A how-to-study unit for high school students

185 Pages·08.753 MB·English

by  Williams, Charles Clarence

A HOW-TO-STUDY UNIT FOB
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
A P roject
Presented to
the Faculty of the School o f Education
U n iversity of Southern C aliforn ia
In P artial F ulfillm en t
o f the Requirements for the Degree
M aster of Science in Education
by
Charles C* W illiam s, Jr
February 1950
UMI Number: EP46141
All rights reserved
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This project report, written under the direction
of the candidate's adviser and approved by him,
has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty
of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science in Education.
lAlA..A*.
Date ............ ........
.....
Adviser
Dean
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION....................................................................... 1
Importance of learning how to study . . . . 1
How to study can be le a r n e d ......................... 1
Develop good study methods .................................... 1
Put study methods into p ractice .......................... 2
II. HOW TO BECOME SOCIALLY ADJUSTED . . . . . . . 3
Importance o f social adjustm ent . . . . . . 3
Make fr ie n d s ............................................................................. 3
Be at ease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Converse e a sily . . . . . . . ............................... 5
Use your t a l e n t .................................................. 6
Enter in to group enthusiasm . . . . . . . . 6
Be generous ....................................................... 7
Be you rself . . . . . . . .......................................... 7
Be frien d ly to g i r l s ............................................. 8
Be frien d ly to b o y s .................................................. 8
D ating--the boy's part . . . . . . . . . . . 9
D ating— the g ir l’s p a r t ............................................... 10
E xercises on so cia l adjustm ent . . . . . . . 11
II I. HOW TO DEVELOP INTEREST .................................... 13
Importance of in t e r e s t ................................... 13
Knowledge makes for in terest .................................... 13
i i i
CHAPTER PAGE
A ssociate w ith others who are in terested . . 13
P hysical and mental conditions a ffec t
in terest .............................. 14
Jobs that challenge develop in terest . . . . 14
P ractical ap p lication s make for
greater in terest . . . . . 15
V ocational aims add to i n t e r e s t ........ 15
Knowledge o f progress adds to in terest . . . 16
V ariety is a means of improving in terest . . 16
Proper study conditions aid in terest . . . . 1?
A d efin ite ob jective increases in terest . . 17
Solving personal problems aid s in terest . . 18
E xercises on in terest .................................................... 18
IV. HOW TO IMPROVE READING ABILITY . . . . . . . . 21
Importance o f reading ... . ................................... 21
Read with a p u r p o s e ......................... 21
Locate reading d iffic u ltie s . . . 22
Use system atic p ractice on your weaknesses . 23
Read to un d erstan d........................................ 24
Understand graphs and charts .......................... 25
Read w ith a lo g ic a l organization in mind . . 25
Improve comprehension by increasing the
background o f in fo r m a tio n ................... 26
Use a graph to show your improvement . . . . 27
iv
CHAPTER PAGE
E xercises on reading ......................................................... 27
V. HOW TO OUTLINE................................ . ........................ 30
Importance of ou tlin in g .......................... 30
Follow a lo g iea l order ............................... 30
O utlines may vary as to form .............................. 31
Make your outline neat . . .................................... 32
Make clear and b r ief statem ents ......................... 32
Be consistent in your form . ............................... 33
O utlines are means and not ends . . . . . . 33
Use your ou tlin e in r e v ie w . 33
Review your o u tlin e if n e c e ssa r y .......................... 34
P ractice o u tlin in g .............................................................. 35
E xereises on ou tlin in g ............................................. 35
71. HOW TO USE THE LIBRARY . . .............................. 37
Importance of using the l i b r a r y .......................... 37
Learn lib ra ry o r g a n iza tio n ......................................... 37
Learn to use the eard catalogue . . . . . . 38
Learn how books are numbered . .......................... 38
