To Review or to Revise, That is the Question

Teacher:           Alright, first we're going to revise what we did last lesson.
           Me:                  What was wrong with it?
           Student:             Huh?
           Me:                   If we're revising something, then did the teacher teach it wrong or what?
Teacher:           Okay, just do these math problems quickly and try to remember the formulas for
                         area, because you will need to know these for your exams.
           Me:                  Oh, you mean we're just reviewing.
           Student:            No, we're revising.
           Me:                  ?????
Teacher:           Alright, Elizabeth, here's your copy of the revision guide.
           Me:                  ((looks through book))  So this is just like a study guide?
           Student:            Um, I think so maybe? What's that?
           Me:                  Oh nevermind. 

While in the U.S., "review" and "revise" have very different meanings, the two words both mean "review" here, which confused me quite a bit my first week.  However, I soon discovered that reviewing and revising are not quite interchangeable. After an interesting ceminar on 'revision' techniques, I believe I have discovered the proper British connotations of review and revise.  Here's what I've learned:

Revising implies active studying.  It includes basic reviewing of the material along with re-learning the things you have forgotten.  A common revision strategy includes making charts and jotting down notes to go over all the information.  If you revise a topic, you go into depth with it, with a strong focus on that one topic including all the details. Revising is a process, (like studying) and takes considerable time and effort.  A good revising strategy also includes some reviewing (see below), but it is much more than that.

Reviewing is often a part of revising, but this term isn't used very much.  "Review" implies quick and cursory, like a five minute glance over your notes, while "revise" implies a process of detailed reading, writing, diagramming, flash-card-ing, and other study strategies.  After you have successfully revised, it is useful to go back and review for 2-3 minutes a day to keep the material fresh. 

After a week of confusion, and then another week of confusing my American friends by saying things like "I'm going to go revise my chemistry notes now,"  I think I finally have it figured out.  Revision for GCSE's will be a lot easier now that I know what the term means! A-Stars, here I come!