Processing Information
from Reading
6-1
Label in the Margin
• Processing information from textbooks is
not very different from processing
information from lectures.
• Actually, they differ only in the gathering or
input stage.
6-2
Gathering Information
Using Label in the Margin
• Step One: Survey before you Read.
6-3
Survey
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Title
Major Headings
Bold Print
Charts
Pictures
Read the Summary
Examine Review Questions
6-4
After Surveying, begin with first section
• Try to determine what the section is about
and what you might find when you read that
section. This can be done by turning the
major heading into a question.
• Focus
6-5
Read
• The last step in the gathering process is to
read--but not the whole section--(remember
what we know about short- term memory?)
• Read ONE paragraph at a time.
• Don’t mark or underline anything at this
time.
X
6-6
You are now ready to
Process this information into long-term
memory
6-7
Process
Step 1
• After you have read a paragraph,
determine what the main idea of the
paragraph is-- just as you did with your
lecture notes.
• Write a question in the margin that
identifies the point of the paragraph--what
the test question might be.
• Underline the answer to your question--just
as briefly as your notes were
telegraphically.
6-8
Process
Step 2
• Recite- cover the text and ask yourself the
question you wrote in the margin. Say the
answer out loud in your own words. (This
is the same as with your lecture notes.)
• Understanding what you read is not the
same as reciting it.
6-9
Process
Step 3
• Reflect
• Think about what you have just read. Make
connections with things you already know.
Make it Personal. Visualize it and begin to
organize it. (This is the same thing you do
with lecture notes.)
6 - 10
Activate
• Review
– First when you finish the chapter.
– Next, within 24 hours.
– Again, within a week.
– Finally, before a test.
6 - 11
Review
• You can review by
– Writing Summary Sheets
– Making Flashcards
– Reciting again
– Developing Mnemonics
– Making Practice Tests
– Mapping
– Teaching it to Someone
6 - 12
Look at the next slide to see
what your marked textbook
will look like.
6 - 13
label main points withquestion
underl ine o r highlight t he answer
Learning Styles
What’s one way to study
faster and better?
What are 4 ways of
looking at learning
s tyles?
Why learn about learning
s tyles?
Why know preference?
What about other ways?
We are al ways seeking ways to learn thi ngs both more effi cientl y
and in less ti me. Di scovering your l earning styl e wil l do just thi s.
By applyi ng strategi es that address your l earni ng styl e, you can
study faster and better. We wil l examine l earni ng styl es from
several different angl es. One way to look at leani ng styles is to
1
determine your hemi spheric domi nance--Are you right-brained or
l eft-brained ? Addi ti onal ly, l earning styl es can be exami ned as the
2
sensory mode by whi ch you l earn best--visual , audi tory or
kinestheti c. Learning styl es may appl y to your 3 soci al style of
l earni ng--by yourself or in a group. We may also assess l earni ng
styles by usi ng the 4 mul ti ple i ntell igence theoryand determi ning
which of the seven types of intel li gences you l earn best in. In real ity,
of course, our learni ng style i s a combi nation of these and other
factors. By examini ng some of these ways of l earni ng, you can
expand the strategi es you use for learning and studying and
customize some of the strategi es we have already learned in thi s
book. When learning something new or difficult we tend to
natural ly go to the hemi sphere, mode, and i ntell igence that we
prefer. It is good to know what your preferences areso that you can
l earn materi al i n that way
. Material in the cl assroom or textbook
may not be presented i n the way you prefer. You need to know how to
convert i t to the way you learn best. However, it is also good to
rei nforce that learning in as many di fferent ways as possibl e. So
whil e knowing your preference i s good, you also need to expand your
ways of learning.
6 - 14
Sample Lecture Notes
• Sample #1 is from How junk food originated
in World of Words by Margaret Richek.
(Houghton Mifflin, 1996)
• Sample #2 is from “Left Brain/Right Brain”
in Chapter 5, Practicing College Study
Skills. (Houghton Mifflin. 2000)
6 - 15
1. When he was finished reading, Jose went back through the entire
chapter and tried to recite the answers to the questions he had written in
the margin.
• Source
• Stage
• Textbook
• Activate
6 - 16
2.After class, Jean reads over her lecture notes and writes the key words
and phrases on the left side of her paper.
• Source
• Stage
• Lecture
• Process
6 - 17
3. Sally wrote a question beside each paragraph in Chapter 3 of her
History 201 textbook and then underlined the answer to each question.
• Source
• Stage
• Textbook
• Process
6 - 18
4. As a way of studying for his upcoming exam, Bobby covers up his
lecture notes and recites the importance of the key words he has written.
• Source
• Stage
• Lecture
• Activate
6 - 19
5. When the instructor had concluded her lecture series on the different
breeds of beef cattle. David wrote a summary at the end of the section
in his notes, putting it into his own words.
• Source
• Stage
• Lecture
• Activate
6 - 20
6.To make sure he retains the information from his chapters, Mark
regularly goes over the labels he has written in his textbook.
• Source
• Stage
• Textbook
• Activate
6 - 21
7. Jeff makes summary sheets, flash cards, and mnemonic devices so
as to refresh his memory rather than having to relearn the information
from his German 210 class.
• Source
• Stage
• Textbook
and
Lecture
• Activate
6 - 22
8. When class begins,Curtis listens carefully to everything the instructor
says.
• Source
• Stage
• Lecture
• Gather
6 - 23
9. To begin her Psychology 141 reading assignment, Jane read the
title,noted the bold headings, and surveyed the graphs and the chapter
summary,
• Source
• Stage
• Textbook
• Gather
6 - 24
10. While reading his homework assignment, Joe turned all of the major
headings into question, and then read each paragraph to answer the
question.
• Source
• Stage
• Textbook
• Gather
6 - 25
11. When Beth’s instructor said, “In Chickering’s student development
theory there are seven stages called vectors,” Beth wrote “7 stages
(vectors)- Chickering s.d. theory.”
• Source
• Stage
• Lecture
• Gather
6 - 26
12. JoEllen took a few minutes to think about all of the information she
had been reciting from chapter 10 in her Sociology 310 textbook.
• Source
• Stage
• Textbook
• Process
6 - 27
Different Mapping Techniques
6 - 28
6 - 29
6 - 30
6 - 31
Visualization
Interest
Intent
Make Effort
Strengthen
Background
Recitation
Association
Memory Principles
Consolidation
Selectivity
Control Amt & Form
Organization
Time to Soak in
Distrib
Prac
6 - 32