McKay School of Education > News > Improving The Learning Experience Through Study Guides
Improving The Learning Experience Through Study Guides
Roni Jo Draper, associate professor and graduate coordinator for the Department of Teacher Education, participated in a two-day faculty teaching improvement conference for the Undergraduate Education Academy. Draper gave her presentation, entitled “Creating and Using Reading and Study Guides to Promote and Assess Learning” both days to full rooms as GE professors from all over campus took notes in order to improve their teaching skills.
Draper centered her instruction on improving the effectiveness of course study guides. Many study guides can often be too easy, allowing students to effortlessly breeze through material that should otherwise be helping them obtain a more well-rounded understanding of the subject. Draper believes that professors should take the time to create meaningful, thought-provoking study guides that will engage the student with material that needs to be learned.
Effective study guides will prompt students to think about and understand the material not only during the reading, but also before and after the process. This kind of study guide helps learners to consolidate and summarize information, as well as differentiate between what is and what is not important. As the students take time to complete these study guides, they come to the class prepared for livelier and more meaningful discussions.
Above all, Draper comments, professors should not forget the value of quality study guides, because “learning requires the engaged involvement of the learner.”
The presentation was based on Draper’s own research in the field of literacy studies. For years she has focused on ways to improve literacy among students in order for them to more easily understand and learn course content presented to them in the classroom setting. In order to do so, professors must first recognize qualities typical of more experienced and capable readers. Only then can they be successful in teaching those skills to students.
Draper’s efforts to improve the literacy skills of students continue to occupy her time and attention. Just last year she finished working with a university choir on campus to gather data about reading and writing involved in choral music. Draper is now directing her attention towards an ongoing project collecting data related to mathematical literacy in university math courses and labs.
26 October 2009