The aim of giving a
set of questions in advance, from which those actually made in the examination
will be made, is to help organize their studying: to reduce the infinite
possibilities in their mind, and place the students in the analytical perspective
required by the teacher. One might object that, in this way, students study
less: this is perhaps the reason why it is customary to only give the students
the questions during the actual examination and not before. Personally, I don't
agree with this, and neither do the students: they manifest being able to study
in a different way, but still preparing for a wide range of questions (there
are 30 questions, which demand coming and going between different texts!); Some
share the task and write the answers as a group. In the real test, they may not
use these notes because the exam is still a closed-book test. What they do use
is the knowledge they developed while reading, writing and receiving peer
reviews.
On its part, the
simulation has several objectives. First, it promotes thinking of a central
feature in the test, which is the paradox that students eventually face: the
need to communicate the subject to a reader (teacher), as if that person didn't
know anything about the topic of the class, even if they actually do.
