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Article based on mastery, Tennis

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On Mastery

Neither mastery nor satisfaction can be found in the playing of any game without giving some attention to the relatively neglected skills of the inner game. This is the game that takes place in the mind of the player, and it is played against such obstacles as lapses in concentration, nervousness, self-doubt and self-condemnation. In short, it is played to overcome all habits of mind which inhibit excellence in performance.

Most of us don't even know there's an inner game being played, much less that we're losing badly.

Time to suit up.

On Potential

When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as "rootless and stemless." We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don't condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is.

Imagine how your life might be different if you really believed this: I have inside me, at all times, my whole potential.

On Letting Go

Letting go of judgments does not mean ignoring errors. It simply means seeing events as they are and not adding to them.

I suspect a big reason many people have a hard time with concepts like acceptance, mindfulness, and non-judgment is that they imagine these terms imply a kind of passivity and weakness. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Choosing to see reality for what it is without projecting our own baggage onto it is practically a superpower.

On Effort

The secret to winning any game lies in not trying too hard.

Applying lots of deliberate practice and effort when you are learning a skill tends to pay off. But when it comes to using the skill in a real-world situation, effort tends to interfere with what you've already learned and know.

On Self-Judgment

It is interesting to see how the judgmental mind extends itself. It may begin by complaining, "What a lousy serve," then extend to "I'm serving badly today." After a few more "bad" serves, the judgment may become further extended to "I have a terrible serve." The, "I'm a lousy tennis player," and finally, "I'm no good." First the mind judges the event, then groups events, then identifies with the combined event and finally judges itself.

This is why it's essential to learn how to quickly catch and redirect negative self-talk. If it goes unchecked, this vicious cycle of self-judgment and shame it produces quickly becomes so massive that it's hard to escape from.

As an old professor of mine used to say: Falling off the wagon isn't the problem; it's the wallowing around in the mud that kills you.

Cultivate awareness of your own self-talk so you can nip it in the bud.

On Bad Habits

It is difficult to break a habit when there is no adequate replacement for it.

A corollary of this is that it's surprisingly easy to break bad habits and establish positive ones when you have a meaningful, rewarding, clearly defined vision for an alternative habit that meets the same needs as the old one in a healthier, more productive way.

Bonus points if you also have a well-thought-out system for maintaining your new pattern of behavior.

On Labels

Judgmental labels usually lead to emotional reactions and then to tightness, trying too hard, self-condemnation, etc. This process can be slowed by using descriptive but nonjudgmental words to describe the events you see.

For performance to approach potential, get out of your own way and allow your hard-won talent to shine through.

Of course, easier said than done. When we're in the mental habit of judgmental self-talk, it can feel more like something that happens to us rather than something we have control over.

Rather than trying to stop or eliminate this judgmental self-talk, crowd it out with simple observation and description.

On Positive Thinking

It is impossible to judge one event as positive without seeing other events as not positive or as negative.

Positive thinking is still judgmental thinking. And while it may briefly feel good because it's positive, we easily slip from one form of judgment to another.

Why not stop judging all together and simply notice things as they are, yourself included?

On Identity

If a mother identifies with every fall of her child and takes personal pride in every success, her self-image will be as unstable as her child's balance.

Be careful where you choose to invest your identity and sense of self.

Anything outside of your direct control is generally a poor vehicle for identity investment  - other people, specific feelings, money, fame.

Better identity investment vehicles include hard work, kindness, curiosity, learning, generosity, and the like.

On Inner Peace

The best way to quiet the mind is not by telling it to shut up, or by arguing with it, or criticizing it for criticizing you. Fighting the mind does not work. What works best is learning how to focus it.

You've probably heard the phrase: What we resist persists.

The question is: Okay, I'll stop resisting... now what?

It's not enough to simply move our attention away from an unproductive line of thinking like arguing with our own thoughts. We must become skilled in the art of redirecting our attention to something more valuable and productive. This has two parts:

1. Have some appealing alternative objects of attention at hand. Cultivate objects of attention that lead to peace rather than stress. Hobbies are good.

2. Practice the "move" of moving your attention from one object to another. Cultivate an attention training regimen.

On Competition

The need to prove yourself is based on insecurity and self-doubt. Only to the extent that one is unsure about who and what he is does he need to prove himself.

Here's a paradox of high-performance psychology: the less your identity is on the line while performing, the better you will perform because the threat of damaging our identity always interferes with performance.

Leave your self on the sidelines.

On Concentration

The greatest lapses in concentration come when we allow our minds to project what is about to happen or dwell on what has already happened.

