Reviewing: when is it a waste of time and when is it constructive?
This week we finished a rather large unit in large animal science and I had two days of review. The first day was dedicated to a "wake up call" for the grade book to sum things up for the marking period, as well as starting independent work on the study guide because of several snow days and delays. The second day we experienced BreakOut EDU boxes for group review, as well as bringing things up to the whole class to review items.
My Rules for Review Days:
- Students must always be working: Making up work, Completing the study guide, or Studying other material in the unit
- Students should participate in group review and independent review.
- Students should ask for clarification for content after they have asked their peers.
How do I prevent this from being a waste of time?
Technically, the content has already been learned and you should have an understanding of student knowledge from your formative assessment. I see the benefit of reviews for students who were absent or if you covered large amounts of content, but how can I prevent this from becoming a wasted day?
As with any class session, I believe peer interaction is important. Provide them a guide for some structure, but let them work together to review content. You, then, are a facilitator of this experience, as you walk and talk with the groups to help clarify questions or keep students on task. I have found that when a skill (beyond rote memorization) is involved with the assessment students will review more and often retain that "information" better; thus, be thinking of ways to build skills activities into the reviews.
ReplyDeleteIf what you have planned fits into the learning goals and supports the students at the correct level, then it is constructive as long as it is implemented well. Use research-based theories to help determine how you want students to review. This unit provided multiple options and methods for review. Some students are going to waste time; some make it their mission to do so no matter what has been planned. Don't let those students be your "pace car." We need to work to reach them, but they should not be the main thing that drives our instruction. Focus your energy on the bulk of students who are engaged. Often their enthusiasm brings others along more than the items you have actually planned.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to Alex and Dr. Ewing's advice, I would encourage you to diversify your reviews. Being in a block time period, I will structure the first part of the block and give options the other part. From one unit to the next, I will choose different review activities or methods. I also consider the students in the class and how they learn best.
ReplyDelete