Like most of our students, you probably have a fairly busy life, but your taking courses for your work, your personal improvement, and posibly even to start or finish your college degree. But you're also a busy person with a family and a job! What is the best way for a working adult can succeed as a student?
One of the first is to develop a good strategy for learning skills and information. In this short workbook, you will have a chance to practice using the SQ3R learning strategy.
SQ3R is a study method you can use to effectively and efficiently work through each unit of your courses. It's an abbreviation that stands for:
Survey
Question
Read
Review
Respond
You've started your next course and have the list of readings for this week. You’ve cracked open your textbooks and printed out all of the library articles. But where do you get started? Choose which one you think you should do.
Begin at the beginning: From the top of the list to the bottom.
Pick the reading that looks the most interesting first.
Pick the reading that looks the least interesting first.
Take another look at the course before you start.
Which option did you choose?
Begin at the beginning: From the top of the list to the bottom.
This isn't a terrible way to get started! You know you’ll sit down; eventually, all the reading will get done. Since most instructors list the readings in order of importance, you know that if you get caught up or go slower than you’d hoped, you will probably get the most important readings done first.
One problem to consider: the main goal of studying is not just to get all the reading done. It’s to carefully consider what the readings say and what you already know about the topic.
Pick the reading that looks the most interesting first.
Sometimes, this is better than just starting from the list from the top of the list. One of the big challenges of studying a lot of different materials at once is staying focused and interested. It may help to pick the most interesting story, chapter, or article and go from there.
One problem to consider: the article that looks the most interesting might not help you with your assignments, or it might not be as interesting as it looks. In fact, when you first look at the reading list, you might not know which is the most interesting, especially if the topic is new to you!
Pick the reading that looks the least interesting first.
You might think the best thing to do is start with the most difficult or least interesting readings first. This makes the more interesting materials a reward for getting through the less interesting materials. Sometimes, though, some of the readings might not just be difficult, but they might not be as important to your assignments. That can kill your motivation, making studying even harder.
Something to consider: One reason materials may seem less interesting is you aren’t really sure why you’re reading them or what you need to get from them. If a reading is already tough to complete, not knowing why your instructor assigned it or what you need to do with the information can make it even harder to get through.
Take another look at the course before you start.
With all you have to do, why would you spend your time taking a look at the course again?
Doing this may save you time! Take a look at the assignment instructions and notice which readings they rely on. Are any of them due earlier than others? Knowing what readings you need to finish for each assignment can keep you focused and help you figure out how to manage your schedule.
To help manage your reading and study time, start by taking a second look at your course. We call this "second look" surveying. It's an important way to begin studying each week When you survey, you have a chance to figure out what is coming up so you can plan.
Don’t spend too long on this “second look”! At the beginning of a unit, sort through your course and course materials and divide the information into four chunks:
Tasks are what you hope to accomplish or do in the unit. This includes discussions, class sessions, and papers or projects. They can be short-term tasks that you will finish this week (such as “answer three discussion questions”) or can be part of long-term tasks that will take several weeks or even the whole course (such as “pick a topic for the mid-term paper”). In some courses, you might also have some optional tasks or a choice between one or more tasks. Tasks include anything you are working on that others will read or see you do: discussions, papers, projects, or reports are all tasks. Readings and research, on the other hand, are resources.
Resources are anything that provides the information you need to accomplish your tasks. This may include assigned readings, optional readings, audio or video materials, or research that you do on your own. In the most of your courses, the resources are there to help you learn what you need to know to finish your tasks. We call them resources because they’re a resource for accomplishing the tasks.
Tips are any pointers your instructor gives you. Tips might include suggestions on accomplishing your tasks, or they might be suggestions on what to notice or think about as you read. They might include “look at this first” or “when you read this….” or “these are the standards I'll use to grade your work.”
Deadlines are when things are due. You might set some of your own deadlines if a project has multiple parts or needs to be done early due to family or job commitments. Keep a calendar of deadlines so you can keep track of your priorities. Every task has a deadline!
The goal of the Survey step is to get a big picture overview of the work you have to do in a week and the resources you have to complete that work with. Once you have this big picture, what do think the next step should be?
Start reading through all of the resources right away.
Start working on the first deadline and fill in information on the resources as you go.
Which option did you choose?
Start reading through all of the resources right away.
Eager to begin reading and find the topics interesting? Get started!
Remember! The point of the course is not just to get the reading done. You want to make sure you're getting the information you need from the reading.
