Project Based Review Assignments

Lesson Activities to Engage Students while Studying for Exams

Jan 27, 2009

Project based reviews combine creativity with known information to encourage students to study for upcoming assessments.

Project based activities allow students to work with lessons in a hands-on situation. They promote critical thinking skills and encourage creativity. When combined with a material already covered, this type of activity can provide students with the opportunity to better understand the prior lessons.

Benefits of Project Based Review Activities

Some students are reluctant learners, but even more are not motivated to review material for an upcoming assessment. A few may feel they already know the information or may not be able to identify what they do not know. Others might not know where to begin or that they have something better to do than study.

Though research has not shown project based learning to be a capable replacement for learning basic skills, it is showing that these activities are engaging, rigorous and relevant when well planned. It provides an opportunity for students of varying learning styles to interact with the material in different ways. When being used as a review, projects can engage students in using the knowledge they should have learned to solve a problem and provides a chance to discover what they need to know better.

How to Use Projects as a Review

Project based reviews need to provide students the opportunity to use their knowledge in an engaging and challenging way. They involve active use of the knowledge and not a restatement of facts. For example, creating a timeline of events for a period of time is not as active as choosing to either write a diary from the viewpoint of a certain person who lived in that time or to create a collection of comic strips or political cartoons showing different major events.

A major consideration to using a project as a review is the time involved in creating it. Not only should the activity review important concepts or information, it should also hold students accountable for knowing them. In the event example above, the project requirements should take into consideration what events and supporting information the student should include. How much should be exhibited and how needs to be not only built into the requirements and assessment but communicated to the students when introducing the project so they know what is expected.

Through working with their knowledge and completing a project that is relevant and engaging, students are encouraged to use the material they have learned. During the process, they discover what they might have missed and are more likely to look up the information and remember it. For some students, using the knowledge is a better way to remember the information and retain it for future assignments.

The copyright of the article Project Based Review Assignments in Classroom Activities is owned by Tammy Andrew. Permission to republish Project Based Review Assignments in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.