Free Response Quiz

As I start preparing my students for the AP exam, I like using several class periods to go back to common free response questions and have students work on solving them. One of my favorite ways to get students engaged is to do a group Free Response Quiz.

At the beginning of class, students are broken up into groups of three and are given fifty minutes to work on the problems together. I recommend that one student solves each problem and then they share their solutions. At the end of the time, I break the groups up and each student of the group randomly gets one of the three questions in a regular quiz format. Grades are calculated by adding up the scores from each person in the group. This way students are motivated not only to learn the other questions but to make sure that their partners fully understand their question.

I did this Friday with my BC Calculus students looking strictly at questions about series. I love watching the students work with each and explaining the material. I believe the best learning happens when I remove myself from the process. It was great looking over the work my students turned in and seeing how much they had gained from working together. I love this time of year.