch, instead of completely skipping this exercise of preparing revision notes, students should instead seek help from readymade revision notes available on various websites.
• Keep a check on your watch! Either students do not prepare these CBSE notes for revision and on occasions when they do, they tend to spend an excessive amount of time on preparing such notes, leaving them with little or no time for memorizing key points. Therefore, it is advised that students manage their time effectively while revising from the revision notes.
• Avoid over-revising! While preparing for the final examinations students usually get stressed out and start panicking as the examination date draws near and the preparation seems far from complete.  In order to compensate such extreme emotions, some students tend to over-revise from their CBSE notes. Extreme exam anxiety such as  this may also create a state of mental block and result in reduced recall leaving the student even more stressed. During such a situation, it is important for students to relax and stop studying for some time. They should resume their revision from the CBSE Notes only after they feel relaxed and refreshed.

I am positive that if all you students out there keep all these essential points in your mind while preparing and revising from the CBSE notes, learning will become fun and scoring good marks will be easy.

CBSE- Working towards Stress-free Learning

It is the conviction of CBSE India to make education stress-free for students that has prompted it to take various initiatives to bring about meaningful changes in the current education scenario. This has paved the way for a host of fresh and innovative changes in the age-old education system in India. From introduction of Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation (CCE), completely doing away with class X board exams, to the introduction of a whole new curriculum i.e. CBSE-International curriculum for CBSE schools outside India, CBSE India has done it all. 

To refresh your memory about the series of changes proposed and implemented by CBSE, India here is a list elaborating the same:

• CCE is the ‘in’ thing! To enable student to grow holistically and also to help schools to accurately rate their students in curricular and co-curricular areas, CBSE India has introduced the system of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation. The testing system under CCE encompasses two summative and four formative assessments. Formative assessments assess students understanding during learning through symposiums, classroom quizzes, surprise tests, projects etc. Summative assessments, on the other hand aim to test the conceptual understanding of students through full- length conventional tests. To encourage students to pursue knowledge for its own sake rather than for marks, the system of CCE has also replaced marks with grades.
• Doing away with class X board exams! The one announcement that left everybody happily surprised was the news of optional class X board exams. CBSE India in its initiative to make schooling a stress-free affair decided to completely do away with class X board exams. However, students who still wish to take class X board exams can opt for ‘exams on demand’. Such a flexible system of examinations has removed undue pressure from these young minds.
• Common syllabus for Maths & Science! To give a level playing field to students studying under various boards in India during their engineering & medical entrance exams, CBSE India has proposed the idea of a common syllabus for Maths & Science for class XI & XII across all Boards in India. This change was initiated keeping in mind the needs of students studying different syllabi under the various educational boards in India. To bring students at par, this initiative by CBSE India was lauded by various boards in the country and also got the approval of COBSE. This common syllabus will come into play from the academic session starting 2011.
• Different curriculum for CBSE international schools! To cater to the needs of students studying under CBSE board in countries outside India and provide them with the right course material, CBSE India recently launched an international curriculum. This international curriculum will equip students with learning material that helps them stay abreast with their counterparts in western countries.
• Joint Medical and Engineering entrance exams! CBSE India has recently mooted an idea for single entrance exam for medical and engineering streams. Under this joint entrance exam, Physics and Chemistry paper will be common for both the streams. Students who wish to appear for the engineering entrance exam will have to additionally appear for Maths exam whereas medical students will have to take the Biology exam. However, this idea is just in the proposal stage and the modalities still need to be worked out.

Such changes by CBSE India has certainly made the academic culture more student friendly and has considerably made learning truly an enriching experience.

How to score well in ICSE Exams?

For students studying under the ICSE Board the mention of ICSE exams can cause considerable anxiety.  With competition levels soaring, ICSE exams are usually the ‘make or break time’ in a student’s life. In order to score well in the ICSE exams students should concentrate on obtaining a thorough understanding of concepts follow it up with repeated and robust revision sessions.

In order to write quality answers and score well in the ICSE exams, students should incorporate the following points in their studies.

• Say no to cramming! Students often consider mindless cramming as a sure-shot and easy way to obtain great marks in ICSE exams.  Some students cram out of habit and some out of necessity (“there is too little time left and so much to cover, where is the time to spend on understanding concepts!”). Whatever the reason, students should try to stay away from cramming and focus on building conceptual understanding. It is very important for students preparing for the ICSE exam to understand that cramming might prove very effective and sometimes yield instant results in the form of good marks, but in the long run it is an absolute waste, as you are sure to forget all that you crammed.  Cramming or relying only on rote memory results only in the short-term retention of concepts and is in fact highly detrimental for subjects such as Science and Maths, where building progressively on conceptual understanding is the only key to better marks.
• Revising is must! It goes without saying that revising is one of the most essential ingredients for performing well in the ICSE exams. Students can reinforce learning by using a variety of revision aids available in a lot of websites. These revision aids will not only make learning effective but will also make scoring great marks in the ICSE exams easy. Students can start their revision sessions using chapter-wise tests along with comprehensive model tests available on these websites. Students can also revise using interactive curriculum-based puzzles that will add the much required zing into their revision schedules. For those last moment revision sessions before the final ICSE exams, students can refer to crisp, easily downloadable, chapter-wise revision notes available on these websites.
• Do not let stress get to you! A little bit of exam-related anxiety can often give the much required push to the student to prepare and perform well at in the final ICSE exams. However, prolonged and high-levels of anxiety can lead to overpowering stress and a poor performance at the final exams. While preparing for the final ICSE exam, students should try to stay calm and study with a single-minded focus towards performing well in the exams. Students should learn and revise as much they can before their final papers and perform some simple stress-busting activities to keep their anxiety levels under control.
• Do not use any unfair means! Students should not indulge in cheating or any unfair means to perform well in the ICSE exams. Students may occasionally tend to get easily lured by these short-cut methods of scoring good marks. Although it may seem like an easy way to score good marks in the examinations, but if any student is caught using unfair means, needless to say, very strict action is taken against the student. In extreme cases, it could even result in cancellation of the entire answer sheet.

