Tuesday, March 31, 2009
chapter 4 crcb what is efficient reading
CHAPTER 4 CRCB
What is Efficient Reading?
In today's fast-paced information age, it is simply not good enough for anyone to be an OK reader. It is more important than ever to possess efficient reading skills.
Not just with paper-based reading, but with the Internet, Web pages, and e-mails, we are deluged with a greater quantity of information than ever before, and we need to process it quickly. With efficient skills, we can absorb more material in less time, increasing our productivity and effectiveness in all aspects of our lives.
Efficient readers not only read faster, but they also read with better comprehension. They read text in much the same way that most of us learn to identify objects in the world around us.
For example, when efficient readers come across the word "blue,” they don't repeat the word "blue" to themselves, nor do they actively think about the meaning. Instead, they visualize and understand the color much in the same way people do when they look at a blue sky. They don’t say "blue sky" then think about what that means, but instead they absorb the meaning immediately and effortlessly.
Reading is an enjoyable experience for efficient readers. It not only makes their life easier, but can actually be fun, as well. Students need to understand this, since it can motivate them to learn the techniques that will improve their knowledge and productivity.
What is Efficient Reading?
In today's fast-paced information age, it is simply not good enough for anyone to be an OK reader. It is more important than ever to possess efficient reading skills.
Not just with paper-based reading, but with the Internet, Web pages, and e-mails, we are deluged with a greater quantity of information than ever before, and we need to process it quickly. With efficient skills, we can absorb more material in less time, increasing our productivity and effectiveness in all aspects of our lives.
Efficient readers not only read faster, but they also read with better comprehension. They read text in much the same way that most of us learn to identify objects in the world around us.
For example, when efficient readers come across the word "blue,” they don't repeat the word "blue" to themselves, nor do they actively think about the meaning. Instead, they visualize and understand the color much in the same way people do when they look at a blue sky. They don’t say "blue sky" then think about what that means, but instead they absorb the meaning immediately and effortlessly.
Reading is an enjoyable experience for efficient readers. It not only makes their life easier, but can actually be fun, as well. Students need to understand this, since it can motivate them to learn the techniques that will improve their knowledge and productivity.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
chapter 8 viewpoints (critical reading for college and beyond)
CHAPTER 8
VIEWPOINTS
Viewpoints is a technique of improvisation that provides a vocabulary for thinking about and acting upon movement and gesture, position from which something is observed or considered, a rationalized mental attitude.
For example abortion is one of the most persistently controversial issues in American culture and politics today. Since the 1973 national legalization of abortion, competing groups have fought to either restrict or increase access to the procedure, leading to heated debates among political activists, religious organizations, state legislatures, and judges.
This conflict is perhaps reflective of the nation’s ambivalence over abortion. While it is often depicted as a two-sided debate, the abortion controversy is actually quite multifaceted, involving complex speculation on biology, ethics, and constitutional rights. Those who identify themselves as prolife, for example, generally contend that abortion is wrong because it kills human life, which they believe begins at conception. However, some pro-lifers grant that abortion should be allowed in cases of rape or incest, or when the pregnancy threatens the life or health of the mother. Those who identify themselves as pro-choice often maintain that abortion must remain legal because a woman should have the right to control her body and her destiny. But some pro-choicers also believe that there should be certain restrictions on teen access to abortion and on abortions occurring after the first trimester of pregnancy. This mixture of opinions is probably why Gallup polls consistently show that 50 to 60 percent of Americans favor abortion “only under certain circumstances.”
I believe to each is own, I also believe that abortion shouldn’t be used as a form of birth control.
VIEWPOINTS
Viewpoints is a technique of improvisation that provides a vocabulary for thinking about and acting upon movement and gesture, position from which something is observed or considered, a rationalized mental attitude.
For example abortion is one of the most persistently controversial issues in American culture and politics today. Since the 1973 national legalization of abortion, competing groups have fought to either restrict or increase access to the procedure, leading to heated debates among political activists, religious organizations, state legislatures, and judges.
This conflict is perhaps reflective of the nation’s ambivalence over abortion. While it is often depicted as a two-sided debate, the abortion controversy is actually quite multifaceted, involving complex speculation on biology, ethics, and constitutional rights. Those who identify themselves as prolife, for example, generally contend that abortion is wrong because it kills human life, which they believe begins at conception. However, some pro-lifers grant that abortion should be allowed in cases of rape or incest, or when the pregnancy threatens the life or health of the mother. Those who identify themselves as pro-choice often maintain that abortion must remain legal because a woman should have the right to control her body and her destiny. But some pro-choicers also believe that there should be certain restrictions on teen access to abortion and on abortions occurring after the first trimester of pregnancy. This mixture of opinions is probably why Gallup polls consistently show that 50 to 60 percent of Americans favor abortion “only under certain circumstances.”
