The Efficacy of a Self-Questioning Summarization Strategy for Use by Underachievers and Learning Disabled Adolescents in Social Studies

Abstract

The major foci of this research were (1) the development of a self-questioning summarization strategy to increase student learning and retention of social studies materials and (2) investigation of trainees' modifications of the inculcated strategy. Because of the second research focus, a multiple baseline design was used. Study I Involved five seventh graders, and Study II involved three eighth graders. Of the eight subjects, two were formally diagnosed as learning disabled, two suspected of being learning disabled, and the rest underachievers. The intervention involved first teaching the subjects identification of main ideas in single paragraphs; second, summarization of single paragraphs; and third, application of the preceding subskills to social studies materials through a self-questioning summarization strategy. The results indicated that all the subjects learned and maintained the summarization skills, and the self-questioning summarization stragegy effectively increased their retention of social studies materials. In addition, there was substantial transfer to general science and biology materials. Finally, subjects demonstrated active, purposeful, and deliberate modifications of the inculcated strategy. This article concludes with research and practical implications from the studies.