************************T********************************* a Guideto Teaaing Studyskills M.D
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 320 126 CS 010 123 AUTHOR Gall, M. D.; And Others TITLE Tools for Learning: A Guide to Teaching Study Skills. INSTITUTION Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, Va. REPORT NO ISBN-0-87120-170-4 PUB DATE 90 NOTE 218p. AVAILABLE FROMAssociation for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, VA ($13.95). PUB TYPE Books (010) -- Guides - Classroom Use - Guides (For Teachers) (052) EDRS PRICE MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS. DESCRIPTORS Class Activities; Educational Research; Educational Theories; Elementary School Curriculum; Elementary Secondary Education; *Listening; *Notetaking; Secondary School Curriculum; Skill Development; Student Participation; *Study Skills; *Teaching Guides; Teaching Methods; *Test Wiseness; *Writing Instruction IDENTIFIERS *Learning Assistance ABSTRACT This book makes the case for providing study skills instruction at the elementary and secondary school levels and identifies important study skills and how to teach them. Chapters include:(1) "The Case for Study Skills Instruction"; (2) "Theory and Research"; (3) "Planning for Study Skills Instruction"; (4) "Self-Management*; (5) "Listening, Participating, and Taking Notes in Class"; (6) "Completing Reading Assignments"; (7) "Writing School Papers"; and (8) "Taking Tests." (SG) * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ************.************************t********************************* A Guideto Teaaing StudySkills M.D. an Joyce P.Gall DennisR. Jacobsen Terry_li.Bullock BEST COPY AVAILABLE "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MATERIAL IN MICROFICHE ONLY Office of Educators; Research andtrronwernent HAS BEEN GRANTED BY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) C This document has been reproduced as R2Ati1DT received from the person or organization Originating it. C Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of vievror oDiniOnsstrIed intris0Oe'r INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." merit do not necessarily rellireSint athCal OERI position or policy to,to eltfttitst° A Guide to Teaching Study Skills M.D. Gall Joyce P. Gall Dennis R. Jacobsen Terry L. Bullock 0 wmanD Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Alexandria, Virginia 3 About the Authors M. D. Gall is Professor, College of Education, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. Joyce P. Gall is President, M. Damien Educational Services, Eugene, Oregon. Dennis R. Jacobsen is Assistant Professor, School of Education, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California. Terry L. Bullock is Associate Professor, University College, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. Copyright 1990 by the Association for Supery Iblun and Cumculum Development. All nghts reserved.This putlication may not be reproduced or transmitted In form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information retnev al system without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in tl::. United States of America. The type for this book was set using Xerox Ventura Publisher 2.0. Cover designed by Simeon Montesa. Ronald S. Brandt, Erecutive Editor Nancy Modrak, Managing Editor, Books Julie Houtz, Associate Editor Al Way, Manager, Design Services Simeon Montesa, Graphic Designer Valerie Sprague, Desktop Consulting Specialist S13.95 ISBN: 0-87120-1704 Stock Number: 611-90086 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tools for Teaming: a guide to teaching study skills / M.D. Gall ... [et al.]. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-87120-170-4 1. Study, Method of. I. Gall, Meredith D., 1942 - II. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. LB1049.T64 1990 371.3'028' Idc20 90-36146 CIP Contents Acknowledgments Foreword Chapter 1 The Case for Study Skills Instruction / Chapter 2 Theory and Research 17 Chapter 3 Planning for Study Skills Instruction 39 Chapter 4 Self-Management 60 Chapter 5 Listening, Participating, and Taking Notes in Class 86 Chapter 6 Completing Reading Assignments 110 Chapter 7 Writing School Papers 143 Chapter 8 Taking Tests 176 Index 205 5 Acknowledgments We wish to acknowledge the researchers and practitioners who have contributed to the large and growing literature on study skills instruction. This book is largely a synthesis of their work. We hope that we represented it fairly and accurately. Many colleagues have supported our study skills work in schools, the development of our ideas and materials, and the writing of this book. We thank them all, with special acknowledgements to: Carol Acklin, Bandon School District; Margaret Artero, University of Guam; Ron Brandt, ASCD; Megan Clark, Lowell School District; Glenn Hogen, Sylvan Learning Corporation; Renee Jacobsen; Peter Taylor, Tirrd School District; Ione Wolfe and Dottie Winterrle, Guam Department of Education. 