~ randomly about 10 times each semester.) During this third check, I noticed that some of the students were beginning to underline passages and write notes in the margins. One student had more notations than I had written in my text. My technique for encouraging students to become more active, involved readers has two advantages. First, it doesn’t take much time. Before I begin a lecture or discussion, I can usually look quickly at every text and show the students several pages of my text in about five minutes. (On average, there are 17 students in each of my writing classes.) Another advantage is that nearly all content area instructors can use this technique and modify it in a number of ways. It can work well in such diverse courses as ecology, philosophy, psychology, and art history. I do not force my students to mark their texts, and I never check to see what they underline or write in the margins. My purpose in checking their texts and showing them how I mark my texts is to encourage an involvement with what they read, and I hope that such involvement will become a habit. Bob Gassen, Instructor, English For further information, contact the author at Hutchinson Community College, 1300 N. Plum, Hutchinson, KS 67501. Using Crib Cards: Developing Study Skills I have tried many ways to help students become better at studying for tests and at taking tests. Re- cently, I hit upon a scheme which seems to be valuable to my students and which has the potential for teach- ing them some much-needed study skills. The scheme was this: About 10 days before the first major test, I told the students that each could bring one 3 x 5 card, with anything written on it, to class and could have access to this “crib card” during the test. (I also told them that any card larger than 3 x 5 would be cut to size!) On the day of the test, all students arrived with their cards. Some had written notes in such tiny print that they couldn’t have been read without a magnifying glass. Some had written on both sides, some on one side only. I noticed that students exhibited an unusual excitement and camaraderie as they came in to take the test, and there was more conversation and less anxiety than usual. After this test had been graded, handed back to students, and discussed, I asked the class to tell me how they felt about the crib cards, how the cards affected their test taking, and what they learned from oe the experience. The most common response was that Oo once they had complcted the card, they no longer needed it to do well on the test. Some said they hardly gave it a glance, but knowing it was there helped their confidence. Others said it was the first time they had ever done anything to study for a test other than reading over the material. All agreed that the synthe- sizing and outlining required to make maximum use of the 3 x 5 space was what helped them most. Some realized for the first time that there was a need to identify and prioritize the most important material. Students have indicated that they plan to use the crib card method to study for tests in other classes. Claire Gauntlett, Evening Dean For further information, contact the author at Cedar Valley College, 3030 N. Dallas Avenue, Lancaster, TX , 75134-3799. Suanne D. Roueche, Editor September 27, 1991, Vol. XII, No. 21 ©The University of Texas at Austin, 1991 Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER institutions for their own personnel. INNOVATION ABSTRACTS Is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), Department of Educational Administration, College of Education, EDB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, (512) 471-7545. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation. Issued weekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms. ISSN 0199-106X. — @.