Study+&+Inquiry+Skills

toc =Study & Inquiry=

Study Skills

 * Academic Enablers**

Smart students may lack the ability to succeed academically if they lack the "academic enablers" or study skills (Gettinger 350). While some students develop these habits on their own, other students do not Teachers often expect that all students have the academic enablers to study for their classes without ever teaching them how to acquire and develop the skills. Like any skill, study skills require practice. These skills are associated with effectively acquiring, recording, organizing, synthesizing, remembering, and using information (Gettinger 350). The process of developing the skills is defined by its personalized and independent nature to experiment and find which methods work best; the student’s intentional desire to learn and the self-discipline needed to devote enough time to studying; and finally, the self-regulatory factor which monitors the progression and effectiveness of the methods (Gettinger 351). Often students lack one of the pieces to the study skills puzzle, especially the self-regulation. Teachers should encourage students to experiment with different skills and reflect on the study habits; this method will help students develop an individualized repertoire of study skills.


 * Think Alouds to Develop Study Skills**

Just as think-aloud strategies improve reading comprehension, think-aloud methods can be also used to improve study skills (Gettinger 350). In other words, just as the teacher models reading comprehension, the teacher can also model studying for students. For example, the teacher can demonstrate how he would study for a reading quiz or a vocabulary test for to his class; this oral and visual illustration will provide students with concrete examples of how to begin the often intangible and impossible studying process. The student will see how the teacher gathers the material, organizes, synthesizes, uses, and remembers the information; the students will see what questions he asks himself and how he self-regulates (Gettinger 350). Just as for reading comprehension, the metacognitive awareness of how to effectively read and study is a crucial component for students to develop. Metacognitive methods, such as Think-alouds, allow students to assess their level of acquisition and adjust their strategies for greater success (Henry). Because different skills will work better for some students more than others, teachers should model a wide range of study skills and encourage their student s to experiment. Think-alouds can be used to provide scaffolding not only for reading, but also for studying.

The SQ3R Method
The SQ3R method has been a proven way to sharpen study skills. SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review. It is a good slogan to commit to memory to carry out an effective study strategy. This method is an all encompassing method that students can use throughout their academic career as well as out of it.

Survey - get the best overall picture of what you're going to study BEFORE you study it in any detail. It's like looking at a road map before going on a trip. If you don't know the territory, studying a map is the best way to begin.

Question - ask questions for learning. The important things to learn are usually answers to questions. Questions should lead to emphasis on the what, why, how, when, who and where of study content. Ask yourself questions as you read or study. As you answer them, you will help to make sense of the material and remember it more easily because the process will make an impression on you. Those things that make impressions are more meaningful, and therefore more easily remembered. Don't be afraid to write your questions in the margins of textbooks, on lecture notes, or wherever it makes sense.

Read - Reading is NOT running your eyes over a textbook. When you read, read actively. Read to answer questions you have asked yourself or questions the instructor or author has asked. Always be alert to bold or italicized print. The authors intend that this material receive special emphasis. Also, when you read, be sure to read everything, including tables, graphs and illustrations. Often times tables, graphs and illustrations can convey an idea more powerfully than written text.

Recite - When you recite, you stop reading periodically to recall what you have read. Try to recall main headings, important ideas of concepts presented in bold or italicized type, and what graphs, charts or illustrations indicate. Try to develop an overall concept of what you have read in your own words and thoughts. Try to connect things you have just read to things you already know. When you do this periodically, the chances are you will remember much more and be able to recall material for papers, essays and objective tests.

Review - A review is a survey of what you have covered. It is a review of what you are supposed to accomplish, not what you are going to do. Rereading is an important part of the review process. Reread with the idea that you are measuring what you have gained from the process. During review, it's a good time to go over notes you have taken to help clarify points you may have missed or don't understand. The best time to review is when you have just finished studying something. Don't wait until just before an examination to begin the review process. Before an examination, do a final review. If you manage your time, the final review can be thought of as a "fine-tuning" of your knowledge of the material. Thousands of high school and college students have followed the SQ3R steps to achieve higher grades with less stress.

10. Select a consistent place to study.
 * Top Ten Studying Tips**

9. Don't wait until the last minutes.

8. Buy an agenda book and use it.

7. Be organized; dedicate a space for every class in your binder.

6. Stay organized throughout the year.

5. Make study cards

4. Make your own study guide.

3. Talk about assignments with friends to deepen understanding.

2. If you are struggling, ask for help

1. Make academics a focus in your life. The time you put in now will pay off later!

Implementing Study Skills
A Breakfast Club is where students are able to come early to the classroom and recall previously learned material from a review sheet alongside a partner/s. The students are able to implement their own study habits while learning the material. During this study time students can snack on breakfast items. Towards the end of the club the teacher will ask rapid fire question in order to test the material. This is a fun and active way to encourage students to review their knowledge and subtly get them to practice their study habits.

Homework
Students seem to dread doing homework and so we have to ask whether or not homework is an effective method for instilling knowledge into students' minds. Homework might even lead to a lack of interest in learning. Several argue that homework gives students the time to practice material, but in reality, most students have already learned the material. Teachers can never know if their students live in an environment conducive to homework, which means that forcing homework upon them no longer works. Teachers must ask themselves the following questions about homework in order to determine the relevance of the assignments: -Do students and teachers have the same definition of homework? Does it have to be completed at home? Does this count studying? -What is the purpose of homework? To check for understanding? Or something else? -How can we ensure that homework is meaningful? -How does homework support the learning process? -How can we apply differentiated instruction to our homework assignments? -What kind of support do we need to provide students with who might struggle? -How much time should students be expected to spend on homework? -How should we provide feedback to students on assignments? -How do we grade homework? -What are the consequences of not doing homework?

