Study Strategies for School Success Online

Course Description

Study Strategies for School Success is designed to teach teachers research based learning strategies. Participants will gain understanding of widely tested educational theories regarding the relationship between teaching efficient strategies and its impact upon student learning and achievement.

The importance of this course is underscored by the results of extensive research done over the past thirty years, changing the "art" of teaching into the science of teaching. (Marzano 2001) The results of research empirically document that students who effectively utilize learning strategies in the classroom are better able to learn and retain information. As students develop learning efficiency, they will also develop a better attitude toward school and a greater belief in their ability to succeed. Though teachers must teach the academic information required by the school curriculum, they are also acutely aware of a need to teach strategies for long-term learning.

Objectives

• Create questions to promote metacognition
• Design and teach a lesson that incorporates the cues, questions and advance organizers
• Utilize a variety of research-based metacognitive and cognitive strategies to enhance students’ reading efficiency for content
• Apply the research and theories that validate the instruction of similarities and differences as a powerful strategy
• Utilize various strategies that can be utilized to teach similarities and differences in the classroom
• Design and teach from a lesson plan incorporating similarities and differences into the curriculum
• Apply the results of research that validates the practice of strategic instruction of summarizing to your lessons
• Utilize the variety of summarizing strategies in your teaching
• Determine which of the many applications of this strategy are appropriate in various situations for your classes
• Critique the effectiveness of your lesson plan incorporating similarities and differences
• Apply various methods of note taking to increase students’ efficiency
• Utilize a variety of graphic organizers to increase students’ learning capacity
• Utilize research and theory in aiding the memory process
• Incorporate recall questions into the note taking process
• Apply various memory techniques available to increase students’ learning capacity
• Utilize research-based theories of homework to increase the effect size gains for your students
• Modify your curriculum to include strategies and time for your students to practice what you have taught
• Match appropriate instructional strategies to specific types of knowledge
• Design a unit lesson plan that follows the three phases using the strategies taught throughout this course

Curriculum Design & Time Requirements

Participants in this course will learn to easily incorporate effective methodologies directly into elementary, middle and high school curricula utilizing practical strategies and student-friendly activities.

Study Strategies is a 13 week 3 credit graduate level or sixty hour professional development course taught online. Modules 1 through 9 will be completed one per week. Module 10 will be completed over a two-week period so students will have time to revise and complete the final integration project.

Hardware & Computer Skill Requirements

Students may use either a Macintosh computer or a PC with Windows 2000 or higher. Students should possess basic word processing skills and have internet access with an active e-mail account. Students also are expected to have a basic knowledge of how to use a Web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Safari, Mozilla Firefox etc.

Course Materials

The required textbook for this course is Classroom Instruction that Works: Research - Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement by Robert J. Marzano, Debra J. Pickering and Jane E. Pollock, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Alexandria, Virginia, 2001. Supplemental materials come from Study Strategies for Early School Success and Study Strategies Made Easy, both by Leslie Davis, M.Ed., Sandi Sirotowitz, M.Ed. and Harvey Parker, Ph.D. as well as other readings.

Session Outline

Session 1: Introduction and Overview of the most current educational research regarding study strategies and their effects on student performance.
Contents:

1. Course requirements, goals and expectations
2. Historical overview of learning theories
3. Definition of study strategies
4. Theoretical research of study strategies

Session 2: Strategies for efficient organization and time management.
Contents:

1. The rationale for and benefits of student self-appraisals
2. Methods for efficient time management
3. Design a framework for long-term projects and research
4. Classroom Organization for Teachers

Session 3: Strategies to facilitate understanding of content textbooks.
Contents:

1. Prerequisites for content reading
2. Research and theories for advance organizers
3. Best research-based strategies to promote comprehension of textbooks and supplemental materials

Session 4: Methods designed for explicit instruction of summarizing and note-taking for proficient analysis and synthesis.
Contents:

1. Research results for the efficacy of summarizing and note-taking
2. Activities for variety of summarizing techniques
3. Introductionof note-taking strategies
4. Practical applications for a variety of note-taking styles

Session 5: Strategies to enhance recall of information based upon preferred learning styles.
Contents:

1. Definition of learning modalities
2. Current research of learning styles
3. Exploration of memory devices
4. Practical application of strategies to enhance learning
5. Group project

Session 6: Incorporating instructional strategies into content teaching.
Contents:

1. Research and theory on the value and practice of vocabulary instruction across the curriculum.
2. Instructional issues in the classroom
3. Practical methods of incorporating study strategies into content classes

Session 7: Test-taking strategies to enhance performance and lessen test anxiety.
Contents:

1. Groupproject presentations
2. Test-taking strategies
• Objective
• Essay
• Standardized test issues
3. Test related stress management

Session 8: Homework strategies for reinforcement of content skills.
Contents:

1. Continuation of project presentations
2. Research and theory as to the benefits and pitfalls of homework
3. Analyzing classroom practices that best utilize homework to increase student learning

Session 9: Effective communication skills and cooperative learning instruction.
Contents:

1. A profile of effective communication skills
2. Methods to encourage and enhance effective communication skills in students and teachers
3. Paradigm for cooperative learning instruction

Session 10: Issues and concerns within the educational setting.
Contents:

1. Issues and concerns
2. Identification of resources
3. Course Evaluations
4. Final Exam
5. Review Course Content and Applications

Grading

		Assignment	Points			Grading Scale
		Forum Participation	30			100 – 93	A
		Reading & Reviews	30			92 – 85	B
		Final Integration Project	40			84 – 77	C
		Total Points	100

Student Requirements

	1.	Participation: Actively Participate in all Forum activities
	2.	Reading Assignments: Complete all reading assignments and submit a review of each.
	3.	Based on the research studies from course readings, design a lesson plan that incorporates the study strategies into a content class.
	4.	Do a case study of one student based upon the lesson plan.

Student Academic Integrity

Participants guarantee that all academic class work is original. Any academic dishonesty or plagiarism (to take ideas, writings, etc. from another and offer them as one's own), is a violation of student academic behavior standards as outlined by our partnering colleges and universities and is subject to academic disciplinary action.

Register

To register to take TEI's Study Strategies for School Success Online course, go to the Course Registration page.