Tuesday, June 28, 1966 Summer Session Kansan
Page 7
Reading and study labs offer aid to KU students
By Margaret Ogilvie
"Many students are looking for some mysterious help. This is a little on the unrealistic side." explains John Frieson, a graduate student teaching the University's rapid reading course in 409 Bailey. "The magic word is flexibility. You have to know how to read when."
Frieson and William Antoine, who direct a study skills clinic, are trying "just to accommodate and help as much as possible" 18 students enrolled in one of two sections for the reading and study improvement program, each phase meeting daily this summer for six weeks.
WITH DIFFERING reasons for wanting to double their reading speed, students in rapid reading are also striving to increase comprehension by means of three lab exercises. Among the first things they learn from these were that people with high LQ's are not necessarily fast readers, and that slow readers do not always read most accurately.
Typical difficulties impeding speed and comprehension are recognized as vocalizing, reading word-for word, plodding, and failing to evaluate information. Enrollment is divided into groups of five for a one hour lab period at 9:10 Monday through Friday. Classes in the reading section are always limited to 15 because there are only five "T-Scopes" available.
THE TACHISTOSCOPE, a device used to develop the ability of concentration and to increase
2 concerts (Continued from page 1)
what they were doing that carried through to the audience.
As the final group to play the Concert Band had for its selections the Irish Tune theme song; "Chester Overture," William Schuman; "Northwards March from Four Ways Suite," Eric Coates, and "Scherzo from Second Suite." Robert Jager, conducted by Mr. Wiley, and "Grand March, Fame and Glory," Albert Matt; selections from "Mary Poppins," Richard Sherman and Robert Sherman, and "Slavonic Rhapsody No. 2," Carl Friedmann, conducted by Capt. Howe.
THIS BAND WAS smaller than the Symphonic, and it was perhaps more easily handled. Its entire performance was extremely good and exciting. It played with style, which is the most important and hardest-to-acquire musical ingredient that distinguishes a good performance from a superior one.
The arrangements for the day's various performances were selected well, giving variety and interest to different tastes. An example of this was the break between the majesty of the traditionally heard band music, with "selections from Mary Poppins," a light and familiar piece.
If you attend performances for sheer enjoyment—hear the Sunday concerts.
Kansas again gets showers
By United Press International
By United Press International Salina, Concordia and Hutchinson reported light showers yesterday and Ft. Leavenworth had ground fog in the wake of heavy rains in Kansas.
the student's eye span, flashes images onto a screen at 1100 of a second, progressing from five up to nine digit numbers and then to word phrases.
Weathermen predicted locally heavy rains again. Hill City, Russell and Dodge City weathermen said they had lightning near their cities.
Using his selection from a library of fictional books on which word counts are provided, each student adjusts the reading accelerator, a bar on which machine moves down each page and forces him to stay ahead of it, eliminating plodding and regression and requiring concentration. An effort is made to increase the reading speed by 10 and 15 per cent gains on these light readings.
Friesen, a minister who is earning a doctorate in philosophy of education, and Antoine, who is writing a master's thesis on results obtained in the reading and study skills lab in order to prove that most reading tests do not adequately measure improvement, compiled the test in use now to determine students' progress.
The best measurement of accomplishment is progress on S.R.A. readings, which is slower than that made on the accelerator. A detailed test over each reading checks comprehension, and speed is checked on an accompanying chart after the student has timed himself.
FRIESON URGES AGAINST machine orientation so the student learns to transfer new skills to his study situation. A test is given every student to determine his speed and comprehension in reading eleventh grade material at the start and conclusion of the sessions.
They found at the start of the spring semester that students enrolled in the lab read at an average speed of 220 words per minute, comprehending 70 per cent, and that the same group read 302 words per minute with 57 per cent comprehension six weeks later.
THE 80 WORD GAIN in speed and 12 per cent loss in understanding—"pretty good," according to Frieson, "but not as good as I'd like to see it"—was based on a test which the two instructors revised twice during that period.
"When they come into the testing situation, they panic, and do poorly." Frieson pointed out.
"Testing situations are always abnormal." Last fall a cooperative English test was used, measuring percentile gain on the basis of vocabular competence. Seniors and graduate students, many of whom use the course as a reorientation to heavy reading, showed most improvement on that test. On their own test, Frieson explained, "it is a freak incident to go down."
Members of the Journalism division of the Midwestern Music and Art Camp continued this week with their regular class sessions as they prepare to learn more about the different aspects of journalism.
Freshmen most frequently enroll in a study skills class now meeting at 9:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, which emphasizes scheduling habits, correct methods, use of the library, development of a good vocabulary, and the importance of reading skills, in accordance with the "Antoine-Frieson Straight-A study Method"Aim, Appraisal, Absorption,
THIS PRESCRIPTION was the result of evaluating several other theories, including Robinson's "SQ3R" (Study, Query, Read, Recite, Review) and the "PQRST" method (Preview, Question, Read, State, Test) "We didn't like any of them because they missed one step completely."
Articulation, Attention, and Application.
Session is on in journalism
Friesen emphasized the factor of "Aim"—"what you want to find out."
John Knowles, professor of journalism at KU, said the students may take a variety of subjects which include advertising and business, radio and television, creative writing, feature writing, news writing and news editing and photography.
"Attention, or reflection means a transfer to and association with other material; according to the 'SQ3R', to articulate is important because those who recite do much better than those who do not; absorption means to go into it, and application is in reference to other fields of knowledge — its useless unless it's applied to the situation. . . . Every student should have a study method," Frieson concluded.
Opposed to the organized set-up
he calls the "study hall gimmick" Friesen thinks "they are not really conducive to good study habits . . . they indirectly encourage goofing off during the day. mass study (subject after subject) is not a good idea; unless you are really enraptured by a subject it's .oo hard on you." The instructor said "college students are old enough to study for their own grades" when he was invited to speak on the subject at a fraternity house last semester.
ANOTHER PROBLEM common to many college students, that of long reading assignments in many courses, may be complicated by the fact that "professors sometimes don't define what they mean by reading . . . some poor conscientious souls will never get through . . . they may just want you to skim."
Students are discouraged from taking both rapid reading and study skills because too much time would be involved, but a
few go through the reading program twice. Some are referred to the clinic, by advisors who think it helps to bring up grades, or by other students, many of whom sought it on their own.
Some students have had similar instruction in other schools or in high school. "They don't benefit if they skip, but it's hard to hold students because there is no tuition," Frieson remarked. "If they hadn't enrolled in the first place, we could've accepted more who were serious."
During the first six weeks last fall, seven rapid reading classes accommodated about 160. Only one section was required the last six weeks. Miss Sherri Heckart was working with Frieson and Antoine during the regular term. Now under the direction of Robert W. Ridgeway, dean of the school of education, the lab opened in the 1920's and used to be run by an educational psychology professor.