Scanning and Skimming Exercises (1)

8/18/2019 Scanning and Skimming Exercises (1)

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Reading skills for academic study: Scanning

for specific information.

Exercise 1

Read the following text quickly and fill in the table. What do the numbers given in the table refer to?

1%

2%

%

1!%

1%

!"%

!#$

%

&'oon(fed feel lost at the cutting edge

)efore arriving at university students will have been 'owerfully influenced by their school*s

a''roach to learning 'articular sub+ects. ,et this is only rarely taken into account by teachers inhigher education- according to new research carried out at ottingham /niversity- which could

ex'lain why so many students ex'erience 'roblems making the transition.

0istorian lan )ooth says there is a growing feeling on both sides of the tlantic that the shiftfrom school to university(style learning could be vastly im'roved. )ut little consensus exists

about who or what is at fault when the students cannot co'e. &chool teachers commonly blame

the 'oor quality of university teaching- citing factors such as large first(year lectures- thewides'read use of inex'erienced 'ostgraduate tutors and the general lack of concern for students

in an environment where research is dominant in career 'rogression- 3r )ooth said.

4any university tutors on the other hand claim that the school system is failing to 're'arestudents for what will be ex'ected of them at university. (level history in 'articular is seen to be

teacher(dominated- creating a 'assive de'endency culture.

)ut while both sides are bent on attacking each other- little is heard during such exchanges from

the students themselves- according to 3r )ooth- who has devised a questionnaire to test the

views of more than 2"" first(year history students at ottingham over a three(year 'eriod. 5he

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students were asked about their ex'erience of how history is taught at the outset of their degree

'rogramme. 6t quickly became clear that teaching methods in school were 'retty staid.

bout !" 'er cent of res'ondents claimed to have made significant use of 'rimary sources 7few

felt very confident in handling them8 and this had mostly been in connection with 'ro+ect work.

9nly 1 'er cent had used video#audio: 2 'er cent had ex'erienced field tri's and less than 1 'er

cent had engaged in role('lay.

3r )ooth found students and teachers were frequently restricted by the assessment style which

remains dominated by exams. 5hese 'ut obstacles in the way of more adventurous teaching andactive learning- he said. 9f the students in the survey +ust 1! 'er cent felt their (level course had

're'ared them very well for work at university. 5hree(quarters felt it had 're'ared them fairly

well.

9ne ty'ical comment sums u' the contrasting a''roach; t (level we tended to be s'oon(fed

with dictated notes and if we were told to do any background reading 7which was rare8 we were

told exactly which 'ages to read out of the book.

5o test this further the students were asked how well they were 're'ared in s'ecific skills central

to degree level history study. 5he answers reveal that the students felt most confident at takingnotes from lectures and organising their notes. 5hey were least able to give an oral 'resentationand there was no great confidence in contributing to seminars- knowing how much to read- using

'rimary sources and searching for texts.


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Reading skills for academic study: Scanning

for specific information.

Exercise 2

Read the following text quickly and answer the questions.

1. When were A(rays discovered?

2. Who discovered them?

!. What are the four characteristics of A(rays?

5he 3iscovery of A(rays


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an actor. 5hat is 'art of the technique of teaching- which demands that every now and then a

teacher should be able to 'ut on an act ( to enliven a lesson- correct a fault- or award 'raise.

Bhildren- es'ecially young children- live in a world that is rather larger than life.

teacher must remain mentally alert. 0e will not get into the 'rofession if of low intelligence-

but it is all too easy- even for 'eo'le of above(average intelligence- to stagnate intellectually (

and that means to deteriorate intellectually. teacher must be quick to ada't himself to anysituation- however im'robable and able to im'rovise- if necessary at less than a moment*s notice.

70ere 6 should stress that 6 use *he* and *his* throughout the book sim'ly as a matter of convention

and convenience.8

9n the other hand- a teacher must be ca'able of infinite 'atience. 5his- 6 may say- is largely a

matter of self(disci'line and self(training: we are none of us born like that. 0e must be 'retty

resilient: teaching makes great demands on nervous energy. nd he should be able to take in hisstride the innumerable 'etty irritations any adult dealing with children has to endure.

inally- 6 think a teacher should have the kind of mind which always wants to go on learning.5eaching is a +ob at which one will never be 'erfect: there is always something more to learn

about it. 5here are three 'rinci'al ob+ects of study; the sub+ect- or sub+ects- which the teacher isteaching: the methods by which they can best be taught to the 'articular 'u'ils in the classes he

is teaching: and ( by far the most im'ortant ( the children- young 'eo'le- or adults to whom theyare to be taught. 5he two cardinal 'rinci'les of )ritish education today are that education is

education of the whole 'erson- and that it is best acquired through full and active co(o'eration

between two 'ersons- the teacher and the learner.

7rom Teaching as a Career, by 0. B. 3ent- )atsford- 1@18

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Scanning and Skimming Exercises (1)