The capacity for mental time travel is arguably our species' most profound gift and mental advantage. Because we can remember the past and imagine the future, we're capable of tremendous feats. It also opens us up to worry, rumination, and distraction.

For the sake of your mental health and your productivity, practice holding your attention in the here and now.

On Control

Stability grows as I learn to accept what I cannot control and take control of what I can.

The whole point of practice and preparation is that our minds and bodies learn how to achieve our desired goals and outcomes. For high-achievers, poor preparation and lack of effort are rarely the problems. Instead, we sabotage ourselves by trying too hard and interfering with what we've already trained ourselves to accomplish.

This misapplication of effort is fundamentally a problem of control. To reach the highest echelons of achievement, we must be willing to release control and trust ourselves.

On Focus

Since the mind seems to have a will of its own, how can one learn to keep it present? By practice. There is no other way. Every time your mind starts to leak away, simply bring it gently back.

Whenever I talk about the importance of training your attention to stay focused on one object and to gently return it to that object when you've become distracted, I invariably get the following response: Yeah, yeah, sounds great. But how do I actually do it?

People want some kind of secret tip or trick or hack to improve their attentional abilities and focus. Which is like saying: Yeah but how do I actually get on the treadmill and start running?

On Keeping Your Head

The most indispensable tool for human beings in modern times is the ability to remain calm in the midst of rapid and unsettling changes. Inner stability is achieved not by burying one's head in the sand at the sight of danger, but by querying the ability to see the true nature of what is happening and to respond appropriately.

Observation is the first step in the Scientific Method for a reason: theorizing, analyzing, and most other forms of thinking tend to be misguided without a little data first.

On Winning

Wining is overcoming obstacles to reach a goal, but the value in winning is only as great as the value of the goal reached.

Goals without strategy are worthless, as are strategies without the right goals.

Strive to be both tactician and general, technician and CEO, psychologist and philosopher.

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To Master Your Work, You Must Work to Master Your Mind

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Neither mastery nor satisfaction can be found in the playing of any game without giving some attention to the relatively neglected skills of the inner game. This is the game that takes place in the mind of the player, and it is played against such obstacles as lapses in concentration, nervousness, self-doubt and self-condemnation.

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Article with good references

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Australian Council for Educational Research - ACER

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What are the enablers and challenges for high school teachers using a project-based learning approach in the classroom? In today's reader submission, learning designer and educator Lisa Aitken shares findings from her research in New South Wales schools.
In my time working with New South Wales schools to support teachers in using a project-based learning (PBL) approach, I have seen many success stories - but also many tired and frustrated teachers.

Deciding that this warranted further investigation, I carried out research with 25 NSW schools and 135 teachers in the state, looking at the enablers and challenges for teachers using the PBL approach, with the aim to uncover how we can further support teachers to try using more inquiry-based pedagogy. I was seeking specific strategies that could be implemented regardless of resources, time or school environment, and would make it easier for individual teachers as well as whole schools to adopt PBL.

Why project-based learning?

With technology transforming the professional landscape at a more rapid pace than ever before, equipping students to deal with a shifting workplace is fundamental to a teacher's calling.

Not just individual jobs, but entire sectors are at risk of becoming obsolete. Casual work is on the rise and it is predicted that when our students enter the workforce it will be common to have at least five different careers in their lifetime (FYA, 2017).

At the University of Technology Sydney, 40 per cent of students have said they want the skills and ability to create their own career pathways when they graduate. This kind of work deviates from traditional roles and requires creativity, resilience and high level social emotional skills.

This is reflected in the demands industry is placing on those hoping to enter its employment.

Over the past three years the proportion of early career job advertisements requiring 'critical thinking' has risen by 158 per cent, 'team work' by 19 per cent and 'creativity' by 65 per cent (FYA, 2017).

PBL is different to traditional methods of teaching in that the teacher takes on the role of facilitator and learning is a more collaborative, hands-on process driven by real-world connection. It uses authentic projects as vehicles to encourage deeper learning through collaboration and extended inquiry, and culminates in a final product or event.

PBL is an effective method to deepen learning and grow a range of skills allowing students to question, research and learn from both their successes and failures. Benefits include positive student attitudes, greater connection of concepts to the real world and higher student and teacher motivation (Boaler, 1998; Kaldi, Filippatou & Govaris, 2011; Lam, Wing-yi Cheng & Ma, 2009). In a study of 246 high school students, Mergendoller, Maxwell & Bellisimo (2006), found that standardised test results were higher when students were taught through PBL, as opposed to more traditional methods. A great literature review by Barbara Condliffe and colleagues (2016) can be found here.

