Taking Time To Learn: The Free State Social Work Pre-Reading Study Guide

Taking Time to Learn

Here at Free State Social Work, we encourage you to take the time to actively read and reflect on the course material.  We have carefully selected readings that we feel are relevant and interesting.  Here are some tips and strategies that may help.

Tips for active reading!

Find the right time for you.  Everyone is different.  Some people may read and learn best in the morning for example.

Find the right place- somewhere that is comfortable and free of distractions.

Find courses that are appropriate and right for you.  Look at program summaries and program objectives.  Also find courses that meet your level of practice: beginning, intermediate, or advanced.  This will help you stay interested and engaged.

If reading on the computer screen is difficult for you, then you may want to print the articles.  This is especially helpful for longer or more detailed readings.

You may want to take notes so that you can remember important points later.  If you print the articles, you can highlight or underline.

After reading the article, it can be helpful to write a summary in your own words.  This will help you process the information that you are learning.

The post-test is part of your learning too.  The questions reinforce what you have read and provide feedback.

Finally, plan ahead and give yourself time to learn!

Pre-reading questions and strategies

Think about what you already know about the topic.

What do you hope to learn from this course?

What questions do you think you might have?

What opinions do you have?

Think about ways in which this course is relevant to your practice.

Think about specific cases that you have worked on that are relevant to this course.

Remember, when we calculate the contact time for each course, we take into consideration the time it will take to read, think, and learn!