Review, review, review..
I am a firm believer in reviewing. I like to use the phrase "Repetition is the mother of all skill". The more you go over something, wether it be a physical activity or reflecting on an idea or subject matter, the easier it is to retain.
Yes, Yes, Yes...
I will introduce important subject matter at the earliest convenient opportunity so the student starts to see the relationship of the topic at hand to the upcoming information. Care must be taken not to confuse topics but to give the students a "taste" of related information. We also use guided notes and study guides to review and connect information. Bottom line, I introduce information casually, formal lecture and finally show relevance with a comprehensive review almost in conversation form.
Hi Mark,
I am with you on the use of review to help with retention. With repetition comes integration of knowledge and skill. The students may not realize it at the time but they are gaining the competencies needed for career success so we need to continue to support their knowledge acquisition as much as we can even with the challenges.
Gary
Hi Lanny,
Good way to introduce subject matter to the students. Sounds like you have a very clear plan for how your students are going to acquire new knowledge and make application of the content. Thanks for sharing your strategy with us.
Gary
Hi Mark,
I have found that reviewing in many instances will prompt questions from earlier in the session that possibily the students overlooked or forgot. I have had better results on the exam scores can conducting open reviews allowing the students to host their own review portion after I have completed mine.
Thanks,
Lee
I definitely agree with you! Reviewing will trigger more questions for the students to ask and to initiate more discussion about the topic at hand. I love it when my students create flash cards and review with each other!
Hi Chavelle,
When you feel the excitement of the students and they are focused on learning then you realize why you became a teacher. This is what it is all about.
Gary
Review is essential and it helps students remember important information that they will be able to build on in their knowledge for their careers.
I have to 2nd this opinion... It's especially true for student population in career colleges... But, we need to be very sensible in using this "repetition"..., otherwise, it could be very challenging to complete all the topics in the course, given how short our Terms are...
Hi Yan,
Thank you for the caution in how repetition is used in learning. Instructors need to offer a variety of different review methods so the students will stay engaged in the class while retaining the needed content.
Gary
I agree that review is a valuable learning tool. When a student is given a review they are actually going over the material a second time. Through a review a student gets a second look at the subject matter. This reinforces their understanding of the material. Material they may have missed the first time through is covered again and the student learns this material.
Theodore,
Well said in relation to the value of conducting reviews. They really pay off when it comes to both assessments and take away knowledge.
Gary
I definitely need to incorporate more review into my classroom. I can see the difference in student performance when I do reviews of the material, but unfortunately time does not always allow. We cover entire textbooks of material in 6 week modules. I need pointers on ways to incorporate more review while under time constraints.
Tracy,
I would use the 1 minute paper strategy. Have the students write for 60 seconds on a question you raise such as "What surprised you most about __________?", What is the proper procedure, method, etc. for doing ____________?", or "How do you do __________?" The point is this activity does not take up much time and it doesn't overwhelm students since they only write for 1 minute. You then can use what they write for a brief discussion or collect them and then highlight the responses at the next class session.
What you get is a review that doesn't take a lot of time but gets the students thinking about and writing on what has just been covered.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