Many schools in NSW are using PBL successfully and are seeing a decline in absenteeism and negative behaviour reports. This is supported by research suggesting this approach can make a positive impact upon student attendance in disadvantaged areas, which may be due to increased interest and relation of school work to the real world (Creghan & Adair-Creghan, 2015). One school I have worked with has even reported an increase in parent and family engagement with the school.

What did my research involve?

Participants in the online survey involved 135 teachers (42 men and 93 women), aged between 23 and 64 years. Participation was open to teachers from NSW public secondary schools using PBL. Participants all taught in NSW public high schools, and had between one and 40 years of teaching experience.

The High Quality PBL Framework was used to identify quality PBL. All teachers included in the study used at least three key elements of the HQ PBL framework, although they varied in how much they used it, from those who use it 100 per cent of the time drawing upon all key elements, to those using it only some of the time.

Teachers answered quantitative questions about the amount of time spent using PBL in the classroom, support received from the school, level of choice in using PBL and identified challenges in using PBL. They also completed the Teachers Sense of Self Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). At the end of the survey some statements and open ended questions were included to obtain qualitative data.

Responses from four open ended questions were coded and put into themes following Tesch's Eight Steps in the Coding Process (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Responses included 'funding has allowed for good quality resources and the support of leadership has enabled me to undertake professional learning and ask questions of experts when needed' and 'class size can be challenging and students stuck in their ways/preferring traditional education'.

What were the challenges?

The study uncovered that the more challenges teachers identified, the less frequently they used PBL. It also found that a teacher's self-efficacy impacted the number of perceived challenges acknowledged. This indicates that teachers with higher efficacy identified a lower number of perceived barriers when using PBL and, furthermore, those with a lower number of perceived challenges implemented PBL more often.

So, what were the challenges identified? The most frequently cited in the quantitative questions included:

Lack of time to collaborate with colleagues;

Lack of access to technology;

Lack of resources;

Students lacking maturity to fully take part in PBL; and,

Lack of time to properly implement.

What were the enablers?

Considering the challenges teachers were facing, we then asked what the enabling factors at their school were. Ninety comments related to the theme 'school support' (including support from principal and school leadership team), the school culture, school plan and a feeling of autonomy over the pedagogy used.

Professional development also featured highly in the teacher comments, signaling the need for robust, quality and practical professional development opportunities for teachers.

Collaboration was mentioned by a large proportion of survey participants. Comments by teachers indicated that collaborative practices such as team teaching and planning, enabled them to 'share the workload of getting something new off the ground'. They felt that 'shared ideas make a richer, more detailed project/program for the students', and that it brings 'different areas of expertise together'. One teacher commented that: 'teachers are willing to take risks within team teaching environments and are supportive of each other'. Interestingly, finding time to collaborate with colleagues was also the most frequently identified challenge in quantitative data.

Finally, several teachers indicated that resources were enabling in their PBL programs. Most comments related to access to technology, including: 'access to laptops have made PBL more accessible' and 'I have access to Chromebooks every lesson'.

Less common enablers included individual teacher factors such as knowledge and enthusiasm, student factors such as interest and engagement, and classroom-based supports including specific subject syllabus suitability.

Implications for school leaders, teachers and students

The survey data suggest there are several things school leaders and teachers can do to make it easier to adopt PBL in the classroom.

Prioritise time for teacher collaboration. Time to collaborate with other teachers was identified in both challenges and enabling factors, highlighting the importance of building connections between colleagues. Look at how staff meetings are used - can the content be flipped so that announcements are given through technology and meetings are used for meaningful work? How can technology support collaboration? Are there opportunities to team teach, or observe other teachers?

Build PBL into school plans and discuss at faculty meetings. Show support from the top down.

Consider how teacher efficacy can be developed through mastery of PBL. Strategies might include providing room to collaborate, creating a safe space for mistakes and feedback, and planning how the school might slowly transition to using this approach, giving teachers time to dabble and learn.

Keep in mind that PBL can be a new way of learning and thinking for students. Teachers should consider ways to prepare and scaffold learners' experience, such as making responsibilities explicit and building in student time management.

Trust in your teachers. Give them the room to create and you will see more motivation and innovative teaching.

If access to technology is an issue at your school, consider using mobile phones as a source of technology or assign roles within groups who are responsible for researching or using technology rather than requiring all students to access the technology.

