Chapter 11 Study Skills, Assessment and Test-Taking Skills By: Jackie Williscroft Amanda Del Monte

What are study skills? Study skills are support skills used to organize, store, locate, integrate, process, evaluate, and transfer oral and written information during the process of learning. They are useful for students in primary grades, they are particularly important for academic success at the upper elementary, middle, and secondary levels when he curriculum becomes more complex and abstract. God study skills help to advance students’ knowledge in all disciplines; mastering study skills empowers them to become independent learners.

Research indicates that students with mild disabilities often have documented deficiencies in study skills. As students with special needs are increasing including in regular education classroom, they are expected to work more independently, have more curricular demands placed on them, and have increased responsibility for their learning. It is crucial to identify these students’ strengths and areas of need as soon as possible in order to initiate a plan to develop work-study skills and closely monitor progress as they work in an inclusive classroom.

Work Study Skill Assessment Strategies Listening Skills: Attention *kids that have difficulty with study and work skills are often unable to pay attention and easily distracted therefore, it results in lower grades. *A task that is of little interest to students may not hold the attention and attention of even the most focused students. A child with an attention issue will definitely become distracted. * Teachers and parents should be interviewed regarding their observations of student’s ability to attend a task.

Example of some Listening Skills Observation and Interview Focus Questions Can the student filter out distractions? Does the student have difficulty focusing when a particular modality is used? Is the duration of the student’s attention usually brief? Does the student have difficulty focusing on specific kinds of tasks? Situations? Does the child understand the importance of listening skills?

Retention and Recall: Memory skills Expository content instruction us comprehensive and generally requires that students acquire and retain a massive and often diverse amount of information, including technical vocabulary related to the subject area. Retention and recall of this material can be critical to success for students. When students can adequately store and retrieve what they learned, they are better able to associate prior knowledge to new learning and are thus more effective in remembering the interrelationships between science and social studies terms and concepts.

Factors that can affect student’s ability to focus on and retain information: Type of information to be recalled Amount of time that has expired since the original presentation of the information The type of memory task How the recalled information needs to be organized

Time Management and Organizational Skills Some kids have good study skills but their school achievement is poor due to difficulty with time management. Many kids are unable to complete test and other assignments in a timely manner. Planning and organizing for writing letters and papers are also affected, resulting in a lack of focus or an unorganized sequence of ideas.

Metacognitive Reflection Kids need to be aware of their own thinking process Metacognitive reflection involves the monitoring and control of attitudes, such as students’ beliefs about themselves, the value of persistence, the nature of work, and their personal responsibility in accomplishing a goal. Kids need to reflect on how they learn best They should be able to adjust their reading pace to match the type and purpose of what they are reading. (texts, novels, or magazines)

Note Taking Note taking is a complex task that is especially difficult for students with learning problems. Many kids with learning problems have difficulty with the specific prerequisites needed for effective note taking. These skills include being able to differentiate more important from less important information, identifying the main idea, listening to reading material carefully, and summarizing key points. The major component of note taking is identifying the main idea in text, a method of assessing this skill is to make a copy of a section that seems to be the most important. Another method is to require students to read a section in their textbook and take notes on the reading as if preparing for a test.

Example of Note-Taking Skills Survey Questions Does the student… Take brief, clear notes? Record essential information? Use headings and subheadings properly? Maintain notes in an organized manner? Apply note-keeping skills during lectures and discussions? Use an outline technique?

Research Skills Students need to develop research skills, including the ability to search for data by using encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauruses, journals, texts, newspapers, the Internet, and library references. Teachers need to assess students’ preliminary skills. Able to alphabetize Understand definitions Know parts of speech Correctly interpret charts and graphs

Contract System Establishing personal contracts between students and teachers can be an effective method for having students commit to a project and for teachers to monitor progress. Contracts are also effective in developing students’ self monitoring skills. Contracts provide a method of evaluating concept knowledge in the content areas and a means of measuring study skills.

Test Preparation Familiarize students with specific regulations and requirements that are necessary to maintain standardized procedures. Practice reading questions in test booklets and answering the questions on separate sheets. Be aware of type of response (multiple choice, short answer, open ended etc.) Discuss time schedule Test taking skills should be taught and teachers can improve students scores when the provide them with opportunities that are very similar to the actual test. Students will be more confident and feel more comfortable during the actual test.

Observing and Interviewing Student Regarding Test-Taking and Study Skills Teachers can note numerous work-study characteristics, including whether they are focusing on the task; how long they appear to be concentrating on the subject; whether they are using specific strategies and how well they prepared. It is also important teachers take into account the environment in which the students are studying

Sample Teacher Interview Questions: General Study Skills Does the student… Finish assigned work? Seem to understand assignments? Have ability to study materials? Take adequate notes? Follow written directions? Follow oral directions? Use homework assignment book? Monitor daily time schedule?

Test Anxiety Test anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness and apprehension before, during, or after a test. Low levels of anxiety can motivate students to study and perform well however, high levels can cause students to “blank out” or have difficulty paying attention. Test anxiety causes students to experience physiological reactions, such as increased heart rate, perspiration, cold hands, and dry mouth. There are 3 major components of anxiety Cognitive Affective Behavioral

Test Anxiety and learning problems How can a teacher eliminate test anxiety for students that have learning problems? Eliminate time pressure Review directions Provide a review of material to be covered on test Make sure any accommodations are part of their IEP Practice relaxation techniques Give practice tests

Attitude and Motivational Factors Students’ attitude and motivation is a major factor in test-taking. Students need to feel self-determined and empowered. Students may need extrinsic motivators to help them to begin and complete a test with their best effort.

Appropriate Accommodations Teachers need to assess students’ individual accommodation needs. Teachers need to make the testing accommodations specific to the student.

Test-Taking Skill Techniques Teachers need to help students become “test wise” by helping them understand the mechanics of test taking and to use appropriate test-taking strategies. Students need to be able to demonstrate their proficiency in content and standardized test