the registrar's computerized records does not take much time. (We compiled six classes of standardized test scores in less than an hour.)

@ Step 3; S = Supporting Students in Their Educational Quest

“S” represents the support that students need in their educational quest. Students need to know that the instructor cares that they do well in a course and that we will help them. Sometimes just an “I care” gives students the motivation to try harder or improve study skills. In addition, we suggest resources offered by other departments on campus. Counseling offers seminars in self-esteem, career goals, time manage- ment, study habits, and many other areas of general and personal interest. Many students benefit from attending a selected number of these programs. Devel- opmental Studies offers workshops, computerized programs, tutors, courses, and videos on study skills and test-taking. Sessions on test anxiety are available through the Developmental Studies and Counseling offices. Not only must the students attend the session, but they must write a short report on the program’s content, how the program's information relates to them, and how they can use this information for personal improvement. We offer incentives to students for availing themselves of these resources by adding two bonus points to the mid-term grade for each session (up to one letter grade improvement in score).

Cs Step 4: T = Teaching Good Study Skills

The last step in hitting students with a F.1.S.T. is to teach good study skills. In our syllabus we include a copy of the SQ3R method of study. When we review the syllabus and discuss the required textbook, we demonstrate how to read the text—using this method of study. Before the first exam we discuss tips on taking objective or short-answer tests: looking through the test and answering the known questions; reading, the questions, carefully noting key words; reading all responses, beginning with the last choice and moving toward the first; and so on. In addition, we provide handouts offering other specific hints for successful test-taking.

Conclusion % Prompt intervention may mean the difference —

between success or failure. Early intervention has

proven to be very effective with students in academic

difficulty, in both lowering dropout rates and raising

final course grades. Hitting floundering students with

a F.L.S.T. merits the attention of instructors concerned

with students’ academic success.

Adrian Rapp, Instructor, Sociology Lynda Dodgen, Instructor, Sociology For further information, contact the authors at North

Harris County College, 2700 W.W. Thorne Drive, Houston, TX 77073.

Suanne D. Roueche, Editor

March 3, 1989, Vol. XI, No. 8

‘The University of Texas at Austin, 1989 Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER institutions for their own personnel.

Sf

tum members for $40 per year. Funding

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizatonal Development (NISOD),

EDB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, (512) 471-7545. Subscriptions are available to nonconsor- 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 and once dunng the summer. ISSN 0199-106X.