Start immediately working on the first deadline and fill in information on the resources as you go.
This may sound difficult at first, but can work! The advantage is that it focuses you on the assigned Tasks and keeps you actively answering questions and solving problems. It can create it difficult to use your readings, though.
Remember! Carefully think about what the Tasks in your course and then consider how to use your resources to effectively get them accomplished.
Question is the second step, and the work you do in this step will help you focus your studying on the questions you will need to answer to master what you are learning. The key to studying well is to think about and try to answer questions. The Survey step laid the groundwork for you to get organized and get ready for this next step: Question.
In some courses you took in high school, the questions may have been tough, but they often had one specific answer. They may have included “What is the square root of four?” or “How many yards make up a mile?” These questions almost always rely on your ability to find the answer and remember it when you need it.
As you begin your college studies, some of the questions you consider may have more than one potential answer. Finding the answer may require working with more than one source of information.
After you Survey your resources and tasks, consider what Questions you have about what you've read. They may include ones you can ask your instructor: "When is the writing assignment due?" But they should also include questions about new words or terms, things you are struggling to understand, and how what you have read may apply to what you are studying and the everyday world of your work and family life. As you read, consider some questions. Which seem most important to your studies this week? Rewrite them for yourself!
What assignments do I need to do this week and how will I use what I have learned in my reading?
What terms do I not understand? Have I heard them before? Where?
How does the writer conclude or summarize what they have said? For most readings, it's okay to jump ahead and read the end first, even if you're still working your way through the rest of the reading.
What important points does the writer make?
What do I want to know more about?
What do I not understand yet?
What does this mean for my work and family outside of class?
As you read above, the goal of the Question step is to think carefully about the questions you need to answer each week. Once you have determined what the questions should be, what do you do next?
Finally sit down and read everything all the way through from beginning to end.
Based on headings and titles, select one reading (or section of a reading) you think will answer each question.
Which option did you choose?
Finally sit down and read everything all the way through from beginning to end.
There are definite advantages to reading everything. This will give you a big picture perspective on the questions you have identified.
Possible Problems? This approach might have two problems, especially if you have a lot of reading to do. First, if you just begin reading, you might not keep your focus on the key questions you identified in the Question step. Second, without a clear goal for your reading, it may be easy to run out of the time you need to get this week's tasks done.
Start immediately working on the first deadline and fill in information on the resources as you go.
This approach will keep you focused on the questions and keep your reading very purposeful.
Possible Problems? The danger is that you may miss out on different perspectives or might not see all the connections you need to make. As you begin to work on your college courses, you will begin tackling more and more complex questions that often do not have a simple, easy answer. To answer those, you may need to consider multiple perspectives and different sources of information.
Reading for class is not like reading a novel. Your goal is not to be kept in suspense about what will happen to the main character, so don't be afraid to skip ahead to the end of an article or textbook chapter to see what the main point is and what questions it will help you answer.
Take your notes with your questions listed and identify which readings are most likely to answer which questions. Pay special attention to the introduction and conclusion for each reading.
As you read, highlight or keep notes on important ideas and concepts that relate to your questions. Your notes should always focus on the questions you are trying to answer. You may come across terms you don't know. Don't worry if you don't know a word, just look it up!
Before you move on from studying to completing your assignments, take a moment to look back at a few questions:
Could any of the information you found on one question also help answer another question?
Did new questions occur to you that you don't think the readings answered?
Are there any resources you haven't had a chance to use?
In most cases, it's good to make sure each of your resources connects with one or more of the questions you identified. If you aren't sure where one or more resources fits, take a second look at it to see.
At this point, if you have done all of the steps, you should be ready to respond to discussion questions and complete the other tasks for your unit. Keep your notes close at hand as you write!
Before you wrap up your work, look back at the tasks and your deadlines you noted in Step 1. Make sure you're ready to meet all of your deadlines, and once you are done, take a moment to congratulate yourself on how much you've accomplished this week.
This is also a good time to look ahead to upcoming units and any major projects such as exams, essays, or term papers. Consider how what you have learned in this unit may help you plan for these major assignments. You will find an area for these notes at the end of the sample Study Guide, or you can add this to your own notes.
I wrote this overview of the SQ3R study method for Kaplan University (now Purdue University Global), targeting students who had several years experience working as Registered Nurses, but had not yet completed their Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees. The original course included a sample study guide worksheet that students could fill in for the opening units of their first BSN courses.