The Study-Wise® Course is the most comprehensive study skills curriculum available to schools and tutoring businesses today. This 26 – 32 hour enrichment course has a 20 year proven track record of success with measurable results. It was created by Mary Ellen Whittle, M.Ed., an experienced classroom teacher, reading specialist and university instructor of education to further develop, reinforce and enhance the study skills of students in grades 5, 6 or 7. The course includes direct, explicit instruction in time management techniques, organizational strategies, learning styles, learning/study strategies, note-taking methods, reading speed and comprehension techniques as well as test-taking skills. The strategies are taught in a clear, concrete and meaningful way. The Study-Wise® Course provides practical, dynamic and proven strategies to build students’ competence and confidence in a wide array of essential study skills and motivates the students to learn and use these skills throughout their academic careers.
It is widely recognized in educational literature that study skills instruction is directly related to students’ learning and academic success. When students learn study skills, they are learning how to learn. They are learning techniques and methods to follow to acquire and apply skills, knowledge and competencies both in school and throughout their lives. Study skills are useful in every learning situation.
Students are unlikely to be efficient in any part of their academic work without mastering crucial study skills. Thus, study skills lie at the very heart of education! Also, students need the strategies necessary to improve their performance on both classroom tests and standardized tests as well as state administered tests. Learning to become a better test-taker has become a major survival skill in today’s educational system. In addition, because students are required to read and comprehend more and more material as they progress through school, improving reading speed and comprehension is extremely valuable.
The academic performance of many students begins to decline with the transition from a self-contained environment of elementary school to the content area format of middle school. In middle school students are expected to process and absorb larger amounts of information. This requires them to be more organized, take notes effectively and manage their study time better. By learning valuable and much needed study skills, the transition from elementary to middle school and beyond is made much easier.
Students who have developed effective study skills experience feelings of increased competence and confidence as they learn. They have a heightened sense of personal empowerment and a more positive attitude toward their educational experiences.
It is not uncommon for students at these grade levels to experience the study skills “doldrums.” Many of these students view traditional study skills instruction as boring. However, a study skills program does not have to be boring as evidenced by the Study-Wise® Course. This course is specifically designed to create student “buy in”. It does this by using practical and interactive games and activity oriented lessons that are “fun” while reinforcing the learning of study skills and strategies and motivating the students to use them. |
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Learning / Studying: Establish effective study methods and practices
| Unit 1 |
Time Management Strategies (plan and manage time in and out of school)
Scheduling
Planning and managing time wisely
Prioritizing |
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| Unit 2 |
Organizational Strategies (develop techniques that can be used to set up good
study practices)
Organizing your time
Organizing long range projects and reports
Using your student planner or assignment book
Organizing your study materials
Organizing your backpack
Organizing your home study area |
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| Unit 3 |
Learning Styles
Learning Styles Inventory
Determining one’s preferred learning style
Characteristics of the three learning styles
Strategies for learning, memorizing and studying |
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| Unit 4 |
Learning/Study Strategies (learn how to study and prepare for tests)
Memorization (long-term memory techniques)
Spaced Studying
Memory Helpers
Memory Blockers
Textbook Reading (Active Reading)
Highlighting / Underlining
Making and Using Study Cards
Reading and Reviewing Novels
Strategies for Answering Essay Questions
Strategies for Mid-Term and Final Exams |
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| Unit 5 |
Note-Taking Strategies (develop a system of note-taking that will aid in recording
accurate information from textbooks and lectures)
Active Listening
Note-Taking Signals
Note-Taking Shortcuts
Abbreviations and Symbols
Paraphrasing
Note-Taking Materials
Note-Taking Methods
Lecture Note-Taking
Textbook Note-Taking |
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| Unit 6 |
Reading Speed and Comprehension: Improve reading speed and comprehension |
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| Unit 7 |
Reading Flexibility Strategies
Habits or Behaviors that Slow Down Reading Speed
The Five Reading Speeds
Selecting the Appropriate Reading Speed
Determining Reading Purpose |
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| Unit 8 |
Skimming Strategies |
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| Unit 9 |
Scanning Strategies |
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| Unit 10 |
Test-Taking: Learn how to effectively and efficiently take tests |
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| Unit 11 |
Test-Taking Strategies
Reading Directions and Test Questions Carefully
Wild and Intelligent Guessing
Guessing Penalty
Balancing Speed and Accuracy on Timed Tests
Tips for Managing Time Wisely on Timed Tests
General Test-Taking Tips |
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| Unit 12 |
Stress Management Strategies
Techniques for Reducing Excessive Test Anxiety
Handling Stress |
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The Study-Wise® Course includes a pre-test and a post-test, surveys, modeling, direct instruction, reading speed drills, discussion, overhead transparencies or Power Point CD, as well as student participation in fun-filled activity oriented lessons and games. This course emphasizes the practical application of the skills and strategies taught.
The art of teaching is to create in the student a need for the skills and strategies we want them to learn, then engage them in interesting ways to acquire and practice these skills and strategies and master them. The lessons in this course show students how the strategies are used to help them be successful in school and beyond.
The 480 page Study-Wise® Teacher’s Manuals includes easy- to- follow, teacher-friendly and detailed lesson plans, answer keys, plus either transparencies or Power Point CD and brain-compatible games and activities. We have incorporated the best-known and most |
effective, practical study skills into simple, easy-to-use lesson plans. Suggested follow-up activities for each session are provided as well. These suggestions are ideas and activities that reinforce and build on the concepts and skills introduced in each unit.
Each student receives a Study-Wise® Course Notebook that includes over 180 pages of relevant information and practical activities to practice, reinforce and improve the skills. The notebook also includes a Progress Graph that is used to help the students visualize their progress in reading speed and comprehension and reinforce their incentive for further improvement. This notebook functions as a classroom workbook in the learning of study skills and also serves as a valuable resource for the students. For the reading speed drills, participating schools and tutoring businesses make a one-time purchase of a set of non-consumable books from Jamestown Publishers. |
Parents of over 4,000 students who have participated in courses offered by The EXCEL Program in Jacksonville, FL over the past 20 years have been extremely pleased with the improvements achieved by their children in study skills, test-taking skills, reading speed and comprehension.
- Average pre-test score on knowledge of study skills, test-taking skills, reading flexibility is 53% while the average post-test score is 87%.
- Average initial reading speed on a timed reading comprehension passage is 205 words per minute with 76% comprehension. At the end of the course the average reading speed is 526 words per minute with 86% comprehension. Over 94% of the students have a least doubled their reading speed!
- In addition, the following outcomes have been reported by the Study-Wise® students, their parents and/or teachers:
- Improved attitude toward learning in general
- More organized when studying and taking tests
- Higher test scores
- Improved grades on report cards
- Homework/schoolwork completed more efficiently and effectively
- Less test anxiety
- Improved self-concept/self-esteem
- More confident when studying and taking tests
- Using effective long-term memory strategies
- Making and using schedules
- Completing homework, reports and projects on time
- Reading more for fun and leisure
- Enjoyed the course – "it was fun!"
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