Welcome! Academic Strategies Unit 5 Seminar

General Questions & Weekly News Please share your weekly news … General questions?

Improvement Goal  Please list one main improvement goal you would like to focus on at this point in the course.  My improvement goal….

Weekly Reminders & Announcements  Focus on Successful Completion  Identify Obstacles & Plan Ahead  Ongoing Communication

Unit 5 Assignments  Complete the Unit 5 Reading “Reading Strategies” “Note-taking”  Attend the Unit 5 Seminar & Discussion  Complete the Unit 5 Quiz & Exam

Unit 5 Exam  The Unit 5 Exam will cover all items covered in the Readings & Activities areas from Units 1-5.  The exam consistes of 20, 2-point questions for a total of 40 points.  You will have 45 minutes to complete the exam.  Prepare yourself by applying reading and note- taking strategies.

Questions?

Reading & Note-taking  Think of Reading & Note-taking as skills.  A “skill” is something you can change and improve upon—think about that!  Let us focus on creating or recreating some GOOD SKILLS here this week!

 Don't be afraid to try some new things and make some new changes. This is how PROGRESS is made!!

3 Major Factors in Reading Success  Motivation  Concentration  Effective Reading Strategies

Let’s Talk About It  Why is it important to motivate yourself to complete academic reading assignments?  What are some things you do to motivate yourself?

Let’s Talk About It  Why is it important to concentrate as you are trying to complete academic reading assignments?  How do you help yourself to concentrate on your academic reading assignments?

Let’s Talk About It  Why do you think reading/note taking strategies are important when it comes to academic reading?  What are some reading or note taking strategies you currently use or have used in the past?

Critical Thinking How does our discussion here thus far relate to critical thinking?  Observing  Understanding  Analyzing  Questioning  Exploring  Evaluating

OBSERVATION  OBSERVATION is an important step in the critical thinking process, so let me ask each of you to OBSERVE and identify some of the specific reading challenges you find yourselves facing in this course or in your other courses here at Kaplan.  List some of your reading challenges here...

Challenge + Solution = PROGRESS  Now that you have identified some of the reading challenges you are facing, think seriously about some of the strategies you do use and/or can use to help yourselves meet these challenges.  Tell us what you are doing (or could do) to help yourself overcome the reading challenges you have listed here.

Active Reading  When you are reading you must concentrate on being an "active reader." Don't just passively read the words on the page!  Determine what it is you seek from the material you are reading; ask questions; underline, highlight and take notes, read out loud.  Directly involve yourself in the reading process!

Know Your Reading Needs  Take time to ASK yourself: "What do I need to gain from this reading?"  INVOLVE yourself more when you must retain facts and recall information later (active reading).  Relax and go for a nice ride when you are just reading for pleasure (passive reading). THE VOLUME CONTROL METHOD: High – Med. - Low

“Critical thinkers distinguish between fact and opinion; ask questions; make detailed observations; uncover assumptions and define their terms; and make assertions based on sound logic and solid evidence.” ~Source Ellis, D. Becoming a Master Student, 1997

Reading & Note-taking Strategies  Highlighting  Broaden your Background Knowledge  Create Motivation & Interest  Strengthen your Vocabulary  Have a Reading Method (SRI)  Cornell System  Mapping  Charting  Outlining

Let’s Explore the Unit 5 Reading  Know your purpose for reading  Know how deeply you should study the material  Know which “active reading” strategies you should apply  Know how to study different types of reading material

The Case of Janice  She knows that college will mean she must do quite a bit of reading and some note-taking. She has never had very good concentration for reading things other than a magazines for pleasure and hasn't taken notes in a very long time. But Janice is determined to do well in school and be a positive role model for her family.

 Considering the information you have here and reflecting back on some of the strategies we just focused on, what are some specific tips and strategies you could offer Janice to help her to improve her reading comprehension and concentration?

 What would you tell Janice if she asked you the following question: "What is the KEY to becoming a stronger reader/note-taker?"

Once again it all comes back to … YOU! Experiment with a few new strategies THIS WEEK!!

Thanks for attending!