Look into quality professional development. There are several providers who will support individual teachers to develop quality programs or support a whole school approach.

Think outside the box for resources. How can the local community, parents and families engage with and support learning? Approach both local and larger organisations for mentorship, resources and content ideas. You may be surprised how many people want to help.

Think about what motivates students at your school and tap into that. The motivation of students can be an enabler. You could interview students or even co-design assessments or curricula.

Have fun with designing real world-based learning. It's an opportunity for you as an educator to get creative. Showcase what you and your students have produced and learned - this will get others on board too.

This research has helped me to develop professional development that supports teachers to overcome some of the challenges in using PBL. This has also informed our Inspiring Teaching blog that shares teacher practice providing links to real world opportunities, inspiration for projects and shares how educators use innovative practice in schools.
References
Boaler, J. (1998). Open and Closed Mathematics: Student Experiences and Understandings. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 29(1), 41-62.

Creghan, C., & Adair-Creghan, K. (2015). The positive impact of project-based learning on attendance of an economically disadvantaged student population: A multiyear study. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 9(2). 7.

Foundation for Young Australians, (2017) T he New Work Smarts: Thriving in the New Work Order. Retrieved from: https://www.fya.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/FYA_TheNewWorkSmarts_July2017.pdf.

Kaldi, S., Filippatou, D., & Govaris, C. (2011). Project-based learning in primary schools: effects on pupils' learning and attitudes. Education 3-13, 39(1), 35-47.

Lam, S., Wing-yi Cheng, R., Ma, W.Y.K. (2009). Teacher and student intrinsic motivation in project-based learning. Instructional Science: An International Journal of the Learning Sciences, 37(6), 565-578.

Mergendoller, J. R., Maxwell, N.L., & Bellisimo, Y. (2006). The effectiveness of problem based instruction: A comparative study of instructional methods and student characteristics. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 1(2), 5.

Tschannen-Moran, M. & Hoy, A.W. (2001). Teacher efficacy: Capturing an elusive construct. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(7), 783-805.

What are the enablers and challenges for using a project-based learning approach in your classroom?

Have you done any professional development around using project-based learning in your setting? What were some of the things you learned that you've been able to apply? Which areas do you need more support with?

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Teacher perspectives on using project-based learning

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What are the enablers and challenges for high school teachers using a project-based learning approach in the classroom? In today's reader submission, learning designer and educator Lisa Aitken shares findings from her research in New South Wales schools.

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By Andrianes Pinantoan

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Table of Contents
"Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting." - Aldous Huxley
According to a survey done by the Jenkins Group, in the USA, 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college and 33 percent of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.

This is quite alarming and it's definitely something that we all should worry about, especially when we're presented with many other studies that link the high likeability of people ending up in prison if they have literacy problems.

Now, there are many factors that lead to literacy problems in people of all ages, such as the inadequate education system and school infrastructure, living in countries with high poverty and unemployment rates, or growing up in places that have a high crime rate...etc. But, what about the people who are simply not interested, let's say, in reading books for pleasure?

Society's views and taste in reading books has changed a lot in the last decade and the technological innovations allow us fast access online to the information we want in just a few clicks. But this kind of behavior has not only damaged the need to read and digest longer pieces for personal advancement or just for the sole fun of reading something, but has also shortened our attention span as well. It's not uncommon for people to buy books and never finish reading them.

Literacy is not only about reading and writing, but it's also to help people understand the complexity of the world and life in general. To improve the way you think, communicate and act; to make you a better and smarter human being.

We've divided this article into a few sections to help people improve their literacy level and achieve the most of their potential in life:

Reading Comprehension Guide

Improving Your Vocabulary

Building up your vocabulary is one of the key things to further improving your general reading comprehension. The more you read, the better you get at understanding the context in which the words are used.

And to understand the context is far more important to proper comprehension than going through the dictionary and memorizing mechanically all the words that you probably will never use or ever see them written somewhere.

Using big and fancy words wrongly might even destroy your reputation in front of other people and make you appear like a real clown. Leave that to the writers and the people who actually know what they're talking about.

Language is a tool that was invented to communicate clearly with each other, to share ideas, and to solve problems. There is no point in complicating the way you speak or write, just to appear that you have a rich vocabulary.

Improving your vocabulary takes a lot of time and a lot of reading. While reading, take notes of the new words that appear often and don't just memorize them; study the context in which they are used deeply. What do they mean? Where and when can we use these new words? Is it necessary to use this new word instead of an easier synonym in order to make a clear point?