6 Foreword For many educators, study skills is a topic that lacks the pop and sizzle of other classroom activities. Perhaps that is why I have no recollection of learning how to study. Somehow, though, I did learn; had I not, I would have been denied access to the meat and potatoes of my education. Many students, however, are educationally shortchanged simply because they have never been taught the basic skills involved in learning. In fact, researchers have observed that successful and unsuccessful students differ greatly in their use of study skills. The differences go beyond motivation, genetic potential, and learning style preferences; many are learned behav- iors that directly affect academic performance. It is these learnedand changeablebehaviors that are discussed in this book. Although scholars may disagree about the specific skills that should be included under the rubric of study skills, most agree that learning how to learn is as essential as learning the content of individual disciplines. In a world of rapid changes and exponential increases in available information, lifelong learning is inevitable, and the teacher-as-facilitator plays a critical role in the development of the lifelong learner. Tools for Learning. A Guide to Teaching Study Skills gives teachers the resources they need to fill this role. We must equip all students with the tools for continued learning. It is no longer in this nation's best interest for schools to perform a sifting and sorting function, our human resources are too limited. If we want to be pacesetters in a global economy, we must become a total learning society, valuing and educating every individual, developing and sharpening every person's skills. ASCD believes that schools should teach students how to learn and that students should eventually become responsible for their own learning. As educational leaders, we must ensure this. Learning how to learn cannot be left to students. It must be taught. Donna Jean Carter ASCD President, 1990-1991 7 1 The Case for Study Skills Instruction We have written this book with two main goals in mind. Our first goal isto make the case for providing study skills instruction at the elementary and secondary school levels. Study skills instruction, at this time, is not part of the standard curriculum; it should be among the basic skills that all schools teach. Most of the book concerns our second goal, which is to identify important study skills and how to (each them. Chapter 3 describes how to go about starting a study skills program in your school or district. The remaining chapters discuss the basic study skills needed for managing one's study behavior (Chapter 4), participating in class (Chapter 5), reading textbooks (Chapter 6), writing papers (Chapter 7), and taking tests (Chapter 8). We also describe methods for teaching each of the skills and summarize research on various aspects of study skills instruction. Much of the recent research is based on cognitive learning theory, which is explained in Chapter 2. We have drawn from our own experience as teachers and teacher educators, each of us having taught study skills to students and trained teachers in methods of study skills instruction. Why Teach Study Skills? The Importance cf Study Skills The importance of study skills can be demonstrated bya medical analogy. Until recently, most people placed their illnesses entirely in the hands of doctors. Illness was a mysterious thing that only doctors under- stood and only doctors could cum. The patient was viewed asa passive participant in the healing process. That view is not held so widely today. Many people nowsee that they play an active role in keeping themselves healthy. If they become ill, they believe that they can affect their own healing process. Firsthand accounts of illnesses, such as Norman Cousins' best-seller, Anatomy ofan Illness, THE CASE FOR INSTRUCTION 1 8 have demonstrated that patients can do much to heal themselves. Doctors are no longer seen as all-knowing, godlike persons. In the contemporary view of things, they are viewed as partners, working with patients, to bring about healing. In fact, doctors now realize that most common illnesses will go away of their own accord if the patient exercises effective health care practices. A similar principle applies to the learning process. Traditionally, the teacher has been regarded as the most important element of instruction. But the teacher cannot learn for the student. Learning occurs inside the student's head, not the teacher's. The teacher can only provide the instructional conditions that facilitate learning;