Hello and welcome to the learning strategies lesson about textbooks scanning.
This is about a 1st step toward the reading process.
For your academic textbooks.
My name is Dr. Valerie Mann and I'm the chair of the College Success department here at Johnson
County Community College.
Let's talk about why academic reading is so complex.
1st of all.
Sometimes the chapters are even 60 to 80 pages long. It's so much information.
And the way that we've been taught to read when we were younger was
from the 1st word to the last word in a linear fashion that made great sets then.
But because of all the complicated components and the sheer amount of information we learn in
a college environment like new vocabulary, particular concepts,
we are expected to absorb and understand and even explain being able to accomplish
particular objectives, making connections with what we read.
And then applying it in some way can make academic reading a really complicated process for us.
So one 1st step for this process would be to scan our chapter.
And in this and we will identify the key ideas or the concepts that we will learn.
We will see the road map, the sequence of what we will be reading and learning about.
We can even set some personal learning goals for this one hour.
I will read this section the next hour I was found on the section, etc,
and we can also choose what strategies we will use to engage with that particular
reading material. Will we Create vocabulary cards? Will we be drawing out diagrams?
We'll be taking extensive in detail notes. How also can we connect what we're
reading in the textbook with other course activities can be part of what we're
figuring out in this scanning process. So 1st, when we scan a chapter, we can take
a look not only at the chapter title, but at the objectives and the review questions,
objectives can be called learning goals, learning outcomes.
And they may say what you will need to learn. Those objectives
may also be given to you by your professor on a separate sheet of paper,
but when you see an objective, it will typically begin with. Never been
a will tell you what you should be able to do with this academic material.
That's an important thing to know so that you can do the right things.
Another important part of this are the review questions.
Now it seems silly to go to the end before we've even read anything.
But sometimes those open ended questions. Help us to
understand what those key ideas are so that when we go back to read,
we're ready to look for the right material. We don't get overwhelmed by every word
on the page. We can also take a look at the images in our chapter that those
images tend to show those concepts in real life. There might be diagrams or
charts or pictures or small explanations. And those images can really help some of
us to remember and process and get ready to learn more in depth.
We can also take a look at the headings in the subheadings.
Look at how your chapters organized. The larger font tends to be your headings.
And then smaller fonts tend to be your subheadings. So go through and scan and
take a look at those different key ideas in those headings,
those subheadings in your images, in your objectives and your review questions,
you can spend 10 or 15 minutes. Getting a look at the chapter and you can find that
you're a little more ready to learn and read in depth after you do that.
1st of all, when you do sit down to scan your Chapter 1st of all, give yourself
enough time, maybe 15 minutes and maybe that's just for one section.
Maybe it's 30 minutes for an entire chapter and give yourself some space
to study and to learn, pick a non distracting environment to get started.
And you may find that this 15 minute process will help you get going.
You can be part of that. Her peroration to learn for you,
then choose just one chapter or section. Don't overwhelm yourself and take
a little break. A good rule of thumb can be to take a route
a 5 minute break about every hour or so. While you are scanning, seek connections,
try to figure out how the vocabulary words relate to those headings. How do the key
concepts relate to those objectives that are in there? How does this relate to what
you're with class? How does this relate to other activities that you've done and set
yourself some goals? I'm a big fan of just a simple posted. No.
Write what you want to accomplish in that particular sitting and check off as you go.
And you may find that help you stay more motivated. And then also after you scan
your chapters, you do need to follow soon with some sort of detailed study that
might mean in-depth reading that might mean, no taking from your attacker that
might mean drawing out the key ideas in a diagram.
Whatever that follow up is it really needs to happen within about 24
hours after that scan of the chapter because you'll start forgetting what you've
seen and what you've learned. And that rule of about 24 hours is really important
for class too. If you don't do something after class within about 24 hours,
you're going to be confused and forget a lot of the content. So be sure that you are
scanning as that 1st step. When you have academic reading to do make sure you're
looking at those key concepts, look for those big picture items before you get
started. So it's own goals for yourself. Learn the book Cabul Larry, you'll read
faster if you learn the terms 1st, look them up, write them out,
create study cards, whatever it takes. Again, make those connections between
what you know, what you've read, what you've heard in class, the activities that
you've done and then making those efforts to apply what you
read to your course activities into your life. You will find that that reading
process will be better. I can effect that the checker might be 50 pages long,
but you can break it into smaller chunks that help you do that.
And scanning is a verse, a good 1st step to help you with that breakdown.
Thank you so much.