Students Lead the Class

In preparation for our Honors Geometry semester exam I had students break up into small groups
to become the "class experts" for one of the topics we learned about during first semester.  The groups chose their topic and then were responsible for creating a quick reference guide for the content, a practice summative assessment with answer key, and a twenty minute review activity for the class.

The students were given four class periods to put together their projects.  Things moved along very well and students definitely took ownership in their learning.  Students learned to anticipate the types of questions that they may find on the exam and then designed an activity to review the concepts.

I must admit that I was a little nervous when it was time for the students to start their activity presentations.  I would be turning over the classroom to my students for three entire class periods.  I knew that my students had put a lot of work into their activity and I had a pretty good idea of what each group would be presenting, but the groups were entirely in control of the classroom.  The students made the decisions about what should be emphasized in preparation for our semester exam.  I was nervous, but I was also very curious as to how they would take charge.

Overall, things went GREAT!  My students came up with some really great activities to keep their classmates engaged!  We played Jeopardy, BINGO, a math variation of "spoons", played various board games, and created many other activities.  The leading group took charge of the classroom and the rest of the students busily got to work on the activities.

The vast majority of the questions posed were great.  Students made sure to cover the basics of the material and also posed great challenge questions.  Students also created summative assessments for their classmates so that the review could continue outside of the classroom.  Again, I saw lots of great questions that I think will get my students ready for their upcoming exam.  While not all of the projects and questions were "perfect", I think even the mistakes helped to teach.  If the class tried to solve a problem that didn't have a solution, they had to look at it a second time and determine why the problem couldn't be solved.  If there was a problem with an answer key, students talked about it and challenged it rather than accepting the solution as fact.

I would definitely do this project again in the future.  I think it taught my students to think critically and it helped them prepare for our upcoming exam.

Group Project: Review for our Semester Exam

This year I'm trying something a little different with my Honors Geometry students to help them prepare for our semester exam.  We'll be turning the tables and the students will become the teachers.  In order to prepare for our exam students will break up into small groups of four or five students to become the "experts" on one of the topics that we covered throughout the semester.  The group will then will be responsible for preparing the material to help us review.

Each group will be responsible for putting together three items for their assigned topic:

1. Summary of the content for the topic
2. A review activity that will be presented to the class
3. A practice summative assessment, with answer key

The idea is that once the students have compiled all of their content, they will all be housed on a class Google Site so that students can access the material as they prepare for the exam.

Summary of the Content

It is up to the group to decide what is important about their topic.  They will also decide the best method to present their information.  Students can create a quick reference guide using a Google Document, a series of videos using the app "Explain Everything", a Google Presentation, or another method of their choosing.  This content will be housed on the class Google Site.

Review Activity

The group will be in charge of leading a group activity for the class during a 20 minute time slot.  The intent is not to have the students lecture, but instead guide the students through an exercise.  I gave the suggestions of creating a game, setting up stations, leading a "think-pair-share" activity, or another activity of their choice.

Practice Summative Assessment

Students will also need to create a practice summative assessment, with answer key, for their content.  This practice assessment will be assigned to the class as their homework for the evening.  It will give students another opportunity to practice the material.  

It is my hope that this activity will help my students prepare for a major test.  Since the majority of my students are freshmen this will be their first experience with taking a major math exam.  I wanted to lead my students through good study habits.  We are starting this activity well before our actual exam---we are not cramming it all in with only a day or two before the exam.  I also want to teach my students to anticipate the types of questions that might be on the exam.  By creating their own test, hopefully students won't find any surprises.