So the next time you prepare for your ICSE exams, do keep in mind these easy-to-follow pointers to get better results.

How to prepare for CBSE class X papers

CBSE class X papers are often considered the first set of ‘real’ exams that a student takes during his schooling. Before the advent of the Comprehensive & Continuous Evaluation (CCE), CBSE class X papers were compulsory board exams that all students studying under the CBSE board had to clear in order to get promoted to the next class. However, after the introduction of CCE, these end-of-the-year CBSE class X board papers have become an optional exam that students can take on demand.  Students who wish to change their school or board after class X are required to appear for the CBSE class X board papers /board exams.

Students who opt for CCE are required to take two summative and four formative assessments in an academic year. Apart from these paper & pencil tests, students are also required to actively take part in the year-round formative assessments that test their skills related to public speaking, leadership qualities etc.

Why should students take their CBSE class X papers seriously?
Students who wish to excel in their lives and are aiming for a bright career should take not only the CBSE class X papers but all the exams very sincerely. These exams are not only geared to test their knowledge and understanding in that particular subject, but also their endurance to stand the stress of demanding situations.  If a student is planning to opt for ‘Science’ as a subject of choice in class XII and is required to decide between opting for the medical vs the non-medical streams, his/her performance in CBSE class X papers along with an honest introspection into is strengths and weaknesses can help him make a choice. If he/she has performed extremely well in Physics & Chemistry and has performed relatively poor in Biology and finds understanding concepts in Biology difficult, and further if he is not keen on becoming a doctor or pursuing other fields related to Biology such as Botany, Zoology etc, then ‘non-medical’ Science should be his choice.

Thus, your performance in these exams not only help you in choosing the right career, but they also help students develop basic computation and analytical skills that are essential in day-to-day life. For example, an architect is expected to know how to calculate area of a plot and have a general idea about dimensions & volumes, concepts that are taught in class X (Chapter- Mensuration).

How to study for CBSE class X papers?
Being attentive in the class and engaging in rigorous self-study sessions are a must for any student who aspires to excel in studies. Students should start their studies by giving the chapter a thorough read, followed by solving the end-of-chapter NCERT questions. Students face any problems while trying to solve NCERT questions can seek help from websites that provide free NCERT solutions to the end-of-chapter questions. These solutions are further enriched with high quality videos & animations that explain the concept(s) so as to make learning effective. Apart from these NCERT solutions, students can also seek help from other learning & assessment aids that are available on this website.

So the next time you appear for your CBSE class X paper, you will know how to study effectively. Don’t you?

Happy studying!

CBSE India introduces a common syllabus for Maths & Science!

The Union Ministry of Human Resource and CBSE India are leaving no stone unturned to make lives easy for school students across the various boards in India! The latest stride towards this endeavor is the introduction of a common syllabus for Maths and Science for the students of classes XI and XII across all the educational boards. Therefore, from the academic year starting 2011-12, students from all the boards in the country can look forward to a uniform syllabus!

An initiative like this by CBSE India will ensure a level playing field for all the students while they prepare for their engineering and medical entrance examinations. Hence, while all you students studying in classes XI & XII, preparing for your national level engineering and medical entrance exams from the year 2012, need no longer worry about the extensive syllabi covered by your friend in CBSE or other national/ state board.

A common syllabus is just the first step by the Human Resource Ministry and CBSE India towards a flexible pattern of education that is comparable to the education systems existing in the West. CBSE India also has plans in the pipeline to conduct a common entrance exam for Medical and Engineering courses in India by 2013. If such a plan by CBSE India gains acceptance from all the academic corners in the country, life after class XII is only set to get easier for students.

However, implementation of a common syllabus by CBSE India has also garnered a lot of criticism by NCERT. NCERT is of the view that Council of School Board of Education (COBSE) has no right to push the common syllabus agenda. NCERT believes that the decision to undertake any curriculum revision exercise should rightfully rest with itself as NCERT has been instrumental in all such changes over the past years. It also believes that COBSE is just a coordinating body between the various school boards in the country.

Amidst all this controversy, major stakes are now on successful implementation of this common syllabus scheme for Maths and Science. Success of a common syllabus like this could also spread cheer in the lives of students studying in the Commerce and Humanities streams. Talks are around for a uniform syllabus for various subjects in these streams as well. What more could have students asked for to ensure a smooth and stress-free studying experience!

There are various websites that provide CBSE-aligned learning resources for students studying in classes V-XII. A common syllabus for Maths and Science will also ensure that more students can now seek help from such websites and reap benefits of quality and extensive learning resources.

All students studying under CBSE India can expect a lot of good news in the near future as well.

All the best for the future!