Some teachers like to make their own review guides, while some may prefer letting students make their own review guides. This latter option, however, while sometimes quite effective, has its own drawbacks. If you are considering this technique for your classroom, consider reading this article as an exercise of caution.

The first occasion where using the technique student-made review guides may fall flat is where they can’t be made in the first place. That is, some students are too young to be able to grasp creating problems in such a formal manner. Using this technique with younger [elementary school] students will likely require more teacher input and guidance. For instance, perhaps give them a context and let them fill in the numbers. Here is an example of this technique aimed at elementary school teachers and their students: http://www.opencurriculum.org/9555/counting-money-student-problem-customization/.

The second occasion where using this technique can be problematic is where students lack the motivation to take time to carefully compose a review guide for themselves. To resolve this problem, I suggest making it an additional graded assignment in addition to or in lieu of a review problem set. When a student realizes his or her grade is directly at stake (as opposed to indirectly), they will give it the same amount of attention as any other assignment. To further excite the students, consider making it a group assignment. Pair students up and give them class time to make a joint list of concepts with which they struggle. Then, outside of class, they can work collaboratively to create problems and/or questions that require an understanding of the concepts that give them difficulty.

After a few days, have the students turn in their review guides for a grade, where you evaluate them on effort, quality, and depth. If you are a math teacher, encourage students to make word problems, letting them flush out their creativity and have a little more fun with the assignment.

In general, studying should be a proactive exercise on behalf of the students. Putting more of the absorption of the material in the students’ hands is a great way to do this, provided they are up for the challenge and have proper teacher guidance along the way.