Using Cognitive Centers to Develop Effective Study Skills.

Study skills are not specific to reading and cannot be developed by reading and more reading. A study skill is a mental technique to use when accomplishing a specific task or solving a given problem and is one element in a process essential for efficient and effective reading. Students who lack basic study skills can be taught to think if situations are developed which require thinking. One way to stimulate thinking is through the use of cognitive centers, a provocative setting generated by activities and/or materials presented in a manner to stimulate a small number of students to engage in the exchange of opinions for the purpose of developing proficiency in prestated study skills. Examples are given of using the cognitive center approach to provide students with the study skill abilities to discover the basic structure in a system, to see relationships, and to evaluate situations or information. (TO)