Reading Comprehension and Memory University Counseling Center Study Skills Seminar Memorial Hall, First Floor

UCC Memorial Hall 102 Hours: M-Th: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Friday: 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (309)

UCC services Individual Counseling Group Counseling Career Counseling Academic or learning skills assistance Outreach Programming Academic Instruction Assessments ▫Psychological ▫Vocational ▫Learning Disabilities ▫Standardized tests Consultation Training of Graduate Students / Interns

Today we will discuss: Guidelines for improving college reading and studying SQ4R method Identifying main ideas Types of Memory IPS Model Memory Enhancement Techniques

3 Guidelines for Improving your College Reading and Studying Read all the assigned material in all your classes Read ahead in all your courses Read to understand the material

Read all the assigned material If instructors assign it, they expect you to read it Can be tested on lecture or book material Textbooks are independent sources that you are responsible for learning

Read ahead in all your classes Use your syllabus Ask your teacher when readings are due Read ahead Don’t procrastinate!

Read to understand the material Not just a task to “cross off” Be an active reader Go for meaning rather than memorization

SQ4R method Step 1: Survey Step 2: create your own Questions Step 3: Read and Reflect Step 4: Recite and Review

Step 1: Survey 1)Read the title of the book or chapter 2)Read the preface of the book 3)Read the chapter objectives or purpose 4)Read the introduction to the chapter 5)Read the section headings and subheadings 6)Read the review questions or the glossary at the end of the chapter 7)Pay attention to visual aids 8)Examine any boldface or italicized items

Step 2: Create your own Questions Help you become more active while reading Take information from the text to create queries Helps to focus because you have purpose Developing good questions

Step 3: Read and Reflect Answer questions while reading Reflect and put material in your own words Write or highlight answers

Tips on Highlighting

Record and highlight or star what the professor emphasizes Write down ALL key terms and definitions and underline them Underline words, phrases, or sentences that signify supporting material or your professor emphasis Highlight words, phrases, sentences that signify the main idea Use asterisks (*) to indicate importance Placing a question mark (?) in the margin opposite the lines or paragraph which you do not understand Disagree: Write the word disagree in the margin alongside the idea or paragraph with which you disagree Use the top and bottom margins of the book to write in your own thoughts and concepts Jot in the margins next to paragraphs or sections, brief summaries

Step 4: Recite and Review Review each major section Review your reading immediately upon finishing Review within one day after your finish your reading assignment Review at the end of each week

Understanding the “Big Picture” Pay attention to introductory and concluding remarks Pay attention to the text that is boldfaced, italicized, indented or otherwise made prominent Pay attention to items in list form Look for “in summary” “in conclusion” etc. Pay attention to the visual aides

Also will need to notice the details!

What is Memory? Mental ability to recall or recognize experiences or information that you have been exposed to in the past Memory is more complex than this though

IPS Model 3 independent but interrelated systems ▫Sensory memory ▫Working memory ▫Long term memory Information enters through senses

Sensory Memory Gateway to memory system Very brief & will rapidly decay; being pushed out by other incoming sense memory Attention is key to the cognitive process ▫Our brains connect certain memories to others, allowing us to remember one thing as we remember another.

Working Memory (Short Term Memory) Limited by capacity and duration Need to either actively rehearse or transfer to long-term memory Another kind of short-term memory? 3 things generally happen to information transferred to Working Memory

Long-Term Memory Permanent storage place Storage Retrieval

Rehearsal and Recitation Recitation requires you to think about what you are taking in by reading material in small segments, converting it to your own words, & testing yourself for recall

Association Often occur naturally Link new material to what you have stored in memory Importance of FYE and Intro courses

Categorizing Grouping Find a concept, theme, or feature that pulls together the terms or items you need to remember

Chunking Natural process that occurs when taking many individual bits of information and combine them into larger units or chunks Decrease the # of items to remember, but increase the size

Acronyms Words formed by using the beginning letters of several words to form a new word Can be actual words or nonsensical

QUIZ TIME! Do you know what these mean?? ▫AIDS ▫SCUBA ▫AKA ▫ROYGBIV

Pictures & Analogies Visual aides such as graphic organizers Pictures can be drawn or just visualized in the mind Relate new material to common concepts and situations Take the abstract & make it concrete and understandable

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