I think the main question we must ask is, is homework relevant and productive? Does it provide students with the skills they need to succeed later on in college or the real world? Study skills and homework are/can be closely related since both are primarily done at home for many students. The diligence one has with homework can relate to one's study skills. To be effective, we need to determine when and where studying and homework should be done and what the best way to go about both should be.

Different critics claim that homework can or cannot be beneficial to students. In different meta-analyses, critics have shown that homework and achievement records are positive and statistically significant. Others claims that homework interrupts family life and causes a disruption within social values. The purpose/reason of homework is important. Some teachers claim that the purpose of homework is to enhance students' skills beyond the classroom, while others claim that they assign homework because they simply ran out of class time. This can be troubling because it means that sometimes students are faced with assignments they are not necessarily prepared for. Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey emphasize the importance of the gradual release model when it comes to homework. By modeling the correct behavior/method when approaching different problems, students will learn how to effectively apply their knowledge. The gradual release model follows these steps: focus, guided, collaborative, independent. The teacher demonstrates the knowledge, then guides the students in applying that knowledge, then has them collaborative together, and finally has students work independently. The gradual release models builds fluency, application, provides a spiral review, and extension across different topics/disciplines. Fluency relates to automaticity, including decoding, sight word recognition, comprehension, vocabulary, etc. Application refers to students have the capability of applying knowledge on their own after learning through scaffolding. Spiral review is the idea that students can use and build upon prior knowledge and lessons in order to apply knowledge. Extension is particularly relevant to students who have problems understanding real world implications of lesson plans.

Inquiry Units: Exploring Big Ideas
Adolscent literacy is a big concern in our education system today. High school teachers, as well as college professors are seeing more and more students who are unable to write with proficiency. Literacy is not merely the reading for ideas and concepts,but being able to write and discuss those ideas efficatively. Secondary schools are faced with the challenge of introducing students to more difficult texts and expecting them to produce papers. Teachers become frustrated when they realize that students cannot express their ideas in written form. Researchers have found that students excel when teachers: "make the reading and writing approaches in a given content area clear and visible, give w riting prompts in which students reflect on their current understandings, questions, and learning processes  which help to improve content-area learning".

Why is Extended Inquiry Important for Reading?
Students have become less engaged in the classroom and in the long term effects of a learning experience than in the immediate gratification of short term successes and achievements. To reengage students, it works best to play to their interests during instruction and assessment. Extended inquiry in the classroom, offers the following advantages:

1. Students are engaged with large, important ideas and issues. 2. A wide variety of engaging readings can be naturally included. 3. Student choices and questions can easily be accommodated. 4. Content-area subject matter can be connected with student concerns and larger world issues. 5. Clear and significant outcomes of their inquiry give students a sense of immediacy and accomplishment in their learning.

Kinds of Inquiry Projects

 * Inquiries on subtopics of traditional school subject matter - such as digestive diseases, within human anatomy, or abolitionist biographies, within U.S. history.
 * Inquiries focused on a large question, like Wilhelm's "What are the costs and benefits of the American emphasis on sports?"
 * Information-gathering on a subject that crosses several subject areas an/or goes beyond traditional subjects, such as students delving into their own family histories.
 * Simulation activities in which students take on particular roles, research how their characters would respond to a particular situation, and then enact the situation as a culminating role play.
 * Variations on a theme, such as "jigsawing" to cover a variety of aspects of the topic.
 * Wider topic choices, with the structure based instead on processes, as in the Best Practice research skills unit.

Reading in Community
"Someone once said," Gallagher writes, "There is not a single book on Earth that is completely understood by any one person." It is, therefore, important for students to collaborate when they read, he explains. Collaboration is a key initiator of comprehending, an important step on the road to understanding. There is a danger in group assignment, one Gallagher refers to as 'hitchhiking', whereby a student rides along without paying for the gas, so to speak. It is important, then, to build effective groups. Groups need to divided with care paid to a number of variables, including gender, ethnicity, time, task, roles, and size. It is also important to consider how students will be held accountable for their work, individually or in groups. If group accountability is used, Gallagher recommends choosing who reports for the group randomly so that everyone must be aware of what is going on in the group at all times, because he or she might have to report. Gallagher also discusses the need to promote higher-level thinking in these group settings. He offers some of the strategies that have worked for him in the past, including: Silent Exchange--students write big, open-ended questions on a paper. This paper is passed around in two-minute itnervals and each student answers the questions. The passing continues till students get their own papers back. Save the Last Word for Me- Students pick a passage, write it on a paper, and show it to their group members. The group discusses the passage without the chooser's input, and then the chooser gets final say in the discussion. Conversation Log Exchange- each student in a class (of a group of classes reading the same work) is given a numbered composition book, wherein he or she writes in the reflection logs. In each subsequent class period, a student gets that same composition book, and the students carry on a written, anonymous conversation in the log. "Creating collaborative groups help students embrace the confusion they will encounter when they rad challenging works," and it will help them make meaning and understanding together.