Learn how to use reference books,
encyclopedias, and d ictio n a ries . . . . . 39
Learn the lib ra ry rules and regu lations . . 39
Learn how to use the Reader’s Guide . . . . 39
Look in the c ity and public lib rary
for m a te r ia l . 40
v: .1
CHAPTER PAGE
Learn to care fo r books ................................ 40
Learn to consider the lib rary a- place
for reading and studying . . . . . . . . . 42
E xercises on the lib rary . 42
VII. HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR VOCABULARY . .......................... 44
Importance of vocabulary .......................... 44
B uilding vocabulary takes e ffo r t .......................... 44
Talk to others w ith good- vocabularies . . . 44
Use the d iction ary ......................................................... 45
Learn meanings by context .......................... 45
Read w id e ly .................................................. 46
L isten to good lectu res . . . . . . . . . . 46
Much inform ation is availab le in the
d ic tio n a r y ................................... 47
Learn to appreciate words as instrum ents
o f expression .....................................* 47
Get criticism from o t h e r s .......................................... 48
Have as many worthwhile experiences
as p ossib le . . . . . . . . .......................... ♦ 48
Learn to pronounce words correctly . . . . 49
Flash cards can be h elp fu l ..................................... 49
Study new word3 .......................... 50
E xercises on vocabulary .......................................... 51
vi
CHAPTER PAGE
V III. HOW TO GONCENTRATE . . . ..................................... 53
Importance of concentration . . . . . . 53
Learn to use your time e ffe c tiv e ly . . . 53
Set up a schedule ......................... . 54
Follow your s c h e d u le .............................. 55
Use the lib rary .................................... 56
Posture can help concentration . . . . . 56
Pay a tten tio n to lig h t .................................... 57
Elim inate d istra ctio n s from your room . . 57
Study under uniform conditions ..................... 58
E xercises on concentration..................................... 58
IX. HOW TO MEMORIZE ...................... 60
Importance of memorizing ............................... 60
Understanding helps m em o rizin g ..................... 60
Memorize co rrectly from the beginning . . 61
Emphasize the whole selectio n . . . . . . 61
Remember by u s e ........................................ 62
O verlearning m aterial .............................. 62
Review from time to t i m e .................................... 63
E xercises on memorizing .................................... 63
X. HOW TO TAKE EXAMINATIONS........................................... 65
Importance of e x a m in a tio n s............................... 65
R ealize that te s ts are im perfeet . . . . 65
CHAPTER PAGE
P redict and answer quiz q u e s t io n s ..................... 66
Essay and ob jective exam inations . . . . . 66
C loseness o f review is important . . . . . 67
Good notes are valuable in review . . . . . 67
Essay questions' should be organized . . . . 68
Elaboration helps to clear up the meaning
o f the answer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Make use of returned e x a m in a tio n s..................... 69
Keep eool before exam inations . ..................... 69
Review frequently before te sts . . . . . . 70
E xercises on exam inations .................................... 70
BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................... 72
APPENDIX ................... 76
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING HOW TO STUDY
High school lif e e n ta ils more study fo r students and
demands a greater degree of ap p lication to larger task s.
Since students are expected to do more work, it is necessary
«
that they should learn how to go about accom plishing i t .
HOW TO STUDY CAN BE LEARNED
U nfortunately, when they talk about th eir a b ility to
study, students sometimes make the comment,~“I'm just not the
studious type." They seem to b elieve that good students are
i
"born" stu d en ts, while the fa ct is that most of them become
good students only by constant p ractice o f good study methods.
In other words, good students are "made" not "born", and the
student who rea lizes th is a t the beginning o f h is high school
work has a good sta rt on the road to su ccessfu l school work.
DEVELOP GOOD STUDY METHODS
A fter the student r e a liz e s that he needs to a ttain
these good study m ethods, he s t i l l has one more task: putting
them in to p ra ctice. Constant ap p lication is necessary on the
student’s part u n til he has developed e ffe c tiv e study s k ills ,