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One hundred thirty-eight college students participated in a study comparing the SOAR (Select, Organize, Association, Regulate) and SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) study systems to each other and to students’ preferred study methods. Though both systems have been researched independently, just one other study has compared these study systems to each other. College students were assigned randomly to one cell of a 2x2 factorial design (method: SOAR or SQ3R; material: supplement or no supplement) or to a preferred-study-method control group. Groups were trained in their respective system (SOAR, SQ3R, or control) and then given materials about educational measurement to study. During the study period, half of SOAR and SQ3R trained students were given a study supplement that matched their training method. The other halves and the control group were not given supplements. Following the study period, participants were tested on the educational measurement material with respect to fact, relationship, concept, and skill learning. Finally, all participants completed an attitudinal survey regarding their experiences. Achievement results showed no main or interactive effects for method or material and no mean differences among the three study methods (SOAR, SQ3R, and control). Results from the attitude survey revealed that students trained in SQ3R felt more prepared to study than those who received SOAR or control training. Adviser: Kenneth A. Kiewra

Traditionally, mathematics and reading are seen as two separate entities; however, research suggests that problem solving and reading comprehension are linked. Much research is available regarding reading comprehension and fiction texts. The amount of research available decreases when reading comprehension and nonfiction texts are combined, and there is scant research reviewing reading comprehension and problem solving in the math classroom. To further explore this area of education, this research study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the math and reading comprehension strategy Survey, Question, Read, Question, Compute, Question (SQRQCQ) on students' word problem performance and their attitudes towards word problems. Fourth grade students learned and practiced SQRQCQ while being surveyed and assessed. It was found that in such a short time period, the usage of SQRQCQ did not increase students' assessment scores; however, there was an increase in students' confidence when solving word problems. The researcher concluded that although SQRQCQ did not show an immediate benefit in student achievement, comprehension strategies should be explicitly taught in the math classroom. The researcher suggests that further research surrounding math and reading comprehension be conducted over a longer period of time.

Comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading and affects the understanding of all content areas. Students are successful readers when they are able to pull important information from texts and connect the new information with previously stored schemata. In the science content area, new information is very difficult to acquire because of the difficult concepts and vocabulary. For students to connect previously learned materials with schemata, prior knowledge must be activated. When prior knowledge is activated, students begin to prepare for reading.However, it is equally as important that students have a reading strategy in place when they begin reading science materials. The reading strategy SQ3R is a systematic strategy that can be used to aid students in comprehending expository materials.This research study was conducted with the purpose of determining whether integrating SQ3R into fifth grade students' science reading strategies would improve their overall comprehension. The study also investigated students' preexisting reading strategies and their thoughts on whether they would continue to implement SQ3R into their reading habits.The results of the study indicated that SQ3R significantly improved fifth grade students' overall comprehension scores of expository texts. The study also indicated that 46.9% of the students used in the study had a preexisting reading strategy. The most common preexisting reading strategy was note taking. It was found that 68.7% of the students used in the study would use the reading strategy SQ3R in the future.It is recommended that teachers as well as administrators recognize the importance of reading strategies and educate the students and parents on possible strategies that can be used to improve comprehension.