Reading Textbooks
Top 3 Challenges of Reading Textbooks
1. Having tons to read and not enough time
Your teacher assigns 100 pages of reading a night. Whether you are a “fast” or “slow” reader, given your load, it’s not likely you can read this much, so you have some choices.
- You can pre-read to identify where to begin. A pre-read can mean reading headings or first sentences of each paragraph. It’s essentially a very perfunctory scan that gives you an idea of the big picture.
- You can skim until you find things that you want to focus on. This is a perfectly legitimate way to read. How do you decide what to focus on? Consider what the text is adding to your knowledge and why you’re reading it. It’s there to be meaningful to you, so organizing your thoughts before you start reading is crucial.
- You can share the reading with others. You can each read a section and then teach each other what you’ve learned.
But what if you miss something important? You might, in which case you need to use all forms of learning (listening in lecture, going to section, reviewing, discussing) to ensure you’re getting as much information as you can. It’s okay to miss something, as long as you don’t expect your reading to be a “one and done” endeavor.
Plan on reading things multiple times. Truly challenging material takes time and effort to learn. It may look like your classmates are gliding through it easily, but it’s likely that they’re simply not showing you their duck feet.
2. Reading and not really taking it in meaningfully
This is like hydroplaning. You see words, but you’re not reading. Take a step back and formulate some questions that you’d like the reading to answer for you. Think about the text as another person talking. Pause every now and then to talk back, ask questions, and make connections.
3. Reading and not being able to remember what you read
This is where note-taking is essential. Check out the Reading Efficacy, Note-Taking Guide, and Notes Template handouts for more details.
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Reading Textbooks
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