Center to Improve the Tools of Educators

Center to Improve the Tools of Educators

 

Today a reader, tomorrow a leader. — Margaret Fuller

 

Activity

 

Pressley (2001) points to the well-established relationship or a correlation that good

 

comprehends tend to have good vocabularies but there is also research showing that

 

teaching vocabulary will increase readers’ comprehension.

 

Using a dictionary is a good way to better understand words and improve your

 

vocabulary. When you “look up” a word, you will want to perform several tasks (See

 

Figure 2.2).

 

o Determine the pronunciation. Some on-line dictionaries will have a “hear me”

 

option.

 

o Find the parts of speech and related words.

 

o Identify the word meanings. These meanings are typically listed in a

 

chronological manner such that the “oldest” meaning is listed first followed by

 

newer meanings. Note that some dictionaries will specifically identify archaic

 

(arch) meanings of the word.

 

o Look up any unknown abbreviations.

 

o Identify the work origins or etymologies as this may make the word more

 

memorable.

 

o Review any examples of use. Try substituting the word in your own sentence.

 

o Look at any synonyms provided or consider using a thesaurus.

 

Dictionaries often use terminology and abbreviations to include as much information

 

as possible in the word meaning. These elements include parts of speech (e.g. noun or

 

1. n) and labels for languages (e.g. Am, Amer or America, American). For an extensive list

 

of dictionary terminology refer to:

 

http://dictionary.reference.com/features/wordtraveler22.html

 

per⋅spi⋅cac⋅i⋅ty

 

Show Spelled Pronunciation [pur-spi-kas-i-tee]

 

http://dictionary.reference.com/features/wordtraveler22.html

http://dictionary.reference.com/audio.html/lunaWAV/P03/P0307400

–noun

 

1. keenness of mental perception and understanding; discernment; penetration.

 

2. Archaic. keen vision.

 

Origin:

 

1540–50; earlier perspicacite < LL perspic cit s sharpness of sight, equiv. to perspic ci-ā ā ā

 

(s. of perspic x sharp-sighted; see ā PERSPICUOUS ) + -t s -ā TY ²

 

Figure 2.2. Sample Dictionary Look-up.

 

Several suggestions for improving your vocabulary include simply reading more,

 

doing daily crossword puzzles, attaching a plug-in for “word-of-the-day” on your

 

internet browser, reading a dictionary, playing scrabble, using a new word each day in

 

your conversation and writing. These suggestions, established as life-long processes,

 

will also aid in keeping your mind youthful as you continue to age.

 

Identify several on-line dictionaries and look up several words and identify key

 

elements. What did you learn about looking up words that you did not know before

 

performing this exercise?

 

Follow-up

 

Perform a word look up and be able to identify and understand the elements of the

 

description.

 

If you were to look up a word in a dictionary and saw the abbreviation LL, what would

 

that mean to you?

 

Have you considered a method you could use to improve your vocabulary?

 

Whole Task Objectives Follow-up

 

Describe how developing a more powerful vocabulary can have an impact on your

 

reading comprehension and learning?

 

How does developing a more powerful vocabulary relate to your overall

 

understanding of measurement and obtaining measures?

 

Toolbox Dictionary

 

2.3 Objective

 

Locate and understand the main points of paragraphs and chapter sections.

 

Whole Task Objectives

 

Apply and test methods to increase reading comprehension and learning.

 

Understand the purpose of measurement and obtaining measures.

 

Pretest

 

Do you have any special technique you use for reading information that you need to

 

really know? Explain.

 

Relevancy

 

There are numerous strategies for improving comprehension, particularly when

 

reading a text, and SQ3R is time proven five-step reading strategy or model introduced

 

in 1946 by Francis Pleasant Robinson.

 

What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. –Thomas Carlyle

 

Activity

 

SQ3R is an acronym describing the five steps of the strategy: Survey (or Skim),

 

Question, Read, Recite (or Recall) and Review (“SQ3R.” 2009; “The SQ3R Method.”

 

n.d.; “The SQ3R Reading Method.” n.d.).

 

1. Survey or Skim for about two minutes. Before reading the entire chapter, read the

 

title, objectives, section headings, section subheadings, introduction or abstract,

 

and summary.

 

2. Question for about 30 seconds. What is the question that this chapter is asking?

 

What questions are the sections asking? Translate each section heading into a

 

question.

 

3. Read at a pace that is appropriate for the complexity of the information. Read

 

only a section at a time and as you read each section attempt to answer the

 

associated question.

 

4. Recite or Recall for about one minute. Using your own words verbalize orally or

 

in a written form a phrase that answers the questions and summarizes the topic

 

of each section. If you can be conversational about the topic, you probably have

 

a reasonable understanding of it. Thus, it is important that you use your own

 

words when completing this step.

 

5. Review for less than five minutes. Immediately after your complete step 4,

 

attempt to recall all of the major points you have produced for the chapter

 

sections. If you are unable to recall a major point, reread that section. On the

 

following days, page through the text and your notes to reacquaint yourself with

 

the important points. Make flashcards or other tools to assist yourself in learning

 

the information.

 

Practice the SQ3R process and perform a chapter scan. Did you retain more important?

 

information than you had before using SQ3R? Why?

