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 + 1=4
431 x 11
31 X 11=341
Multiplying by 11
2 + 5=7
7 5 x 11
2
25 X 11=275
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_d
l_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
pulverize
decrepitude
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 (AngloSaxon, 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
Antimetabole
outlaws
If guns are outlawed
only
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
Theonly
onlyway
waytoto
swim
readfast
fast
is is
to to
swim fast.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 system
1. Review the text’s internal
organizers
2. Skim rapidly over chapter
3. Read closely, circling, marking,
annotating
4. 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
implicit
recognizing it is _________
learning.
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 30character sequence of the 6 letters.
Overprompting
• The password users learned contained
30
_________
characters.
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