A Call for More Study Skills Instruction.

This paper presents a rationale for teaching study skills to students with learning disabilities, a flexible study skills model, and suggestions for implementing the model. Students with learning disabilities are seen as capable of learning study skills but require specific instruction and practi'e and need teachers who understand learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses. The flexible study skills model begins with the development of organization strategies, including organization of materials, homework, and long-term assignments; time planning on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis; and organization of study space. The model then presents main idea, notetaking, and summarizing skills which can be taught and practiced in grades 4 through high school. These basic skills then become the foundation for building textbook, test-preparation, and test-taking skills. (DB) *********************c************************************************* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made '` from the original document. *********************************************************************** A CALL FOR MORE STUDY SKILLS INSTRUCTION by Joan Sedita, M.Ed. The term "metacognition" is used in education to describe the learning process. It means transcending cognition, or more simply put, thinking about thinking. Study skills instruction develops in students a metacognitive approach to school they learn how to learn. Students need to go beyond completing an assignment and think about how they complete it. They need to be aware of the process they follow and steps they take when pre-reading a textbook, taking notes in class, or answering an essay question on a test. To most people, teaching basic skills means the 3 R's: Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic. I believe, however, that study skills are an essential component of basic skills which for too long has been neglected. I have devoted a significant portion of my twenty years work in the field of learning disabilities to developing study skills curriculums and instructional material, and to training educators and parents how to teach study skills. Study skills instruction benefits all students, but it is crucial to students who have learning disabilities. U.S DiPAIRMIINT 711CATsON CM... Of Efte.41.0.4 Romosich ane inceo.ohe EDUCATIONAL RESC' IFICES INFOPAIA Tec CENT,' CL/MrS docurnen1 has -hen ,o0e00,4,0 reC0.60 from the 0..0n or 0190,,la Orripnalava N4,n0f charges have teen 0303 10 P0.104 v4* 0, Own.005 stateo.r.Inmal. 00 not nC51414.,,/ ,rpIrsofe on r OEM 004000 or O0I.CY WHAT ARE STUDY SKILLS, AND WHY DO STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES NEED STUDY SKILLS INSTRUCTION? Everyone needs the right tools and training to do their job. A carpenter must bring hammers, saws, nails and drills and a working knowledge of how to hanr.le wood in order to frame a house. A plumber needs the proper tools and experience to fix a kitchen sink. Study skills instruction give..., students the "tools" and the "training" they need to do a good job in school. The more adept a student is with reading, writing, speaking and study skills, the more efficient and thorough he or she will be at getting the job of learning done. Too often, however, we move children through the grades without sufficient tools or training. As students progress through each stage of education, they must develop a new set of skills to cope with greater demands. In the primary grades, they learn to read and write and organize themselves. From third to sixth grade, the emphasis switches to reading and writing to learn, and assumptions are made about how organized Students should be at this point. In junior high school, students are expected to work more independently and to keep up with increasingly difficult schedules for school work, sports, activities, and social commitments. Upon entering high school and then college, even greater demands are placed on the student to process a more complex and increasing volume of material, and to complete more long-term assignments. The greater the demands of the grade level, the more need there is for study skills to cope with those demands. Most teachers agree that study skills are important, but many are not really sure what study skills are and whose responsibility it is to see that they are taught. College teacher-training and certification requirements usually do not include course work in the area of study skills. Curriculums are often quite detailed when it comes to content classes, and schools carefully examine these curriculums to detemine which reading series or textbooks they will use across the system. Not so with study skills; for too long it has been the Cinderella of curriculum planning. Most schools do not offer study skills instruction as part of the regular curriculum. There is often an assumption on the part of teachers and even parents that students have been taught these skills in previous grades or developed them on their own. Through no fault of their own, the higher the grade level, the less likely teachers are k-\o to include study skills instruction in lesson planning. c\--) PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATE lAl HAS BEEN G ANTED BY