Strategic Reading

The most successful readers use a variety of strategies to help themselves understand and remember what they are reading.  This is particularly true of academic reading.  Here are some strategies that you will find helpful and easy to add to your reading:

Preview - Before you start to read, look over the assignment to get the big picture. 

• ·         What is it about? 
• ·         How is it organized? 
• ·         Are there any interesting pictures? 
• ·         Look at the bold print words - do you understand them? Are they defined somewhere?   
•           Read any learning objectives at the beginning of the chapter for guidance about what you are to    learn.

 Monitor your comprehension - As you read, be aware of your attention and understanding.  If either one lags, reread or take a step back and see where the information you are reading fits into the overall topic of the assignment.

Visualize - Can you picture what you are reading?  This will depend on the topic, of course.  But, can you see a picture of what the author is describing?

Recite - Stop after each paragraph or section and restate what you just read in your own words.  Can you do that?  If yes, continue on.  If no, go back and reread and try again.

Review - This small step will make a huge difference.  After you are done reading, take a few more minutes to think about what you have read.

For the next three postings I will go into more detail about the Three-step Academic Reading Process and different strategies you can do at the different stages.

Until then....Happy Reading!

Distributed Practice

It takes repeated exposure in a variety of formats for information to become firmly implanted in your long-term memory.    This is why cramming for hours the night before an exam does not work.  To truly learn information, you should:

• ·         Review often
• ·         Use a variety of study strategies

Distributed Practice means that you are spreading out your studying and reviewing over an extended period of time.   This is above and beyond the regular reading and lecture note review that happens on a class by class basis.  If there is something that you are finding difficult, or if there is a large amount of information to learn, the best thing you can do is spread the learning out over time.

For example, you might make study cards for your Spanish class, and review them 20 minutes at least 5-6 days per week.   If History is the class you are struggling in, you could use the same time frame and:

• ·         make and review study cards for that class,
• ·         make a review chart and use recitation to remember what goes in each category,
• ·         take one topic a day from your notes and review that using recitation, or
• ·         outline or write the information in the learning objectives from the beginning of each chapter and then recite.

The possibilities are endless.  The important thing is that you are reviewing for about 20 minutes almost every day of the week during the semester.  AGAIN, above and beyond your regular reading and reviewing!

Annotations or Margin Notes

One way you can increase your reading efficiency and retention is by writing brief notes in the margins of your textbooks.  These are called annotations or margin notes.  They are short, maybe just a few key words, and summarize the important information contained in a paragraph or section. 

By using this strategy while you read, you are becoming a much more active reader.  This will result in higher comprehension and retention. 

Here is what to do:

1.         Read the paragraph or section.

2.       Think about what is the important information you need to remember.

3.       Condense that information into a few key words.

4.       Write the words in the margin of the page near where you found the information.

There are other ways you can mark your pages:

1.       Write numbers beside where items are listed.

2.       Write "def" beside where an important word is defined.

3.       Draw a small concept map or chart in a white space to help you understand something.

Keep in mind that this is a new way to read and may be uncomfortable at first.  But isn't any change uncomfortable?  Give it time and you will wonder how you ever read without a pen or pencil in your hand!

By using this strategy you are ensuring that you will be actively involved with the information and doing much more than simply letting the words run through your mind.

Active vs. Passive Reading

To really learn something you need to be actively involved with the material. When you are reading academic material, it helps if you do more than just let the words pass through your mind. 

Many students like to highlight, but this can be just as passive as not doing anything.  The trick to highlighting is to read first, think about what is important, and then go back and highlight the key words.  You should keep the highlighting to no more than 25% to 30% of each page.

Some other active reading strategies are:

1.         Visualize what you are reading if the material lends itself to that.

2.         Make associations between what you are reading and what you already know.

3.         Turn the headings into questions and then read to find the answers.

4.         Pay attention to how the information is organized.

5.         Look for signals the author uses to help you follow along.

Next week's blog is about one of my favorite active reading strategies: Annotation or Margin Notes!  You will love it!

Recitation: A Strategy for All Occasions

There is one study strategy that is extremely helpful in just about all learning situations - RECITATION. 

Recitation means to restate in your own words from memory.

This is so powerful because you are practicing recalling the information just as you would on an exam or when you need the knowledge on the job.  It is much better that just rereading your textbook assignments or passively reviewing your lecture notes.

Here are some ways you can use recitation in your studying:

• When reading, pause and recite what you have just read without looking.  If you can do this, move forward.  If not, go back and reread and then try again.
• When reviewing lecture notes, read a section, close your notebook and see if you can recite what you just reviewed.  As above, move forward if you can, review again if you cannot.
• When using study cards, read the front of the card, think about what is on the back, then check yourself.  If you are correct, set the card aside.  If you are incorrect, put the card in a separate pile and go through those until you get them all correct.  Tomorrow, go through them again!
• In math, practice doing problems without referring to your notes or book, then check your answers and procedures.
• When learning a second language, be sure to practice recalling the new words, don't just "look over then."
• If you have made a review chart, cover the information and see what you can remember.

Some of my students in the past have misspelled this word and written "resuscitation" which means to revive from apparent death.  In a sense this is correct - using recitation can revive your studying and give your learning new life!

NOW - practice recitation.  Close this screen and see what you can remember about what you have read.  Then check your recall.  Good luck!

Be Purposeful, Persistent, Prepared

You can enhance your academic success through these three P's.

1. Be Purposeful - On a daily basis, make choices that will help you with your studies. For example, go to the Library after class to review your notes instead of back to bed for a nap. Stay after class to ask a question instead of meeting up with your friend. Do some extra studying even though the exam is two weeks away. Just in general live each day so that what you do is helping you reach your goal of academic success. (This doesn't mean there is no time for fun! We'll consider balancing work and fun later.)

2. Be Persistent - Don't give up! Even when you are feeling discouraged and your studying does not seem to be going smoothly, keep going. Bounce back after an exam grade that might be lower than you expected. Analyze your day-to-day studying and exam preparation and make changes. Work at staying healthy, motivated and current in all of your classes for the entire semester.

3. Be Prepared - Don't wait until the last minute to finish a paper. The printer will always run out of ink at that time! Leave yourself some leeway for emergencies. But being prepared also is important in case an opportunity comes your way. You want to be ready when a great internship opens up or you are asked to participate in an academic event that will add to your resume. People who have great "luck" are always prepared when that "luck" comes around!

First week of classes - Study Cycle

During the first week of classes it might seem that you do not have a lot of work.  This will change quickly, so it is important to get into productive study habits now.

You can think of each week as a cycle that you are going to work through, and then at the beginning of the next week start it over again.  For a class that meets 3 times a week, the study cycle is:

Go to class > review your notes > read the textbook>

Go to class > review your notes > read the textbook >

Go to class > review your notes > read the textbook >

REPEAT from the beginning

If you have a class that meets twice a week, you should still review your notes at least three times a week.  If you have a class that meets just once a week, you will need to review your notes 3 or 4 times between classes.

In future postings, I will give you information about what to actually do while you are reviewing your notes - it needs to be more than just rereading!

For now, get into the habit of reviewing your lecture notes as soon as possible after class and reading your textbooks before class and/or after to check and review information.