With the wrapping up of a semester brings our attention to semester exams, at the high school level. I was thinking back of different ways that I have prepared my students for their semester exam by reviewing. I started my first years of teaching by providing a packet filled with practice problems, a list of topics that would be on the exam, and formulas they would need to know/use. I would have students work problems and go over problems students asked questions about. I then transitioned into creating stations for review based on different units of study or topics covered in the semester as well as practice problems with answers provided. I have played games with review problems such as Jeopardy or Kahoot. No matter the strategy I chose to review, the most effect was when the students were doing the work and asking questions of each other rather than modeling problems for them.
I was first introduced to the term “active reviewing” from Nicole DImich and was intrigued to learn more. Active reviewing extends beyond education and into other professional environments since it “improves our ability to learn from experience.” (Roger Greenaway). Effective reviewing engages the students to take ownership of their learning and reflection on learning. While reviewing a can be a simple set of problems or a more complex activity that involved movement, it needs to be focused on the mental output from students. It remind me of the quote, “The one doing the talking is the one doing the learning.” Asking students to think back on what they have learned about a topic, share their thoughts with a partner, and write about the topic engages them in the learning/reviewing.
Here are some ideas for reviewing that increase student engagement while putting the work of reviewing on the students. This choice board or menu allows students to be actively engaged in their review by deciding which topics or skills to review and in which order they would like. Students should be recording information or responses or discussing with a partner before selecting answers. This learning menu has built in feedback and additional supports. “Get to the Point” comes from Lead4ward and has you tape problems or topics around the room for students to place dots(or checks) on three posters of their choosing. This provides the teacher feedback as to which topics or problems the students feel less confident on or need additional support with. Similarly, write the room, has students rotate from poster to poster adding phrases, diagrams, formulas and more to each poster for others to view and add on to. This strategy adds movement into the review which research shows a greater influence on engagement and learning.
I would love to hear what effective review strategies you use in your classroom. I am always looking for new ideas to share!