One of the best things we can do as instructors is help students become self-directed learners where they leverage feedback whether from in-class activities, quizzes, drafts, papers, projects, and exams to help them focus their effort when studying. In an interview with a student from a large-enrollment chemistry class, he was a self proclaimed “study-guide guy” who midway through the semester realized that he needed to focus his effort on what he didn’t know more than what he already knew. He didn’t stop using the study guide yet he made sure to note which problems or questions in class that he got wrong so that he could focus on closing that gap in his understanding.
