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READING
E
XPERIENCE
10: R
EADING
FOR
L
EARNING
284
L
EARNING
TO
L
EARN
: B
ECOMING
A
S
ELF
-G
ROWER
Improving your effectiveness as a reader requires that you read
actively
. This means your eyes are not
simply passing over words on a page, but that you are
thinking
while processing the information you read.
In order to get the most benefit from your study and reading time, you must be
critically engaged
without
distractions. This applies to any reading where comprehension is important such as reading a textbook,
your own notes, research sources, or laboratory data.
Language development skills are the foundation from which a person’s reading process can be improved.
Table 1 lists the skills from the
Classification of Learning Skills
that are associated with language
development. The table includes general skills such as
building vocabulary
as well as specific skills like
defining
.
As proficiency with language development skills increases, so will a person’s reading skills. Specifically,
reading skills improve by:
• building vocabulary —
being able to define and apply words
• decoding communication —
putting meaning to words and symbols (so that you understand
them, not just recognize them)
• understanding syntax —
properly using and grouping words in sentences
• identifying semantics —
recognizing the meaning of speech forms and grouping of words
• identifying context —
understanding that words have different meanings in different contexts
Table 1
Language Development Skills
Building
vocabulary
Decoding
communication
Understanding
syntax
Identifying
semantics
Identifying
context
Defining
Pattern
recognition
Word
recognition
Recognizing
meaning
Identifying
cultural background
Practice
and usage
Assigning
meaning
Proper use of
grammar
Recognizing
connotations
Identifying historical
background
Using
contextual
cues
Recognizing
symbols
Proper use
of sentence
structure
Using
rhetoric
Reading Methodology
This chapter will focus on the Reading Methodology. Reading is one step in the process of joining ongoing
conversations with authors. You become part of that conversation when you read and discuss published
sources, and again when you write your own analysis and reflection of those sources. Good conversations
can continue for years and produce solutions to many thorny issues.
While being able to read faster may improve your reading performance, building speed is not the main
concern of this chapter. More important is that you are able to comprehend, communicate, and apply what
you read. For many students, the bottom line is that they would benefit greatly from simply processing and
structuring the critical information, so they can integrate what they read into their learning.