Presentation on SQ Methods for EDUC 405 — Includes Resources with Links

The roots of SQ3R/SQ4R/SQRQCQ begin with SQ3R and the book Effective Study by Francis Pleasant Robinson, a professor of psychology at Ohio State University. According to an article on the website remembereveything.org, “(d)uring World War II, droves of army personnel were sent to colleges and universities to attend intensive training in skills relevant to winning the war. Robinson headed the Learning and Study Skills program at OSU, and based on his research devised the SQ3R method and other techniques to help military personnel to learn specialized skills in as little time as possible.” As our textbook describes, SQ3R is a “systematic way of studying text to support the student’s reading by previewing, skimming, and setting purpose questions before actual reading.” SQ3R is an acronym for the five steps of the method. Those steps:

• Survey – Students skim their reading for charts, headings, etc.
• Question – Students take the headings, charts, or other skimmed information and form basic questions.
• Read – After creating questions, students then read the assigned text and seek answers to their questions.
• Recite – This phase is where students answer questions and make notes.
• Review – In this final step, students re-read to seek out information to any unanswered questions.

Even with the relative simplicity of the SQ3R approach, our text notes that it remains underutilized despite being “intended to echo the behavior of effective readers.” The following are all beginning resources on SQ3R. The resources:

• These two webpages – “Study Guides and Strategies” (http://www.studygs.net/texred2.htm) and “SQ3R: Studying More Effectively” from mindtools.com (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_02.htm) — provide overviews of SQ3R.
• The video “SQR3 Reading Method” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dhcSP_Myjg) is one that a teacher could show a class as a way to introduce SQ3R.  It’s embedded below after this first set of bullet points.
• This PDF, “SQ3R: How to take Textbook Notes” (http://www.shaker.org/Downloads/SQ3R-%20How%20to%20take%20Textbook%20Notes%20-%20Science%20PDF.pdf) is a one-page document that can be used as a handout in a secondary classroom.
• “SQ3R Reading Worksheet” (http://www.bhsd228.com/reading/docs/pdf/sq3rreadingworksheet.pdf) is a simple pdf document that would help young and new users of SQ3R record information and thoughts.

SQ4R

SQ4R adds the term “reflect” into the SQ3R method. A student would reflect (think about connections to what they already know) after the reading step but before the recite step, according to our textbook.   It is worth noting that the fourth “R” in SQ4R can vary. Depending on the source, R can stand for “Record,” “Respond,” “Retell,” or “wRite.” The placement of the fourth R can vary, as well, meaning reflecting could take place as the last step instead of the fourth. No matter the particular word connected to R or the step order, the larger idea is that students should take extra time in the process to further think about the text they are reading. The following are SQ4R resources:

• This webpage, “SQ4R Study Method,” (https://www.concordiacollege.edu/directories/offices-services/academic-enhancement-and-writing-center/resources/sq4r-study-method/) from Minnesota’s Concordia College places reflection as the final step. The overview is informative and brief.
• This online article, “SQ4R: An Interactive Study System Explained and Applied” (http://www.brighthubeducation.com/study-and-learning-tips/65723-sq4r-study-system/) places reflection in the same place as our textbook. What makes this piece particularly interesting is the author comes from a math background.
• This video, “SQ4R: Strategic Reading,” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbMlIPgqXB8) is a little homespun and defines SQ4R as survey, question, read, recite, record, and review, but it also shows the process of scanning, skimming, and questioning as a reader looks over a text chapter.

Whether a teacher is using either SQ3R or SQ4R, our text stresses that students need to understand that the methods are ones to be used and applied broadly. Learning SQ3R or 4R as a simple one- or two-day lesson sells these powerful study methods short. These skills can be applied in any course and to any textbook that needs to be read and comprehended.

SQRQCQ

An interesting derivative of SQ3R is one that focuses on helping students understand and work through math story problems. The SQRQCQ method, as outlined in our textbook, includes:

• Survey – The reader skims the main idea of the story problem.
• Question – The reader then asks the question that is stated in the problem.
• Re-read – Next, the reader identifies the information and details provided.
• Question – The second question has the reader ask what operation needs to be performed.
• Compute – At this point, solving the problem is attempted.
• Question – In the final step, the reader asks if their answer seems correct.

Using this kind of framework for story problems can help a student in identifying the important parts of the question being posed in an organized way. Like SQ3R and SQ4R, having this kind of system to use can serve as a powerful tool. Some SQRQCQ resources include:

• “Literacy Strategies SQRQCQ”  (http://media2.lpb.org/images/pdf/litlearn/strategies/strat_sqrqcq.pdf) is a colorful pdf that provides a pair of simple examples that show how the strategy works.
• Here are both filled-in and blank advanced organizers for SQRQCQ. Both would be good to hand out to late elementary or middle school students. The filled in example http://www.cwu.edu/math/sites/cts.cwu.edu.math/files/documents/AF_sqrqcqExample.pdf and the blank example — http://www.cwu.edu/math/sites/cts.cwu.edu.math/files/documents/AF_sqrqcq.pdf.
• The original article where SQRQCQ is mentioned dates back to 1965 and was authored by Leslie Fay. The citation is:   Fay, L. (1965). Reading study skills: Math and science. In J. A. Figural (Ed.), Reading and inquiry (pp. 93–94). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.