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Repetition: The definitive syllabus overview 

Brief description 

Through a combination of group work and several classroom presentations, the students create an overview of texts, key concepts, and points from the course. 

The teacher’s motivation 

The motivation is to create an overview and understanding of the syllabus across lessons. In addition, this exercise helps students brush up on the syllabus before the exam. 

Description of the activity

The course of the activity 

The activity is carried out during the final lesson and requires approx. three hours. 

Student preparation: 

The students have to find all texts from the syllabus including their notes and repeat them for themselves. 

During class: 

  1. At the beginning of the lesson, the students are divided into groups of three to four people. 

  2. Each group is responsible for two to four texts from different lessons. They have to find at least two important points and at least two key concepts for each text. At the top of an A3 sheet, they write the author of the article and the title (in brief). Underneath they first write the points and then the concepts. This should be written clearly in capital letters, so the entire class can read it. It might be a good idea to use different colours for author and title, points and concepts, so it is easier to distinguish between them. This round of group work normally takes between 30 and 45 minutes depending on the number of texts. 

  3. Afterwards, the groups present their discoveries to each other and stick their A3 sheets to the board using adhesive. Texts used during the same lesson are placed close to each other. Lessons will either be separated with a drawn line or a large space. This should take about 45 minutes. 

  4. During the next round, the students find relations between their own texts from the first round and texts from the course’s other lessons. This can usually be done in 30 minutes. 

  5. The groups take turns to explain the relations they have found in front of the class. The relations are visualised with ribbons (preferably golden) connecting one text to another. Once all groups have presented, the board will be filled with points, concepts and their relations.  

Resources for students: 

  • The curriculum 

  • A3 paper 

  • Felt-tip pens for all groups 

  • Golden ribbon and scissors 

Support for students: 

  • Instruction on a regular basis in the activities and purpose of the lessons. It is more fun if they don’t know the contents of entire course in the advance, but experience it in real time. 

Outcome of the activity 

The activity ensures that the students refresh all of the texts, including the ones from the beginning of the semester. 

They are required to think about the syllabus in relation to the individual text, but also in relation to the entire course. The latter is especially useful when they have to think about the exam assignment. 

Challenges 

Time may be short. Three hours might sound like plenty of time at first, but they pass quickly. The teacher can manage the length of the group work, but during presentations that can be more difficult. Some are taciturn, others talkative. 

Useful tips 

Consider taking pictures of each A3 sheet and the final result. It is interesting to look back on and a way to save the results for later.  .

Activities

    Examples of practice


      Image examples

      Basic information

      • Faculty: Arts 

      • Degree programme:  Information Studies, IT University West professional Master’s degree programme     

      • Study level: MA 

      • Size of class: 15-26 students 

      • Form of instruction: Classroom instruction 

      • Extent: Activity 

      • Primary activity type: Knowledge and information 

      • Form of completion: In-person teaching 

      • Applied technology:  A3 paper, adhesive, golden ribbon