Abstract:

Revision and exam preparation has been a subject of much debate for decades. Most learners use their course book and notes as their main way to consolidate knowledge and as a means of exam preparation. It can create impression of high knowledge retention and provide learners with confidence in their abilities ahead of exams. However, being barely challenging, it may give a false representation of students’ state of knowledge. A pilot study launched at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China investigated the use of active recall as a means of exam preparation which had been somewhat neglected in recent years. This method is used by learners at the beginning of each week across a whole semester. Participants were surveyed and interviewed and the results of their final assessment were analysed to measure the impact of this intervention on the learning process, knowledge retention and academic performance. The use of weekly recall seems to have led to better written assessment outcomes when compared with the control group. Conclusions drawn from this experiment have shed much light on learner expectations, autonomy and guidance on how to best consolidate knowledge and prepare for exams.

Keywords:

Active recall, learner autonomy, revision, exam preparation.