Hmm I disagree with point number 7 under 10 Rules of Bad Studying

> 7. Neglecting to read the textbook before you start working problems.

I think it's a perfectly valid approach. I found that trying to solve the problems first helped me form questions which I would then seek to answer by reading the text. Of course then I would go back to the problems and try to solve them again. Rinse and repeat until I could solve them with confidence.