Starting from the statistic that we presented in the beginning, a high percentage of adults never read a book after they finish college that way making it harder to learn new words and enrich their vocabulary.

Here are some general tips on improving your vocabulary:

Read. As much as you can. Instead of watching that soap opera or talent show, grab a good book and sit down for a few hours. Put away all the stuff that distracts you such as your laptop, phone, or the TV. Highlight the words that you don't understand so that you can come back at them later on.

Keep notes. Whenever you find interesting words that are used in order to describe something more easily, write them down somewhere (have a notebook just for new words). Writing the words down will help you remember them.

Write. When you're put into a position where you have to explain something or communicate ideas, you're forced to use new words in order to be clear and help other people understand you. Start writing about something that you're passionate about and use new words that you've stumbled upon before.

Get interested in new things. Many of the new words that you probably don't know are related to some specific fields or topics so try and explore different areas that you don't know anything about. You will learn lots of new words and, even better, you'll gain knowledge on a topic previously unknown to you.

Here are some other great websites that will help you improve your vocabulary:

Vocabulary.com - This website provides an interactive and a very interesting way of learning new words and improving your vocabulary. Its dictionary consists of thousands of questions and sentences to help you learn new words. It also tracks your progress so that you can get better at the topics where you are having difficulties.

Dictionary.com - Online dictionary to help you find out the meaning of the new words that you encounter. The website also has many word games and great articles that will surely improve your vocabulary.

How To Improve Your Vocabulary - About.com - The ESL topic of About.com website has some really good articles about improving your vocabulary. There are a lot of tips and other resources to help you learn new words properly.

Merriam-Webster Online - This website includes a dictionary, thesaurus, word of the day, audio pronunciations, word games and many other resources to assist you while learning new words.

FreeRice.com - Another fun and interactive vocabulary builder. The best part is that for every word that you guess right the website donates 10 grains of rice to help end world hunger.

Visual Dictionary - Also a Merriam-Webster website, this is a dictionary with visual graphics to help you better understand the words that you search for.

Critical Literacy and Enhancing Text Comprehension

Anderson and Irvine in their book called Critical Literacy: Politics, Praxis, and the Postmodern wrote the definition critical literacy perfectly, "Critical Literacy is learning to read and write as part of the process of becoming conscious of one's experience as historically constructed within specific power relations".

What we say and do is what really defines us as individuals and what makes us different from each other. Being able to read, analyze, and then criticize what you just read is an intelligent activity and a skill that is worth mastering.

We see all those smart people on television that always impress us with their thoughts and the way they express them in public. Guess what? They weren't born that way. They became who they are by slowly building their foundation of knowledge and using their own judgment to split what's right and what's wrong.

People are biased when they write and not everything that is written is good for you, so without analyzing what you read it's very easy to be manipulated and get drowned into ideas of all sorts. You should understand that there is always more than one way to read text.

Text comprehension is increased by improving your attention span and by being more focused in your reading activity.

Find a quiet place where you can read without getting distracted. Your local library is a great option.

Turn off all the devices that you have with you, such as your phone or mp3 player. They will keep distracting you.

Text comprehension is enhanced by expanding your vocabulary. (Check the previous section)

Give your book or paper a quick skim through to understand the topic. Read the table of contents, the introduction, the chapters and other headings.

Find out what questions is the book going to answer.

Highlight or write down some of the main concepts as you read along.

After you finish the book it's always good to write your thoughts on a piece of paper and put it in between the pages, so that you can recall the information when you come back at it later. Do this, especially, if you read several books on the same topic, so that you can compare the concepts presented and that way improve your critical judgment.

Don't hesitate to read all sorts of book genres and topics, even those that you previously had no interest in because that's where you'll expand your knowledge. It could be a fiction novel that teleports you into a whole different imaginary world or non-fiction that tells the successful story of a Fortune 500 entrepreneur.

Comprehension Strategies and Resources for Educators

SQ3R Textbook Study System - This system was developed by the University of South Carolina in order to help their students read textbooks easily and retain the information that they read. It's very useful if you're trying to study some particular topic and don't have much time.

Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension Skills - A very good article, written by Patricia Babbitt, with effective comprehension strategies and how to apply these strategies to help us get better at text comprehension.

Using Think-Alouds to Improve Reading Comprehension - Another interesting article by Roger Farr and Jenny Conner on improving reading comprehension by making students think aloud while reading.

Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension - written by Ellen K. Cross, this link includes many strategies for teaching reading comprehension to struggling students. It also answers some frequently answered questions about reading comprehension.

