So far, I’ve found FreeCodeCamp to be a wonderful, set by step guide to learning web design/JavaScript, but I find that, at least for me, it’s generally easy to get through the courses (aside from some steps that require more time), and jump to the next without making sure I fully understand what I just learned.
I take my own notes as I go through each course/each step, but find I don’t spend enough time on the side simply reading/reviewing my notes/code. While I enjoy the freedom of not being trapped and being forced to pass a test/quiz to advance, I think an optional review quiz would be a great idea.
I think that upon completion of every lesson, there should be an optional quiz that will review everything introduced in the course you just completed in addition to a few other “review topics” of previously taught material. Multiple choice, true/false, writing out code snippets based on a scenario. Upon completion, the user sees their score, what they got wrong, and links/sources to help the Camper review what they got wrong. Maybe indicate what specific steps of a course they should jump back to to review. Passing/completion of the quiz should not be a requirement for the program certification though.
I think that this would be benefit Campers so that we ourselves can recognize what we still may not understand in addition to the course team at freeCodeCamp to gain better insight on what they may need to emphasize/expand upon in courses.
I would open an issue on GitHub with your feature suggestion.
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of quizzes, but having an optional quiz that works as a review of what was taught at the end of each section might not be a bad idea.
Yeah, I agree that maybe if the quiz acted as more like a guided review of the key concepts from the lesson, it would be a great addition. Like I mentioned, it’s easy to jump from course to course without stopping to review everything I just learned, so some kind of optional follow up review quiz would be great to emphasize the important takeaways from the course.
That is also what the certificate projects are for. They force you to use what you have previously learned.
But a brief review of what was taught at the end of each section might help reinforce the knowledge a bit, at least, closer in time to when it was taught. I guess it is also a form of gamification, which we do to some extent already use.
I think a quiz at the end of each course, or even small ones scattered throughout the course would be a great learning tool. The learn by doing approach that fCC uses is great, but I’m not sure it is as effective for everyone. Quizzing would be another tool to help people reflect on what they have learned and allow them to see where they might need more work. Basically, what I’m suggesting is that fCC include a variety of learning tools to help a broader range of people learn.
What I like most about fCC is that I don’t feel trapped by being forced to take a quiz to continue my courses, but I do see them as a necessary evil to reinforce concepts. They should of course be completely optional. I don’t think anyone likes mandatory tests.
As an independent learner, it’s very easy for me to simply ignore the boring studying part vs moving onto the next guided project. Optional guided reviews/quizzes would greatly help point out any knowledge gaps a Camper may have, and said reviews could provide links/project steps to review the key concepts.