Thursday, June 28, 2007

SQ4R Thoughts 2.4 & 2.5

SQ4R: Survey, Question, Read, Write, Recite & Review. SQ4R takes me way too long to do. I have a nice high comprehension of what I read. I use context clues for definitions and Google everything else.

This does not mean I have not used SQ4R in my studies. When I first learned to write and study for tests I used this as a great way to organize notes. Over time I refined what I do. I ditched question and just survey & write as I go in an outline type format. Most of the time I don't hand write anything if I can help it I am busy typing up whatever notes I might need. I type because my handwriting is poor and I can type as fast as my brain can think up the words. I might not necessarily spell things right but I get most of my main ideas down on screen quickly.

An example of my process:

Alaska History:
  • Roots
  • countries interested in finding Alaska
  • Explorers
  • expeditions
  • the fur trade
  • notes on Russia
  • the fight between Spain, Russia, England and France and who gave up
  • important dates
  • important people
  • important places
  • important trade items
  • important ship names

Those items come from surveying the chapter and reading quickly. Since I am not currently actively reading while posting this those are only subjects of interest to me. I already have good notes on the details of those items along with maps to show me visually where things might have been.

I am a list maker by nature, thus this method works well for me.

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