Reading to learn

OVERVIEW

• Many people read by passively reading through text from start to finish, perhaps with a highlighter in hand
• This page includes advice and techniques for reading more effectively, in order to develop understanding and improve retention of information

PETER ROSEN’S ADVICE ABOUT READING TO LEARN MEDICINE

Peter Rosen, in an interview on the RoshReview podcast, advised reading to learn medicine in four ways:

• Read from fear
  • if there is a condition or situation that you are afraid you can’t handle, then spend 10 minutes reading about it before your next shift
• Read from curiosity
  • read about topics that you are interested in
• Read from experience
  • read about the conditions and situations you encounter in clinical practice, this will help you make sense of your experience, provide ‘hooks’ on which you can hang new knowledge, and provide an opportunity for reflection
• Read for pleasure
  • generally this will not involve medical textbooks!
  • The raw material for medical practice is the human condition in all of its facets
  • There is much to be learned about this from works of fiction as well as non-medical non-fiction books

He advised never to read a medical textbook cover-to-cover (you’ll retain <2% of it that way!)

INEFFECTIVE METHODS

Learning science suggests that commonly used methods of learning content from reading are largely ineffective (Dunlosky et al, 2013).

These low yield methods include:

• passively re-reading text
• highlighting text
• passively summarising text

SQ3R APPROACH

A more useful approach to learning content from reading is the SQ3R approach

• the core of the technique is asking questions first and then reading actively with the aim of answering those questions
• The SQ3R method was introduced by Francis Pleasant Robinson, an American education philosopher in his 1946 book Effective Study
• Similar techniques that were subsequently developed include PQRST (Preview, Question, State, Test) and the KWL table (know, want to know, and learn) approach

Steps (relevant concepts from cognitive science and educational psychology are indicated in bracketed italics):

• Survey the section to check the relevance of what you are about to read (determine knowledge needs; generation)
• create a set of questions that you want to answer based on the survey (generation)
  • Generate questions based on the heading, tables and images in the text
  • Ask yourself what the section you are reading is about:
    • “What are the questions that the author is trying to answer?”
    • “What questions do I have that the section might help answer?
    • “What questions might I be asked about this topic?”
  • It is useful to write the questions down (:SQW3R”)
• Read actively; anticipating the answers to the questions you created and paying particular attention to new knowledge and surprising findings (generation)
  • Actively search for the answers to your questions
  • Read reflectively; consider what the author is trying to say, and think about how you can use that information
  • Be alert to emphasised text (e.g. bold or italicised print)
  • Pay particular attention to tables, graphs and illustrations that often convey an idea more powerfully than written text (and are easy to make exam questions from!)
• Recite the questions and attempt to answer them with explanations (utilise the Test effect and provide elaboration)
  • stop reading periodically to recall what you have read
  • recite out loud or by writing down answers to your self-generated questions
  • Try to recall main headings, important ideas of concepts presented in bold or italicized type, and what graphs charts or illustrations indicate
  • Try to develop a ‘big picture’ understanding of the concepts you have read about
  • Connect new knowledge to things you already know
  • do not regurgitate phrases word-for-word from the text!
• Review; periodically revisit and retest yourself on the question-and-answers (can be performed using spaced repetition and provides an opportunity for reflection and calibration)
  • ideally, do this after each section and after completing the reading assignment, then revisit as part of a spaced repetition programme
  • review your questions and try to self-generate the answers
  • re-read the relevant text if you cannot answer correctly and your notes are not sufficiently clear
  • flashcards or spaced repetition software can be used

References and links

Journal articles

• Adler MJ, Van Doren C. How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading. Simon and Schuster (2011)
• Carlston DL. Benefits of Student-Generated Note Packets. Teaching of Psychology. 38(3):142-146. 2011.
• Dunlosky J, Rawson KA, Marsh EJ, Nathan MJ, Willingham DT. Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychological science in the public interest. 14(1):4-58. 2013. [PMID 26173288]
• Huber Ja. A Closer Look at SQ3R. Reading Improvement 41(2):108–112. 2004
• Pain E. How to (seriously) read a scientific paper. Science. 2016. Available at URL: https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2016/03/how-seriously-read-scientific-paper
• Robinson FP. Effective Study. New York: Harper & Row, 1970
  

FOAM and web resources

• Wiesbauer F. Teaching Masterclass: The Psychology of Learning. Medmastery
• Remember everything you want and manage the rest — The SQ3R Method of Studying – The Father of All Reading Methods is Alive and Kicking by Helmut Sachs (2013)
• RoshReview — Dr Peter Rosen Like You’ve Never Seen Him Before: His routines, regrets, and life advice (2016)