SQ4R!

November 18^th, 2010

 Our instructor taught us a quick studying/ reading strategy called SQ4R. What does SQ4R stand for you might ask? (Yes, it is an acronym)

Survey-This means look through the chapter you’re reading; look at the table of contents, headings, diagrams, definitions, and the summary.

Question-The next task is to formulate questions for yourself, although one would probably have questions just from reading headings and such.

Read-Simply, read the chapter.

Recite-Say it out loud, it helps you find another “pathway” to remember things.

Relate-Relate new information to things you already know. In Piaget-speak, assimilate it into your memory.

Review-Do the survey process again, in order to reiterate the things you just read.

This can also be broken down into prereading, reading, and postreading.

Coincidentally, shortly after learning that, a friend was having trouble studying for a test. He was saying that he reads things over and over again but he never remembers what he’s just read. I decided to put my educational psychology learning to the test, and I taught him SQ4R. Another friend was sitting with us and he said that it sounded like it would probably work. We decided that the next time we all read a chapter in a textbook, we would try it this way. It actually works, and really well at that! Later that day I was reading a chapter in my sociology textbook and I did everything SQ4R tells you to do; I aced the quiz on that chapter! Even if I can’t pass this on to my students, it was still very helpful to me with my own studies. I’ll be using this method of reading things for the rest of my schooling.