MindTools :
Student Advanced Reading and Note Taking
Course no. S200
Coming September, 2018
About this Course
You already know how to read – you were taught in elementary school. But more important, do you really know how to read well?
This is an advanced reading course for students to help them to:
- Read to gain a deeper understanding and recall of any subject.
- Know how to take notes that further memory and understanding.
Most students don’t know how to incorporate advanced learning techniques into reading. Why? They were only taught how to read for information, not understanding.
However, reading for information is little more than reading a fictional novel for entertainment, it does not readily put information into your memory for recall.
Reading for understanding is a critical component of independent research and lifetime learning. In comparison, reading to gain facts for recall, without understanding, is worthless. Learning something useful is hard; because it requires reading above your current level of understanding. Students need to know how to do this.
As your children grow, a much larger component of the information they need to acquire will be through independent reading. It makes sense that they learn how to read at advanced levels, because this is more effective, and their subject matter gets increasingly more challenging each year.
The Four Levels of Reading
It is useful to know there are four levels of reading. Each level has a different purpose, and requires different techniques and skills. Yet, most students only know how to read at the first, or Elementary level.
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- 1. Elementary
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- 2. Inspectional
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- 3. Analytical
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- 4. Syntopical
Each level builds on the skills in the prior level. Advanced reading, particularly at levels 2 through 4, is necessary for undertaking independent research on almost any subject. The ability to read for understanding, therefore, is vital to success in college and to becoming a lifelong learner.
What kind of readers are your children? This course will transform how they read and how they take notes.
The Four Stages of Elementary Reading
Elementary reading is what one learns in elementary schooling. There are four stages of elementary reading, and they correspond roughly to the grade levels of elementary schooling. These are listed in this chart:
| Stage | Name | Usually Reached by |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Reading Readiness | Preschool or K |
| 2nd | Word Mastery | 1st Grade level |
| 3rd | Vocabulary Building | 4th Grade level |
| 4th | “Mature” Reader | 9th Grade level |
Note that reaching the 4th stage by Junior High School only means that the student has become “mature” at the Elementary level. But this is only the first of the four levels of reading! It does not mean they have mastered the Inspectional, Analytical or Syntopical levels.
In this course students will learn not only how to read at any of the four levels of reading, when to select the proper level, and how to connect this to productive practices that tie reading to memory.
How to Attend
Take it at Your Convenience.The course is independent study and self-paced so you can begin and complete it when you want.
Access: Watch it from anywhere with an internet connection.
To pre-enroll: It’s easy. Sign up for course information on the home page of the Center for Homeschooling site. We will send you a notice when this and other new courses come online.
Ineffective Practices are Common
Untrained students engage in many ineffective practices such as rereading the same information multiple times in attempts to remember it. They are not aware that the new science of learning provides much better solutions. In his book, Daniel Coyle writes about one technique:
“Research shows that people who follow strategy B [read ten pages at once, then close the book and write a one page summary] remember 50 percent more material over the long term than people who follow strategy A [read ten pages four times in a row and try to memorize them].”
The Greeks had a name for people who have read too widely and not well–Sophomores.
Don’t let your children get stuck being “sophomores” the rest of their lives. Help them learn how to read for depth, understanding, and memory.
“Nothing so much assists learning
as writing down what we wish to remember.”
— Cicero
Reading and Note Taking Skills
Effective note taking is a partner to advanced reading. The two skills go together. Knowing how to record important key ideas, along with the summarization of ideas and information, and the written organization of insights is vitally important to memory and retention. There are a number of techniques that need to be mastered.
But most students don’t know how to take notes in a way that enhances their memory and understanding.
Too often note taking does little more than copy information. This is not a sound strategy for memory and retention. Understanding the science of learning helps students create much more effective notes, either in the classroom, or from individual reading.
Unfortunately, the problem of copying information has gotten considerably worse with the broad use of laptop and tablet computers. These have introduced even more ineffective learning techniques as students attempt to write down every point of the lecture or chapter, yet somehow missing the deeper meaning and concepts necessary for understanding, memory and recall.
Advanced reading techniques combined with superior note taking skills are a winning combination. Sign up to day for this 10 module course.
- Research shows that college “A” students study less than “B” students! They study smarter. Learn how.
- Did you know your brain keeps learning when you take breaks and when you sleep? How to use your Diffused learning process.
- How to study in shorter more powerful bursts.
- Learn what neuroscience tells us about good and bad study habits.
- Explore the techniques used by the winners of the world memory championships.
- Know how to apply the more effective technique of “deliberate practice”
- Have you heard of the Pomodoro technique—it will help you learn faster!
- How to use the Memory Palace to save information into your Long-Term memory.
- Learn how to outsmart procrastination.
- Learn 5 techniques to reduce the need for rereading chapters.