 

Follow-up

 

What are the elements of the acronym SQ3R?

 

Given a chapter in your text, list the steps you would perform in order to gain a better

 

understanding of the material.

 

Whole Task Objectives Follow-up

 

How does locating and understanding the main points of paragraphs and chapter

 

sections have an impact on your reading comprehension and learning?

 

Toolbox SQ3R

 

References

 

Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print, MIT Press

 

Baker, S. K., Simmons, D. C., & Kameenui, E. J. (1995). Vocabulary acquisition:

 

Synthesis of the research (Tech. Rep. No. 13). Eugene: University of Oregon, National

 

Center to Improve the Tools of Educators.

 

Eye movement in language reading. (2009, January 31). In Wikipedia, The Free

 

Encyclopedia. Retrieved Feb. 11, 2009, from

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?

 

title=Eye_movement_in_language_reading&oldid=267524159

 

Frequently Asked Questions, (n.d.) In, National Reading Panel (NRP). Retrieved Feb.

 

10, 2009, from http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/faq/faq.htm#19

 

Mayer, R. (2003). Learning and Instruction. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson

 

Education, Inc.

 

perspicacity. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved February 11, 2009,

 

from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perspicacity

 

Pressley, M. (2001). Comprehension instruction: What makes sense now, what might

 

make sense soon. Reading Online, 5(2). Retrieved Feb 10, 2009 from

 

http://www.readingonline.org/articles/handbook/pressley/index.html

 

Reading: Adjusting speed. (n.d.) In LLCC Study Skills Center. Retrieved Feb. 11, 2009,

 

from http://74.125.47.132/search?

 

q=cache:cU8gLoW26ZIJ:www.llcc.edu/LinkClick.aspx%3Ffileticket%3DE

 

%252F9gTUo194s%253D%26tabid%3D617%26mid

 

%3D1158+adjusting+reading+rate+comprehension&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us

 

Reading rate. (2003, November 6). In Academic Support. Retrieved Feb 11, 2009, from

 

http://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/AS/305.HTM

 

SQ3R. (2009, January 4). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:30,

 

February 11, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?

 

title=SQ3R&oldid=261900004

 

The SQ3R Method. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2009, from

 

http://www.ic.arizona.edu/ic/wrightr/other/sq3r.html

 

The SQ3R Reading Method. (n.d.). In Study Guides and Strategies. Retrieved February

 

11, 2009 from http://www.studygs.net/texred2.htm

 

http://www.studygs.net/texred2.htm

http://www.ic.arizona.edu/ic/wrightr/other/sq3r.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SQ3R&oldid=261900004

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SQ3R&oldid=261900004

http://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/AS/305.HTM

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:cU8gLoW26ZIJ:www.llcc.edu/LinkClick.aspx%3Ffileticket%3DE%252F9gTUo194s%253D%26tabid%3D617%26mid%3D1158+adjusting+reading+rate+comprehension&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:cU8gLoW26ZIJ:www.llcc.edu/LinkClick.aspx%3Ffileticket%3DE%252F9gTUo194s%253D%26tabid%3D617%26mid%3D1158+adjusting+reading+rate+comprehension&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:cU8gLoW26ZIJ:www.llcc.edu/LinkClick.aspx%3Ffileticket%3DE%252F9gTUo194s%253D%26tabid%3D617%26mid%3D1158+adjusting+reading+rate+comprehension&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us

http://www.readingonline.org/articles/handbook/pressley/index.html

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perspicacity

http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/faq/faq.htm#19

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eye_movement_in_language_reading&oldid=267524159

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eye_movement_in_language_reading&oldid=267524159

3. Reading Research

 

Q&A

 

Address any issues from prior session.

 

3.1 Objective

 

Identify key structural elements of a research article for effective reading.

 

Whole Task Objectives

 

Apply and test methods to increase reading comprehension and learning.

 

Understand the purpose of measurement and obtaining measures.

 

Relevancy

 

Reading research articles can be daunting for the uninitiated particularly when the

 

article is peppered with statistics and discipline specific charts. So, developing an

 

effective process for reading research becomes important in order to: use your time

 

efficiently, determine the importance of the article; and to use search engines

 

efficiency for finding comparable research.

 

Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. — P. J. O’Rourke

 

Pretest

 

Have you spent much time reading research? If so, what technique do you use to

 

efficiently read the material. Explain.

 

Activity

 

Research writing occurs in many formats that are specific to both the methods being

 

used in the research and the discipline or branch of learning. For simplification we

 

will identify two types of research articles you will probably encounter in your studies.

 

First, a research study is intended to discover or interpret some matter that typically is

 

used to advance human understanding or learning. The research process can use a

 

scientific method or techniques that measure the outcomes. Second, a research article

 

or essay may use a research format for its presentation of information.

 

Whether a research study or an essay, the article is often organized in a format that

 

permits other researchers to effectively interpret the findings. The research article

 

often contains a Title, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion,

 

Summary, and References.

 

Very briefly, these formatting or presentational components are as follows:

 

o Title: identifies the study.

 

o Abstract: brief overview of the study.

 

o Keywords: term(s) that captures the essence of the topic and a basis for using

 

search engines e.g. Google Scholar.

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