So much to read, so much to learn – Part 1 General Reading Skills.

So you have signed up for the Diploma of Biblical Theology (DBT), and now you need to do a lot of reading every week.

You may be short on time, you might read but not remember, or you might not like to read. And of course, a lot of the content is new material that you haven’t studied in depth before.

But each week you have readings to read, learn, and apply. So let me pass on a few tips about how to make the most of your readings.

Note: This post is about general reading skills that work best with print (paper) resources. Part 2 is on making the most of electronic readings, which require a few different skills.

Before, During, and After

First, don’t read the way I read here at College: I’d pick up a text, go to the beginning, and start reading.

It worked, but not very well. I could have learned much more if I had worked systematically before, during, and after each reading.

And in those stages, I recommend using an active reading strategy like SQ3R:

1. Scan

2. Quiz

3. Read

4. Recite

5. Review

Do this and you will learn much more than when you simply read and highlight. And you will still remember much of it in a week or a month.

Before you read – Scan & Quiz:

Before you read, stop. Prepare your mind to receive this new information, and you can do this with the first two parts of SQ3R:

• Scan: Don’t read the reading yet. Just look it over. Glance through it. Find the title and any subheadings, the introduction and the conclusion. Is there a summary or abstract at the beginning? Read it. Look for textboxes and illustrations (these usually highlight essential information), and words in bold or Italics.

• Quiz: Now, ask yourself a few questions:

  • What is the reading about?

  • What do I already know about this topic – if anything?

  • What is the main point or big idea?

  • What are the key words?

  • Why might this reading be in this unit?

  • What confuses me?

You may feel like you don’t have time to do this and just need to hurry up and read the text. Over the last 20 years, educational research has shown that testing yourself before you study is one of the very best ways to learn. It’s an investment: Practise it, and you will understand and retain much more. Skip it, and you will remember very little.

During – Read & Recite:

Now you are ready to read, but again, don’t just start at the front, read everything in order, and walk away. Instead, engage in active reading strategies:

• As you read, ‘talk to yourself’ about the text:

  • After each section, stop and summarise it in a sentence: What did I just read?

  • Why is it true? (Or not true?)

  • Explain key terms or ideas to yourself

  • Name what you don’t yet understand

  • Stop occasionally and recite the ideas to yourself in order.

And don’t worry if you don’t understand everything on your first reading – this is new material, and new material takes time.

• If it is a long reading, stop occasionally and make a few notes

  • Write their ideas in your words, as this will force you to think deeper. Deeper thinking -> Deeper understanding and learning.

  • Keep your notes brief and simple – big points are the points you need most

  • Write your questions

• When you finish, close the reading and recite the ideas to yourself, and then check and correct your answers. You will learn better when you check and correct your answers.

A marked-up page of a reading. Note there are more comments than highlights.

After – Review:

Now that you have read the text, it is time to consolidate all that information. This is the final step to becoming an even better reader.

As soon as possible after you read:

• Make notes on paper or computer. I prefer making notes by hand. If I own a book or a paper copy of the reading, I try to write a one-sentence summary at the start of each chapter and section.

• If it is a library book or an electronic reading, I make notes in a notebook I keep just for this:

  • Title and author at the top

  • Summaries and simple outlines – Big points, avoiding most details

  • All in my own words (except maybe definitions)

  • My questions and thoughts

  • Bullet points (not sentences) or lists, mind maps, drawings, charts, diagrams, and colours – find what helps you learn best.

A page of my readings notebook. Note bibliographic details at top, a basic outline (to keep it doable), and much comments and questions about the content.

In the days and weeks that follow, periodically review your notes. But don’t just re-read. Mere re-reading has almost no learning benefit. Instead, actively revise and quiz yourself on your notes. Practise recalling the key ideas without looking.

And do this periodically, at ever-increasing intervals. Thus, you finish your notes one day, and review them the next. But then – and here is an important key – wait until you start to forget that information, and then try to retrieve it from your memory. Somehow, the harder the recall, the better the learning. So first review it in a day, then in a few days, then in a week, then after an even longer interval. Then you will remember that material and be able to use it for years to come.

TIP:

Your DBT units have mandatory quizzes on which you must answer every question correctly. These questions should guide you to the major points. Note the questions you get wrong, find the correct answers, and ask why they are right. Review what you don’t know, and spend little time on what you do know.

For more on revising and remembering facts from your readings, see ‘The Big Three’.

For more on extending, understanding and applying information from your readings, see ‘The Little Three.’