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READING EFFECTIVELY

Reading is a kind of specialised observation. Instead of a search area, we have books or texts. Instead of an object, there are headings and keywords. Rather than making sense of an environment, we are trying to understand the ideas a text is attempting to convey. Reading is our main mechanism for absorbing facts and concepts.
Going from squiggles on a page to full understanding is a complicated process, particularly if there is a lot of new knowledge you must absorb for educational purposes, or your job. Got-A-Head®? aims to streamline that process to shorten the amount of time it takes you to learn.
Memory is the key that unlocks squiggles on a page, opening the door to meaning. Your reading stimulates memories and connections between memories to allow you to understand the story or concept. The more your reading stimulates and the richer your source of memories, the more vivid a picture your imagination can paint. And, in turn, the more precise the picture, the easier it is to link new ideas to existing knowledge, which will aid retention and future recall.
There are a number of tools, techniques and strategies in Got-A-Head®?’s Thinking Toolkit that can help you read more effectively.
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Our PAPER REAM strategy helps you develop an effective reading campaign. ​
Pick up a foreign text – how much understanding would you gain from reading it if you were unfamiliar with that language? Very little. How much would you remember of it? Probably even less. The trick is to pick texts that have some new information, but a lot you are already familiar with. You learn more quickly if you can connect your new knowledge as strongly as possible with material you already know.
For planning how you are going to acquire knowledge, try QWERTY®, our flexible and highly-scalable staged thinking technique
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Forget-Me-Nots our bite-sized thinking-enhancers, prompt you to consider objects, ideas, concepts, plans, etc., in greater depth and from different perspectives. They can help you find new links between your learning and concepts with which you are already familiar to aid consolidation of your new learning into your memory.​
If you want to read more about Reading Effectively and how our techniques can help you, then check out our free Effective Reading document. It is also available in a plainer format. In addition, it talks about other products we have in development to help you read more effectively.
Reading is the main way we gain detailed knowledge. It is a critical skill to help us learn, to work, to socialise, to understand the world and our place in it. Reading more effectively will help you do better, and think better, which in turn allows you to feel better about yourself.
