Page 292 - Learning to Learn

READING EXPERIENCE 10: READING FOR LEARNING
292 L EARNING TO LEARN: BECOMING A SELF-GROWER
A Second Example of Using the Reading Methodology
Scenario: Molly’s Political Science professor has given his students the assignment of reading a daily
newspaper. He starts each class with a spirited discussion of what students have found, and Molly knows
that in order to participate, she’ll have to understand the stories she’s reading. She is going to use the
Reading Methodology to help her as she reads.
Here’s an example of how Molly
applies the Reading Methodology:
Step Molly’s Notes
1 Establish purpose I will gain information about local, national, and world events that connect with
my class and my life.
2 Set learning objectives I’ll read one article completely with the goal of understanding it.
3 Set performance criteria I should be able to explain what I’ve learned to a classmate
4 Estimate time The professor said the task should only take fifteen minutes. I’ll skim the main
section of the paper to select which article is of most interest to me.
5 Vocabulary terms I have a dictionary so that I can look up unfamiliar words as I read.
6 Outline This is a relatively short article, but it spans several pages. I’ll need to make sure I
catch all the parts.
7 Quick Read I will begin reading an article on health care legislation. It looks like the author’s
purpose is to argue against certain proposed laws rather than just to provide
information. I can see that this purpose really does influence the presentation of
the material. There’s a graph included depicting numbers of laws passed yearly
for the last 30 years. I wonder if this will have anything to do with student health
coverage.
8 Comprehensive Read I’ve taken a few notes including a URL that was offered for more information.
9 Inquiry Questions The graph seems to indicate that the number of healthcare laws passed has
nearly doubled over the last 10 years. Does that mean we’re less healthy? Or that
we’re more legislatively-minded about our healthcare?
10 Synthesis I had initially misunderstood the author’s position; she’s actually arguing against
only certain kinds of healthcare legislation (proposed laws that affect less than
0.05% of the population receiving preferential legislative treatment). That makes
sense to me; I understand her argument.
11 Integration I think I understand a bit better why certain treatments might be considered
more valuable to a population in general. If a condition affects more people, it
matters more than if it affects fewer. You can’t have an epidemic of one after all,
and epidemics are a really big and important deal on a social level. This seems
similar to cases where we talk about social good being the greatest good for the
greatest number (we touched on that in history class last semester).
12 Assessment I found the article interesting and want to look more at the URL (website) the
author cited. I found that I had to slow down a bit and read more carefully as the
author presented statistics. I realized that there are still questions to be asked
about the good that legislation can do when it comes to healthcare. I did a good
job reading and understood what I read. I met my objectives and am sure I can
also meet my performance criteria (I actually really want to talk with someone
about this).