Then self-quizzing activity involves students reading the one section of the knowledge organizer, covering it up, and then writing it out from memory [a note from the editor: this activity might be even more effective if there is a gap between reading and retrieving!]. They then uncover the information and check it against what they have written, using a different colored pen to fill in any gaps and make visible the current gaps in their retention. This method involves students applying retrieval practice: number two on the list of six research-based strategies for effective learning. and heralded as one of the most effective study methods of the list according to research.
The next strategy on their list is elaboration, and they define ‘elaborative interrogation’ as “ask[ing] yourself questions about how and why things work and then produc[ing] the answers to these questions”. For this study method, I added an extra page to the knowledge organizer with key quotes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream such as “she is mine, I may dispose of her, which shall be either to this gentleman or to her death” spoken by Egeus in Act 1 Scene 1. The idea is that students will ‘interrogate’ the quotes as part of their revision, asking questions such as:
Why does Shakespeare use the verb ‘dispose’?
How is Egeus presented here?
What is Shakespeare suggesting about the patriarchal system in Renaissance England?
When else does the theme of power and paternal relationships appear in the play?
Where else in the play is Egeus presented similarly or differently?
Ideally, this helps students make connections across and between different parts of their knowledge.
The next strategy is the use of Concrete Examples. To train students up in this study method, I provided a concrete example of an analytical paragraph based on the idea of power in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Underneath the paragraph is a broken-down list of content and stylistic criteria that has been used in the example to make it both successful and sophisticated.