I believe to each is own, I also believe that abortion shouldn’t be used as a form of birth control.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Chapter 3 Fact Summary
Chapter 3 Facts
This chapter describes how facts are judged on the basis of truth and reality, however establishing them can be very tricky.
A common rhetorical cliché states, "History is written by the winners." This phrase suggests but does not examine the use of facts in the writing of history.
E. H. Carr in his 1961 volume, What is History?, argues that the inherent biases from the gathering of facts makes the objective truth of any historical perspective idealistic and impossible.
Facts are, "like fish in the Ocean," that we may only happen to catch a few, only an indication of what is below the surface. Even a dragnet cannot tell us for certain what it would be like to live below the Ocean's surface. Even if we do not discard any facts (or fish) presented, we will always miss the majority; the site of our fishing, the methods undertaken, the weather and even luck play a vital role in what we will catch.
Additionally, the composition of history is inevitably made up by the compilation of many different bias of fact finding - all compounded over time. He concludes that for a historian to attempt a more objective method, one must accept that history can only aspire to a conversation of the present with the past - and, that one's methods of fact gathering should be openly examined. As with science, historical truth and facts will therefore change over time and reflect only the present consensus
This chapter describes how facts are judged on the basis of truth and reality, however establishing them can be very tricky.
A common rhetorical cliché states, "History is written by the winners." This phrase suggests but does not examine the use of facts in the writing of history.
E. H. Carr in his 1961 volume, What is History?, argues that the inherent biases from the gathering of facts makes the objective truth of any historical perspective idealistic and impossible.
Facts are, "like fish in the Ocean," that we may only happen to catch a few, only an indication of what is below the surface. Even a dragnet cannot tell us for certain what it would be like to live below the Ocean's surface. Even if we do not discard any facts (or fish) presented, we will always miss the majority; the site of our fishing, the methods undertaken, the weather and even luck play a vital role in what we will catch.
Additionally, the composition of history is inevitably made up by the compilation of many different bias of fact finding - all compounded over time. He concludes that for a historian to attempt a more objective method, one must accept that history can only aspire to a conversation of the present with the past - and, that one's methods of fact gathering should be openly examined. As with science, historical truth and facts will therefore change over time and reflect only the present consensus
Monday, March 2, 2009
chapter 13 reading beyond the words
Benjamin Bloom proposed a theoretical ranking of the levels of thinking that people use. At the simple and basic level, Bloom suggested, people operate at a very "concrete" level of knowledge. Moving beyond that, people are able to "comprehend" what the facts are about and to some extent, they are able to manipulate those ideas by comparing or contrasting or even retelling events in their own words.
At the next level of complexity of thought, individuals are able to "apply" what they have learned from facts and comprehension. This level of thinking permits them to demonstrate knowledge, solve or apply what they know to new and related situations. Moving beyond "application," the next level of thinking allows people to "analyze" what they know. At this level, typically they can classify, categorize, discriminate or detect information.
The two highest levels of cognitive thought, according to Bloom, are synthesis and evaluation. In "synthesis," the individual is able to put ideas together, propose plans, form solutions, and create new information. In the "evaluation" stage, the thinker is able to make choices, select, evaluate and make judgments about information and situations.
When we study history, there are different levels of thinking skills that we can use, depending on the types of questions that we ask. While the lower levels are necessary as a foundation for historical understanding, we will also try to incorporate the higher levels as much as possible, with an emphasis on original, critical thinking and analysis.
At the next level of complexity of thought, individuals are able to "apply" what they have learned from facts and comprehension. This level of thinking permits them to demonstrate knowledge, solve or apply what they know to new and related situations. Moving beyond "application," the next level of thinking allows people to "analyze" what they know. At this level, typically they can classify, categorize, discriminate or detect information.
The two highest levels of cognitive thought, according to Bloom, are synthesis and evaluation. In "synthesis," the individual is able to put ideas together, propose plans, form solutions, and create new information. In the "evaluation" stage, the thinker is able to make choices, select, evaluate and make judgments about information and situations.
When we study history, there are different levels of thinking skills that we can use, depending on the types of questions that we ask. While the lower levels are necessary as a foundation for historical understanding, we will also try to incorporate the higher levels as much as possible, with an emphasis on original, critical thinking and analysis.
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