Improving Reading Speed and Recall:
A Workshop with
Richard Špaček
go.unb.ca/studentsuccess
Tricks vs. Techniques
Math tricks:
1.Take advantage of mechanical procedures
2.Reduce memory load
Tricks vs. Techniques
• Mechanical tricks for multiplication
Multiplying by 11
3 111 x
3 + 1=4
31 X 11=341
4
Multiplying by 11
2 115 x
2 + 5=7
25 X 11=275
7
No Tricks Zone
• There are no equivalent reading “tricks,” only “techniques”
• Practice is the key
• There ARE effective tactics for longer readings
Strengths & Weaknesses
• language is a neural network: each element is connected to every other element
• recognition occurs as a result of the operation of connected units
• letters that have occurred together in the past are more readily recognized
• the system is robust—even when there are errors. . . .
Read Me (1)
Fo_ ex_mp_e, y_u c_n r_ad _hi_ se_te_ce _it_ ev_ry _hi_dl_tt_r mi_si_g.
Read Me (2)
Terhe wree olny two Aerimncas sotpinpg at the heotl. Tehy did not konw any of the poelpe tehy pssead on the sirats on teihr way to and form tehir room. Tiher room was on the scoend foolr fincag the sea. It also fcaed the pibulc gdrean and the war mnenomut. Tehre wree big plams and geern bcnehs in the plbuic grdean. In the good wetaehr there was alyaws an asrtit wtih his esael. Attsris liekd the way the pmlas gerw and the bigrht coolrs of the htloes fnicag the gnadres and the sea. Ilatinas caem form a lnog way off to loko up at teh war mmnonuet.
Weaknesses: Arbitrariness
• language depends on a network of conceptual and phonological links
• this mixed system of arbitrary connections is especially prone to error because sound is often at odds with sense
Sound & Sense?
• Pulchritude L. pulcher, ‘beautiful’
turpitude
decrepitudepulverize
puling
Sound & Sense?
• Bucolic L. būcolicus, ‘rustic, pastoral’
colic
puke
Weaknesses: Size
• Adult speakers: 50,000 “words”
• 1 Million words in English
• Amalgam of 5 languages (Anglo-Saxon, Danish, Norman French, Classical Latin, Greek)
• 40 distinct sounds written 176 ways
Mastering English
• Knowing classical roots helps with vocabulary
• Consider: what is the etymology of the word “education”?
Factors in Reading Rates
Factors in Reading Rates
1. Familiarity with vocabulary and concepts
2. Habitual approach to reading
3. Concentration/motivation
Factors in Reading Rates
• Familiarity: determined partly by exposure to specific knowledge but partly by the general readiness of the linguistic system
• Approach: habit and practice• Concentration: under the conscious
control of the individual
1. Familiarity/Vocabulary
• humans read far more than they need to• specialized forms literature do not convey
information from a real context:– novels, – stories, – drama
• some forms encourage language play:– jokes, especially puns– songs and poetry– slogans, epigrams
outlaws
Antimetabole
If guns are outlawed
only
guns
will have
Read More to Read Faster
• ALL reading renews linguistic understanding
• Leisure reading complements any course of study
• Time spent reading determines vocabulary development & this determines reading speed
Speed and Vocabulary
• Beyond primary education, most vocabulary development comes from personal, self-directed reading
• Language study can help. . . .
Vocabulary Shortcut
• 60% of English words in common use based on Latin/Greek roots and affixes
• 14 roots and 20 prefixes are the keys to 14,000 common English words
• Learning these provides a set of memory keys
• Use these to build and retain new vocabulary much more readily.
Self-Taught
• When you have mastered a vocabulary appropriate to what you are reading, you are ready for speed—but it may not come by itself
2. Habitual Approach
• Sign on an Olympic training pool:
The only way to swim fast is to swim fast.The only way to read fast is to
try to read fast
• Force your pace to increase speed
How Fast?
• Speech flows at a rate optimal for short term memory:
• Speech: 250-350 words per minute
• Actual reading speed tends to lag behind this
• Largely habit: children reading to meet stated target rates learn to read faster
• Practice reading for speed!
