SQ4R – Learning Strategy for Adult Learning Andragogy

The SQ4R active learning strategy and reading system provides scaffolding for textbook reading and taking notes.

The letters in theSQ4R acronym stand for five steps:

Survey
Question
Read
Reflect
Recite …and…
Review

Some versions change words four and five for the key words: Survey, Question, Read, Respond, Record, and Review.

These key words will help all students, but especially busy graduate students learn more from textbook reading with better preparation for assignments, posts, and quizzes. SQ5R also helps identify gaps in understanding, which is very helpful for online learning, since most of the initial concept acquisition is completed during solitary study.

The most effective way to implement SQ4R is to think of Before Reading, During Reading, and After Reading. 

Image Link: http://mhcedls.weebly.com/sq4r.html

Let’s go granular with the five components.

Survey: Scan the titles and subtitles. Study the pictures, charts, or graphs.Read the chapter preface,summary and any chapter questions.

Question: Turn each title, section title, and the first sentence of every paragraph into a question

Read: Read only one section at a time and look to answer the questions that you created.

Reflect: Connect what you’ve read to the Discussion Forum prompts and the assignment instructions. Also, consider connections to your professional practice. 

Recite/Record: Speak out loud the questions you created and the answers you’ve found. Read outloud the bolded or emphasized portions of the text. My daughter used to use the record feature on her iPhone to record important components of the readings and her impressions. 

Review: Keep notes out and visible for quick review. Several students have shared that they take a photo of their notes with their mobile phone and/or take a screenshot of digital notes. Many students have shared that they email their notes to their work email address so they can see them at work. Look at notes first before each new study session. 

To learn more, please see the information at this link from Educational Learning Strategies. http://mhcedls.weebly.com/sq4r.html 

Additional SQ4R Resources: 

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh: https://www.usu.edu/academic-support/files/SQ4R_Reading_System.pdf

Utah State University:
https://www.usu.edu/academic-support/files/SQ4R_Reading_System.pdf 

University of Guelph:
https://guides.lib.uoguelph.ca/c.php?g=697430&p=5011752

Queen’s University: http://sass.queensu.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Reading-2020.pdf

Image Link: http://mhcedls.weebly.com/sq4r.html