College Reading Strategies

Fall 2013 ASPSA Learning Services Training Bradley Bethel

August 15, 2013

Objectives • Identify the habits of skillful readers. • Identify reading strategies to improve

comprehension and retention. • Explain the P-PLAN meta-strategy.

Sources Dembo, M. H. & Seli, H. (2013). Motivation and learning strategies for college success: A focus on self-regulated learning (4th ed.). New York: Routledge. Caverly, D.C., Mandeville, T.F., & Nicholson, S.A. (1995). PLAN: A study-reading strategy for informational text. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 39(3), 190 – 199.

Skillful Readers What do they do?

Skillful Readers • Determine the importance of what they are

reading. • Summarize information. • Draw inferences. • Generate questions. • Monitor comprehension.

Reading Strategies Before, During, and After Reading

Before Reading • Preview the book for learning aids.

o Chapter objectives or questions o Glossaries o Boldface or italics o Answers to practice problems or questions o Summary or review sections o Tables and figures o Application boxes

• Identify the purpose for reading by analyzing the assignment.

• Read any available study guide questions.

During Reading • Turn headings into questions and answer them. • Underline/highlight and annotate text.

o Mark just the key words and phrases—not entire sentences. o Mark pages only after they have been read. o Use symbols (e.g., question marks, stars, circles, etc.).

• Monitor comprehension. Continually ask, “Do I understand what I’m reading?”

After Reading • Answer out loud the questions generated from

headings or from study guides. • Consider summarizing material. • Consider outlining material. • Consider representing the material graphically.

Questions/Comments?

P-PLAN Adapted from Caverly, Mandeville, & Nicholson (1995)

P-PLAN 1. P-: Before reading, set a “Purpose” for reading, in

accordance with the class’s academic tasks. 2. P: Before reading, “Predict” the content and

structure of the text, by creating a concept map. 3. L: Before reading, “Locate” known and unknown

information on the map. 4. A: During reading, “Add” information to the map

and use strategies to monitor comprehension. 5. N: After reading, take “Note” of new knowledge

and use strategies to expand comprehension and apply new knowledge to academic tasks.

Questions/Comments?

Conclusion During this workshop, we accomplish the following objectives: • Identify the habits of skillful readers. • Identify reading strategies to improve

comprehension and retention. • Explain the P-PLAN meta-strategy.