Speed Reading Tips and Methods

Is It Really Possible?

You probably have heard about people who read lots of books in a very short time, and you might have wondered how it is even possible to read books that fast. Theodore Roosevelt was a real passionate reader. He could read a book or two in a day. John F. Kennedy was known for his reading speed as well and encouraged all of his cabinet to take speed reading classes.

Average readers have a speed of around 200 words per minute. Good readers can read at about 400-500 words per minute while having good comprehension of the material. There are people who claim to read at 800-1000 wpm but the comprehension percentage drops and there is no point in speed reading if you don't know what you just read.

If, the last time that you grabbed a book to read, it took you a full month to finish it, then you're probably a not so good reader. Practice makes perfect, true, but you'll never improve your reading speed if you don't fix some of the usual reading problems that a lot of people have because of the way we learned to read at school.

So yes, speed reading is a skill that you can master with time and you'll be able to enjoy reading all those wonderful books that you never had the time to read before. There are many methods that speed-readers use, so it's all up to you to choose the one that works best for you.

Speed Reading Methods That Work
Stop Subvocalizing
At school, we were taught to read each word one by one aloud, and now even if we don't read aloud there is still a voice inside us that sub-vocalizes each word while reading. This is one of the key problems that make us read not as fast as we want to.

Identify that internal voice and instead of sub-vocalizing, try counting 1, 2, 3...etc. or humming while reading. Just glide through the words with your eyes. The important thing here is to keep practicing this as much as you can and whenever you find yourself subvocalizing just replace it with counting or humming.

It takes time to do this perfectly because you'll always go back to the old habit, but keep practicing and you'll get used to it.
Read Clusters of Words
After you overcome the problem of sub-vocalizing words while you're reading, you need to learn how to read clusters of words. Our eyes can focus on 3-4 words at a time, so try grouping words and focus your eyes on those groups instead of single words.

Avoid focusing on words that don't give any specific information, such as: and, a, an, the...etc. Your brain will automatically pick these up and connect everything.
Stop Backtracking
One of the biggest problems that average readers face is going back and re-reading previous lines. Backtracking will slow your down a lot, so try using your finger to avoid going back and reading the same words.

They important thing here is to stay focused on what you're reading, so that you don't have to go back and read the same lines again. With time you'll train your eyes to stop backtracking without having a need to use the finger all the time.
Skim Through
We pretty much all learned how to skim in the age of internet and online newspapers, so skimming is not something that is unknown to us, but many speed readers like to skim through text.

When you grab a book to read, it's good to do a little bit of pre-reading in order to understand what each chapter is about so that you can move quickly through the ones that you're not interested in and focus on the ones that you are.

When you skim through text your eyes will only pick the most important words in a line and then your brain does the rest. There is no point in wasting your time reading material that you won't get real benefit from. So, avoid the filler text and try to find the main chapters where the most valuable information is presented.
Read a Lot
Improving your reading speed takes time and a lot of practice, so grab a few books and just start reading as much as you can. Keep a list of the books that you want to read and don't start reading a new book before finishing the last one.

Remember that reading should be an activity that is fun and that you do it for pleasure. There is no point in speed-reading a good novel that is meant to be enjoyed in every detail. Also, good comprehension should be your main goal when reading, so keep that in mind.

Software to Help You Speed Read

Spreeder - This a free online software that helps you improve your reading speed. You can add your own text and choose how many words per minute you want to see.

Eyercize - Another free speed reading tool that works great. It has many options that you can customize. There's also a bookmarklet for your browser so that you can speed-read through any material that you stumble upon online.

Pocket - Pocket allows you to convert any website's content into a minimalist version with only the main content for you. It removes all the ads, comments, and other parts that clutter the website, so that you can have a better reading experience without getting distracted by other stuff on the website.

Acceleread Speed Reading Trainer - This is a great application for iOS devices. It works on both the iPhone and the iPad. It's a great app if you want to track your progress and you're your favorite books on mobile.

Reading Trainer - This is another speed reading app, but for those devices that run Android OS. It includes 12 exercises to help you improve your reading speed and retention as well.

ReadSpeeder - This is a free speed reading course that will help you read faster and enhance your reading comprehension. Many people claim to have increased their reading speed by taking this course.

Literacy Web Resources for Kids

PBS Kids Reading Games - This is a great collection of word games created by PBS Kids to help children improve their literacy in an interactive and fun way.

Reading, Literacy and Your Child - Article with some of the most frequently asked questions about children literacy questions and answers, by the University of Michigan.

