Exam Study Expert: ace your exams with the science of learning

Today, in the lead-up to exam season, we’re diving right into how to perform well in high-stakes, high-pressure situations with expert Dr Brian Hite. And who better to ask about high stakes than a stuntman, former army resilience trainer, sports psychologist and coach who specialises in performance under pressure.Dr Brain tackles exam pressure and tough questions, the 4 important stages of a high-stakes performance, and real-time tools you can use to stay calm: all interspersed with real-life experiences.Feeling like the stakes are high this exam season? This is the episode you need to hear.** ⭐About today’s guest, Dr Brain Hite: Dr Brain Hite is a high-stakes performance coach and author, experienced stuntman, and sports psychologist:🌐Discover more: https://brianhiteglobal.com/***🎓About Exam Study Expert: Hosted by William Wadsworth, memory psychologist, independent researcher and study skills coach. I help ambitious students to study smarter, not harder, so they can ace their exams with less work and less stress. 🎯 Book 1:1 COACHING to supercharge your exam success: https://examstudyexpert.com/workwithme/ 📘Get Outsmart Your Exams, my award-winning exam technique book: https://geni.us/exams * **  Podcast edited by Kerri Edinburgh.* As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases on suggested books.Questions? Comments? Requests? Or just want to say "thanks" - send me a text message (I read them all!).

Got a lot on your plate at the moment? Today we're helping you thrive in a demanding exam season with the help of "the easy button": specific moves you can make to take some of the pressure off in the short-term and free up a little extra time and brainspace to focus on your studies.Take a listen, and let us know in the comments where YOU'LL be pressing that easy button in future!Get a copy of Outsmart Your Exams, my award-winning exam technique book, at https://geni.us/exams**Hosted by William Wadsworth, memory psychologist, independent researcher and study skills coach. I help ambitious students to study smarter, not harder, so they can ace their exams with less work and less stress.BOOK 1:1 COACHING to supercharge your exam success: https://examstudyexpert.com/workwithme/**As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases on suggested books.Questions? Comments? Requests? Or just want to say "thanks" - send me a text message (I read them all!).

Perfectionism can feel like ambition for many students, but it often fuels anxiety, procrastination, and a harsh inner critic that makes studying harder than it needs to be. We’re joined today by Harvard-trained clinical psychologist, author and perfectionism expert Dr Tara Cousineau, to unpack the psychology and triggers of perfectionism. Dr Tara shares practical skills everyone can employ for putting self-compassion before self-criticism, and learning how to strive for excellence whilst protecting your wellbeing.This is an excellent advice-packed episode I hope the perfectionists in our Exam Study Expert community will return to again and again, covering everything from working definitions of perfectionism and types of inner critic, to key tools for rewriting your mindset about excellence and progress.If Dr Tara’s advice has resonated with you, why not share this episode with a friend who’s stuck in overthinking mode, and leave a review so more students can find the show. 👇 I’d love to know: What’s one perfectionist habit you want to loosen this week?** ⭐About today’s guest, Dr Tara Cousineau: 📖 Find her recent book, The Perfectionist's Dilemma: Learn the Art of Self-Compassion and Become a Happy Achiever here: https://geni.us/perfectionist *📖 Dr Tara’s first book, The Kindness Cure: How the Science of Compassion Can Heal Your Heart and Your World can be found here: https://geni.us/kindnesscure *🌐Discover more about Dr Tara Cousineau: https://www.taracousineau.com/🌐And learn more about The Perfectionist’s Dilemma here: https://perfectionistsdilemma.com/***🎓About Exam Study Expert: Hosted by William Wadsworth, memory psychologist, independent researcher and study skills coach. I help ambitious students to study smarter, not harder, so they can ace their exams with less work and less stress. 🎙️Support the podcast on Patreon and grab exclusive benefits: https://examstudyexpert.com/patreon/🎯 Book 1:1 COACHING to supercharge your exam success: https://examstudyexpert.com/workwithme/ 📘Get Outsmart Your Exams, my award-winning exam technique book: https://geni.us/exams * **  Podcast edited by Kerri Edinburgh.* As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases on suggested books.Questions? Comments? Requests? Or just want to say "thanks" - send me a text message (I read them all!).