3. Reading & Concentration
• PURPOSE of reading affects intensity & focus (Linderholm et al., 2008)
• Greater sense of purpose usually means greater concentration and thus faster rate and higher retention
What About Speed Reading Courses?
• Gains have been noted, but these come mainly from focus (elimination of multitasking), motivation, and quantity of reading
• Claims for specific techniques (e.g., using unfocused gaze, eliminating “subvocalization,” reducing fixations) are mostly false
Real Factors . . .
Factors in Reading Speed :
• Familiarity with vocabulary and concepts
• Habitual approach to reading
• Concentration and motivation
Strategies for Better Recall
Factors in Better Recall
• Reading strategies may not substantially change speed
• They do affect comprehension & retention
Reading Strategies
1. Learn structure of text
• Goal is to increase understanding by gaining an overview of the organization of the text
• This will improve comprehension thus retention
Internal Organizers
• preface
• introduction
• table of contents/headings
• glossary
• index
• end of chapter summaries
• review questions
Chapter-Level Organizers
Reading Strategies
• Skim-read text quickly
• Note key features: tables, graphs, illustrations, specially-marked text
Reading Strategies
2. Maintain understanding by selective re-reading
• look-backs to pertinent regions of the text:– topic sentences conveying main ideas– topic headings signaling content
structure– Medium reading rate, but highest recall
Remarks
• Simple linear reading is not effective (though it can be fast)
• Good reading involves re-reading
• Build a conceptual framework by examining advance
• Building motivation by looking for answers is powerful
Self-Explanation
• Tactics such as self-explanation (during which you phrase new ideas in your own words and reason WHY you know them) improve learning
• “The participant recalls information from the current text or his/her own background knowledge to self-explain the current sentence” (p. 341).
Why Henrietta Lacks?
• “Studies show that readers engage in higher-order thinking skills when required to evaluate multiple sources. . . . Thus, introducing students to multiple science texts with a common theme to encourage integration may be one way to improve thinking and comprehension about science concepts”
Synthesizing Ideas
• Synthesizing ideas across multiple sources engage “higher-order thinking skills” (Linderholm et al., 2014)’
• The challenge of linking narrative and expository modes
ACTIVE Reading Strategies
3. Use an active reading system1. Review the text’s internal
organizers2. Skim rapidly over chapter3. Read closely, circling, marking,
annotating4. Develop questions 5. Test yourself
Mark/Lookup/Test
• sharpen focus by marking the text
• Dr. Robert Bjork (UCLA) dismisses the highlighter!
• Develop the habit of looking up new words & testing yourself on them
• Test yourself on all new material
• Use creative, high-challenge questions with limited prompts
Super-Secret Password
A new security technique combines cryptography with neuroscience to create passwords that are stored in users' brains but cannot be recalled or otherwise extracted by coercion. The system is based on the process of implicit learning, in which the brain learns a pattern without consciously recognizing it. At Stanford University, researchers Bojinov, Sanchez, Reber, and Lincoln had test subjects play a computer game in which they had to catch falling objects on the screen by pressing one of six keys (S, D, F, & J, K, L), with each key corresponding to a position on the screen.
Overprompting
• The process by which the brain learns a pattern without consciously recognizing it is _________ learning. implicit
Higher Challenge
• Name and describe the process by which passwords are learned unconsciously: Implicit learning
Super-Secret Password
The positions of the falling objects in the game appeared to be random, but they were not. Buried in the game was a sequence of positions that “taught” users a 30-character sequence of the 6 letters.
Overprompting
• The password users learned contained _________ characters. 30
Higher Challenge
• How many different passwords could be created by this system?
nr ,
n = 6; r = 30
630
(quite a few)
Self-Testing
• Using the information makes it memorable
• “Flashcard” approach has merit—but it is very limited
• Short-term memory effect makes people overestimate their knowledge
• Use testing with delayed feedback
Sketching
• graphics are integral elements—sketch graphics for better recall
Speed/Learning
• Speed reading is for material that is highly predictable & redundant
• Your reading material is denser and unfamiliar
• Expect greater effort and lower speed
. . . For more:
www.unbwritingcentre.ca/Workshops