Project Gutenberg - Project Gutenberg offers over 42,000 e-books in epub, mobi. Kindle formats, free of charge. Old classics have their copyright expired so this project helps digitizing great books so that anyone can read them.

International Children's Digital Library - The mission of this organization is to support children in becoming members of the global community by helping them with free literature and interactive resources to learn about every culture and language in the world.

BBC Schools Website - Created by the BBC Schools website, this kids literacy section is really great with plenty of interactive resources and games to help children improve their reading.

FunEnglishGames.com - Great website with games and worksheets to help kids improve their reading comprehension.

Abcya.com - This website offers free educational computer games and other activities for kids, created and approved by certified school teachers, to help them use the computer for educational purposes.

Literacy Planet - With over 10,000 interactive English literacy activities for children, Literacy Planet is one of the most helpful resources when it comes to developing good literacy skills.

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Adult Literacy: Better Reading Comprehension, How to Speed-Read, and Some Life-Changing Literature to Improve Your Life | InformED

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Table of Contents Reading Comprehension Guide Speed Reading Tips and Methods Literacy Web Resources for Kids “Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting.” – Aldous Huxley Accordin…

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Great lists of examples and clear definitions

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List of Verbs, Nouns Adjectives & Adverbs

You can professionally improve your writing skills and grammar by addressing an essay writing service by CustomWritings.com. A team of academic experts will help with your papers of any complexity.
Meet our Contributor Mr. Shailesh Ramanuj

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List of Verbs, Nouns Adjectives & Adverbs - Build Vocabulary

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Free English verb, online tutorial to english language, excellent resource for english verbs, learn verb list

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Language, literature and literacy: Authentic engagement in the early years. By Sandra Lennox

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Language, literature and literacy: Authentic engagement in the early years. By Sandra Lennox

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Types of Literacy or Literacies. By Sitwe Benson Mkandawire

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Types of Literacy or Literacies. By Sitwe Benson Mkandawire

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A phrasal verb are usually two-word phrases consisting of preposition or adverb which creates a meaning different from the original verb.

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The current study was conducted by researchers from Deakin University, led by Professor Christine Halse from the Centre for Research in Education Futures and Innovation (CREFI). The study was commissioned by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), funded by the Department of Education, Employment and Workforce Relations, and managed by the Asia Education Foundation (AEF).

The purpose of the study was to inform future decision making for policy and practice by providing empirical, research-based evidence about the understandings, characteristics, enablers and needs of teachers and principals to deliver the Asia priority in the Australian Curriculum, relative to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and the Australian Professional Standard for Principals.

The findings and recommendations are derived from a large-scale national survey, extensive narrative data collected from teachers and principals, case studies of Asia literate teachers at different points on the career continuum, in different schools and Australian states, as well as general discussions at the AEF Forum in Melbourne on 5 June 2012 (see Chapter 3).

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Asia Literacy and the Australian Teaching Workforce

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The current study was conducted by researchers from Deakin University, led by Professor Christine Halse from the Centre for Research in Education Futures and Innovation (CREFI). The study was commissioned by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), funded by the Department of Education, Employment and Workforce Relations, and managed by the Asia Education Foundation (AEF).

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Natalie Hale - Adult literacy resource

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Table of Contents
"Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting." - Aldous Huxley
According to a survey done by the Jenkins Group, in the USA, 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college and 33 percent of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.

This is quite alarming and it's definitely something that we all should worry about, especially when we're presented with many other studies that link the high likeability of people ending up in prison if they have literacy problems.

Now, there are many factors that lead to literacy problems in people of all ages, such as the inadequate education system and school infrastructure, living in countries with high poverty and unemployment rates, or growing up in places that have a high crime rate...etc. But, what about the people who are simply not interested, let's say, in reading books for pleasure?

Society's views and taste in reading books has changed a lot in the last decade and the technological innovations allow us fast access online to the information we want in just a few clicks. But this kind of behavior has not only damaged the need to read and digest longer pieces for personal advancement or just for the sole fun of reading something, but has also shortened our attention span as well. It's not uncommon for people to buy books and never finish reading them.

Literacy is not only about reading and writing, but it's also to help people understand the complexity of the world and life in general. To improve the way you think, communicate and act; to make you a better and smarter human being.

We've divided this article into a few sections to help people improve their literacy level and achieve the most of their potential in life:

Reading Comprehension Guide

Improving Your Vocabulary

Building up your vocabulary is one of the key things to further improving your general reading comprehension. The more you read, the better you get at understanding the context in which the words are used.

