RETENTION

As an instructor sometimes you wish you could just pour information from the text inside the heads of your students.  When an assignment is given you expect your students to read and remember what they have read, in order to give input during the next day’s class, but you receive blank stares and/or misguided information.

Here are things that can help your students to retain information from text that is assigned, and even give your student’s ways to give input to those class discussions you hope to initiate.

Here is a site that gives a few suggestions about how to approach reading assignments given in class.

http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/reading/bookexc/maktext/improve.html

·       One thing mentioned within this site is a journal that students are to keep when reading for your particular class.  Journals can be done in various ways.  Here are a few suggested ways:

o      Provide guiding questions to be answered as students are reading.

o      Require a retelling of what was read.  When students put things in their own words retention increases.

o      Journal entries can also be a way to anonymously allow students to share what they are confused about within the classroom.

o      Require journals to be used as a form of reflection – reacting to what has been read.

§        Here is a rubric that can be used or modified for this type of assignment: http://www.catholic-forum.com/catholicteacher/outcomes_rubric_reflection_journal.html

A tried and true method of assisting students with retention is utilizing the SQR3 (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) method.  Here are some websites that walk you through how it is used.

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_02.htm

http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/asc/study/sqr3.html

http://www.collegetransition.org/counseling/sqr3.html

Another method to give to students for assistance might be the PQRST (Preview, Question, Read, Self-Recitation, Test) method.  Here is a site that illustrates this method, and includes SQR3 (telling students how long each step should take).

http://www.stangl-taller.at/ARBEITSBLAETTER/LERNTECHNIK/PQRST.shtml

Yet another method to show students is SCAN/RUN.  This is something that can be utilized before reading the text.  Here is a website that illustrates it as well as SQR3.

http://educatoral.com/documents/word_documents.html

(Scroll down until you get to “SQR3/Scan-n-Run/Cooperative Groups”.  Click on it, and open the document)

·       One thing that is sometimes necessary for even college students is modeling.  Model using the SQR3 with a chapter or paragraph to help students understand what needs to be done.  Here is a template that can be used to do this with SQR3 and PQRST: 

SQR3

 PQRST

Useful Graphic organizers to utilize with PQRST:

§       This flow chart can be used by placing the topic that was read about at the top and then having students use this along with PQRST during the test step, to show how much they can remember after reading.

http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/flow.pdf

§       This four column chart can be used in a similar way as the flow chart except there are spaces provided for subheadings and information to go under those subheadings as they try to test the information they retain after reading.

http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/4column.pdf

§       These cluster webs can be used in the same way as the flow chart.

http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/cluster_web3.pdf

http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/clusterweb2.pdf

§       This cluster web can be used in the same manner as the four column chart.

http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/cluster.pdf

You might be going through this website and thinking this is not the issue that I am faced with as an instructor.  I just don’t think that my students are listening, or they struggle with focusing on what is being taught.  Here is a web site that can be used to help your student’s focus on what is expected during class.

http://www.collegetransition.org/counseling/listen.html

A site focusing on PQRST

http://www.ucs.umn.edu/lasc/handouts/PQRST.html

Another issue that may affect retention is the notes taken by your students.  It is surprising how many college students do not know how to take notes.  Here is a helpful website to guide your students in the right direction.

http://www.collegetransition.org/counseling/notetaking.html

http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/notetake.html

http://www.d.umn.edu/student/loon/acad/strat/ss_notetaking.html

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/downloads/pdf/note-taking_download.pdf

http://www.mathpower.com/tip5.htm

http://www.sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl/notetakingtips.doc

http://www.testtakingtips.com/note/index.htm

- contributed by Sharon Wilson, LTCY 524