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Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!
Faced with poor student performance on tests and assignments,
teachers often recognize that the root of the problem lies not in
the material or in how it is taught, but in how students choose
to study it. Some students lack experience with effective methods
of study; they measure the effectiveness of their studying by the
length of time they spend in front of a book -- not in their comprehension
of it. Harsh reality sets in when grades are dispensed! Discover
how teachers in the trenches are introducing students to better
ways of studying effectively. Included: Three
educators share their tips and tricks to improve study skills!
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Tips for a Successful
Breakfast Club
Kathy Dekmar shares the following advice with those who would
like to hold morning review sessions similar to her Breakfast
Club.
* Allow students to be kids.
* Don't set so many rules that it becomes an unpleasant experience
for students.
* Be sure students review the material prior to the "extra"
time, so there is direction and focus, and discussions are on-task.
* Don't be frustrated if small numbers take part in the beginning.
Any change for the better is a good change.
* Don't make it a punishment.
* Share with parents -- through e-mail newsletters, open house
communications, quarterly reports, and any other type of communication
-- that this opportunity is available.
* Review school rules about entering the building prior to the
homeroom period. Students might need a pass or you may have
to discuss the new study time in advance with hall/door monitors.
* Keep track of the success/improvement of attendees and commend
them on their efforts.
* Encourage, encourage and encourage! |
The need to improve student study skills has driven some teachers
to find unique and creative ways to persuade students to move beyond
simply reading material to fully understanding it. Kathy Dekmar's
current students may not be familiar with the movie that lent its
title to her morning study sessions, but they are certainly well
acquainted with the positive results the sessions achieve.
THE BREAKFAST CLUB
"Many middle school students don't know how to study," Dekmar
told Education World. "They read over notes, skim the text, and
develop study questions they already know the answers to. I've found
that our review sessions are a positive experience for students;
they challenge one another and direct one another in locating and
explaining answers. In the past, I used the lunch period to meet,
but that didn't offer much advantage to the morning classes. I tried
after school, but many kids were busy with extra-curricular activities
or family responsibilities, and just couldn't stay. The process
of elimination had me try the morning. I then added food and an
identifying name --The Breakfast Club."
Throughout the school year, Dekmar introduces her seventh grade
students at Brooklawn Middle School in Parsippany, New Jersey, to
note-taking and test-taking strategies and study skills tricks that
complement her American history curriculum. During meetings of The
Breakfast Club, students use those techniques and demonstrate them
to one another, often sharing homemade flash cards, practice test
questions, matching games, and more.
"The students know they can come into the classroom at 7:30 am,"
said Dekmar. "Many bring donuts, bagels, juice, and milk to share.
We set up a buffet table and the kids help themselves and clean
up. During the half-hour time period when we are together, they
work in groups or pairs and review previously taught information
using a review sheet and their own study techniques. Toward the
end of the time, I ask rapid-fire questions and the kids answer.
They are actually allowed to shout out the answers. (All formality
is out the door during this session.) I also answer private questions
and clarify misunderstandings. At 8:00 am, all students are dismissed
until the homeroom bell rings. That gives me time to organize my
class before first period."
Dekmar reports that more students join in her breakfast review
sessions every year. They enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, engaging
dialogue about subject matter, shared food, and the confidence built
through the reviews. She has seen evidence of students teaching
one another how to study and remember information. The entire process
has become a student-directed and facilitated activity with positive
and measurable results.
"Through their observations and experiences at The Breakfast Club,
students appreciate that it is cool to study and that the
techniques work," Dekmar stated. "They also recognize and appreciate
the additional time I allow, which fosters a positive and caring
relationship between my students and myself. And students who participate
have noticeably higher scores than those who don't."
DEFINING GOOD STUDY HABITS
Social science teacher Linda Bryan is another middle school educator
who has observed a lack of study skills among her students. Her
students often equate studying with spending time in front of a
book -- and their study patterns reflect it.
"Kids have some odd ideas about teachers and the material," Bryan
said. "They still believe in luck. They think that some kids get
good grades because teachers like them. They don't connect practice
with success. They believe that natural athletes become professional
athletes; that smart kids naturally get the good grades;
and so on."
Bryan, a teacher at Maplewood (Minnesota) Middle School, fears
that that kind of misguided logic leads her students to believe
that only poor students have to study and that working for something
is somehow a badge of dishonor. So she emphasizes to her students
the importance of study and discusses effective studying behaviors.
Bryan also encourages students to use odd moments -- such as waiting
in the lobby, using a curling iron, or riding in a car or bus --
as stolen study time. "What? You've never taped a vocabulary list
to your bathroom mirror?" she jokes.
"I've taken to asking kids to list the ways they should prepare
for a quiz," Bryan explained. "In class, I ask students, 'What study
methods would work for this material?,' and we brainstorm. On a
quiz or review sheet, I sometimes ask them to respond individually
to the question, 'What methods did you use to study this material?'
If a student does poorly after claiming to have used all the methods,
we have a talk -- because something is wrong. More commonly, the
low-scoring student will write something like, 'I didn't have time
to study' -- which usually translates to 'I didn't try very hard.'
When that happens, we talk about what might be a wiser way to prepare
for the next quiz."
Many Ways to Study
Social science teacher Linda Bryan encourages
her students to try many ways of studying to find those that
work best for their individual learning styles. She also discusses
with students the most effective ways to study specific subject
matter, and recommends to students that they
* practice with flashcards;
* ask someone to quiz you;
* read;
* reread;
* highlight your notes;
* summarize;
* read your notes;
* read your notes aloud;
* organize your papers so you are working with everything you
need;
* outline or make a graphic version of written work (lists,
columns, Venn diagrams, etc.);
* do a project;
* quiz yourself;
* write memory work over and over until you feel confident;
* use a worksheet as a quiz by covering over the answers and
re-doing it;
* look over old quizzes and try to figure out why you're making
mistakes;
* look over the returned assignments for the unit;
* answer study guide questions;
* tell someone else what the topic is about;
* look up the parts of the assignments that you didn't understand
the first time. |
COMING ATTRACTIONS
Patricia Meloy, a Spanish teacher at Barrington (Illinois) High
School, says that "inspiration" led her to holding preview sessions
for new units as a way to enhance students' study skills.
"By previewing upcoming material, slower students were able to
anticipate what was coming up in a lecture," Meloy stated, "and
to raise their hands along with the quickest students. It taught
them that the book in their possession could offer them the same
advantage it offered the 'smart' kids -- if only they would open
it and take a peek at the next day's lesson. It taught them that
they didn't have to have a teacher walk them through a lesson. And
it taught them how to use the textbook as a manual. In class, they
seemed to have developed a new-found confidence."
Meloy held her preview sessions before or after school. Students
saw them as a great way to get ahead, and often took advantage of
them at times when they knew they were going to be absent from class.
"Preview sessions are an excellent way to plan lessons for new
teachers or for anyone using an unfamiliar textbook for the first
time," explained Meloy. "Holding preview sessions helped me see
where students needed more models than the book provided; develop
better model sentences for grammar; and develop a non-threatening
relationship with students who were anticipating failure -- or at
least a struggle with the material. We worked as a team, and the
students came to see me as a facilitator in their progress, not
as a gatekeeper."
Because of their success, interest in preview sessions diminished
over time, and Meloy eventually found that they were not necessary.
"Students became able to ask the questions they needed answered
in class instead of sitting mute in the back row," she said.
"Through the lessons, they adopted a more active role in their own
progress."
Article by Cara Bafile
Education World®
Copyright © 2003 Education World
04/14/2003
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