Today, I'm sharing one question that cuts through revision stress and helps you decide what to study next: what kind of learning feels most difficult right now? Tune in to find out why mental resistance is a signal to prioritise that work and how you can, rather than leave it to one side, actually lean into it and do more of the practice that matters most.*Hosted by William Wadsworth, memory psychologist, independent researcher and study skills coach. I help ambitious students to study smarter, not harder, so they can ace their exams with less work and less stress.BOOK 1:1 COACHING to supercharge your exam success: https://examstudyexpert.com/workwithme/Get a copy of Outsmart Your Exams, my award-winning exam technique book, at https://geni.us/exams*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases on suggested books.Questions? Comments? Requests? Or just want to say "thanks" - send me a text message (I read them all!).

Dr Jennifer Veilleux, clinical psychologist and author of Open to Emotion, shares research-based tools for managing academic stress. She explains how emotions are generated, when negative feelings help or harm, and the thinking threshold for action. Learn about cognitive reappraisal, plan B strategies to lower pressure, and why procrastination is often an emotional avoidance tactic.

A deep dive into the U-shaped curve of study effort and performance. Tips on spotting where you sit on that curve through metacognition. Discussion of motivation versus burnout and finding the right study intensity. Advice on mixing flashcards and past papers depending on what you already know. How to personalise spaced repetition frequency to avoid under- or over-studying.

A high-achiever’s case study on hitting top 1% through rigid daily habits and metacognitive routines. A deep dive into a 300-day Anki streak, card-making practices, and specific spaced retrieval settings. Detailed systems for tracking past papers, trial feedback use, and exam-day time management tactics. Practical strategies for turning class listening into effective study material.

A pep talk on why tiny, do-able study goals beat big, sporadic pushes. Practical tips for starting conservatively and choosing a ‘bad-day’ task you can always complete. Warnings about overambitious targets, burnout and where your goals really come from. A steady, scalable approach that rewards consistency and lets progress accelerate over time.

Alex Quigley, former teacher and author known for writing about learning and classroom practice, outlines eight predictable ways studying breaks down. He discusses overconfidence, prior-knowledge gaps, planning failures, metacognition, spaced retrieval, tackling disliked topics, deliberate practice, and turning facts into exam-ready synthesis.

What if improving results across an entire school came down to a handful of simple learning habits, done well, every day? In this episode we sit down with two headteachers from top-performing UK schools – Andy Green (Copleston High School) and Peter Lee (Q3 Academy Langley) – to discover how the science of learning effectively has influenced their leadership, teaching approaches, and the learning experiences of their students when put into practice across an entire school community.We unpack how clear routines in the classroom, research-led CPD, well-communicated simple revision strategies, and a tight teaching playbook can improve engagement, consistency and exam results school-wide. This episode is slightly different to our normal fare, but it is packed with practical insights. Whether you’re a teacher, school leader, parent or student, you’ll come away with concrete ideas for building a culture of effective learning – in the classroom and at home.**Three invitations for (UK) educators:1.      Come and watch me teach (revision strategy workshop) Want to see what expert revision strategy training actually looks like in a real classroom? Come and watch me in action delivering a revision strategy workshop in a school near you. 2.      Take part in the Revision CensusI’ve surveyed the revision habits of over 75,000 students in the UK to date. Want an insight into the habits of your own students? Participate in the Revision Census and get a clear, data-rich picture of your students’ current habits, what’s working well, and where the biggest opportunities for improvement lie.3.      Work with me (student workshops + teacher CPD)Level up on learning science across your whole school: sign up for high-impact revision workshops for students and CPD for teachers in your own school. If any of these sound useful for your school, get in touch with Katie at katie@examstudyexpert.com  and we’ll get the ball rolling.**🎓About Exam Study Expert: Hosted by William Wadsworth, memory psychologist, independent researcher and study skills coach. I help ambitious students to study smarter, not harder, so they can ace their exams with less work and less stress. 🎯 Book 1:1 COACHING to supercharge your exam success: https://examstudyexpert.com/workwithme/ 📘Get Outsmart Your Exams, my award-winning exam technique book: https://geni.us/exams * ** Podcast edited by Kerri Edinburgh. * As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases on suggested books.Questions? Comments? Requests? Or just want to say "thanks" - send me a text message (I read them all!).