Howie Hua, a lecturer in the Mathemetics Department at Fresno State University, recently shared a few tips he uses to help students reduce their anxiety when preparing for test.
One is called “Friends without Pens” and gives students time to chat about the exam before it starts in two rounds with the following structure: Students are given a free-response question, quiz, or challenging problem. In the first round is the timed “friends without pens” round, in which students are grouped together and can discuss— but not write about—the question. At the end of the time, students return to their desks for the “pens without friends” round, where they tackle the assignment in the traditional, independent sense.
This approach can be a scaffolding tool if students are being introduced to a new type
of assignment or a particularly difficult or challenging question.
In this one-minute video he tweeted, he explains how he develops collaborative study guides that student update via Google Slides: https://twitter.com/howie_hua/status/1505292108223049728
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