Turning Review Day into Game Day for service level CS courses
As the quarter came to a close, I wanted to find a more engaging way for students to review the material covered for the last quiz. The material itself is pretty much history of the Internet and WWW; so the students have to remember a bunch of events and dates. Instead of conducting a traditional review session, I designed a set of three interactive team-based games to play during the last lecture of the quarter that incorporated all these topics.
Students worked in teams and competed through multiple rounds that included true/false questions, set up a timeline of events, and match a problem to a solution. They enjoyed collaborating and having a friendly competition while reviewing the concetps.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the activity was seeing students who were normally quiet become active participants. The team structure reduced the pressure of answering individually, so nobody was nervous to attempt to answer or participate. It also gave me immediate feedback about which topics students remembered well and which concepts needed additional clarification. It was also a bit of a stress reliever since we had some fun shouting answers and stuff.
Even though games are not a replacement for lectures or assignments, I think they can provide a fun opportunity for review. The activity transformed what could have been a routine review day into an energetic classroom experience that many students seemed to enjoy.
The CS 6 Review Game
The game below is the same review activity used in class. Visitors are welcome to explore the questions and try the activity themselves.