And to understand the context is far more important to proper comprehension than going through the dictionary and memorizing mechanically all the words that you probably will never use or ever see them written somewhere.

Using big and fancy words wrongly might even destroy your reputation in front of other people and make you appear like a real clown. Leave that to the writers and the people who actually know what they're talking about.

Language is a tool that was invented to communicate clearly with each other, to share ideas, and to solve problems. There is no point in complicating the way you speak or write, just to appear that you have a rich vocabulary.

Improving your vocabulary takes a lot of time and a lot of reading. While reading, take notes of the new words that appear often and don't just memorize them; study the context in which they are used deeply. What do they mean? Where and when can we use these new words? Is it necessary to use this new word instead of an easier synonym in order to make a clear point?

Starting from the statistic that we presented in the beginning, a high percentage of adults never read a book after they finish college that way making it harder to learn new words and enrich their vocabulary.

Here are some general tips on improving your vocabulary:

Read. As much as you can. Instead of watching that soap opera or talent show, grab a good book and sit down for a few hours. Put away all the stuff that distracts you such as your laptop, phone, or the TV. Highlight the words that you don't understand so that you can come back at them later on.

Keep notes. Whenever you find interesting words that are used in order to describe something more easily, write them down somewhere (have a notebook just for new words). Writing the words down will help you remember them.

Write. When you're put into a position where you have to explain something or communicate ideas, you're forced to use new words in order to be clear and help other people understand you. Start writing about something that you're passionate about and use new words that you've stumbled upon before.

Get interested in new things. Many of the new words that you probably don't know are related to some specific fields or topics so try and explore different areas that you don't know anything about. You will learn lots of new words and, even better, you'll gain knowledge on a topic previously unknown to you.

Here are some other great websites that will help you improve your vocabulary:

Vocabulary.com - This website provides an interactive and a very interesting way of learning new words and improving your vocabulary. Its dictionary consists of thousands of questions and sentences to help you learn new words. It also tracks your progress so that you can get better at the topics where you are having difficulties.

Dictionary.com - Online dictionary to help you find out the meaning of the new words that you encounter. The website also has many word games and great articles that will surely improve your vocabulary.

How To Improve Your Vocabulary - About.com - The ESL topic of About.com website has some really good articles about improving your vocabulary. There are a lot of tips and other resources to help you learn new words properly.

Merriam-Webster Online - This website includes a dictionary, thesaurus, word of the day, audio pronunciations, word games and many other resources to assist you while learning new words.

FreeRice.com - Another fun and interactive vocabulary builder. The best part is that for every word that you guess right the website donates 10 grains of rice to help end world hunger.

Visual Dictionary - Also a Merriam-Webster website, this is a dictionary with visual graphics to help you better understand the words that you search for.

Critical Literacy and Enhancing Text Comprehension

Anderson and Irvine in their book called Critical Literacy: Politics, Praxis, and the Postmodern wrote the definition critical literacy perfectly, "Critical Literacy is learning to read and write as part of the process of becoming conscious of one's experience as historically constructed within specific power relations".

What we say and do is what really defines us as individuals and what makes us different from each other. Being able to read, analyze, and then criticize what you just read is an intelligent activity and a skill that is worth mastering.

We see all those smart people on television that always impress us with their thoughts and the way they express them in public. Guess what? They weren't born that way. They became who they are by slowly building their foundation of knowledge and using their own judgment to split what's right and what's wrong.

People are biased when they write and not everything that is written is good for you, so without analyzing what you read it's very easy to be manipulated and get drowned into ideas of all sorts. You should understand that there is always more than one way to read text.

Text comprehension is increased by improving your attention span and by being more focused in your reading activity.

Find a quiet place where you can read without getting distracted. Your local library is a great option.

Turn off all the devices that you have with you, such as your phone or mp3 player. They will keep distracting you.

Text comprehension is enhanced by expanding your vocabulary. (Check the previous section)

Give your book or paper a quick skim through to understand the topic. Read the table of contents, the introduction, the chapters and other headings.

Find out what questions is the book going to answer.

Highlight or write down some of the main concepts as you read along.

After you finish the book it's always good to write your thoughts on a piece of paper and put it in between the pages, so that you can recall the information when you come back at it later. Do this, especially, if you read several books on the same topic, so that you can compare the concepts presented and that way improve your critical judgment.

Don't hesitate to read all sorts of book genres and topics, even those that you previously had no interest in because that's where you'll expand your knowledge. It could be a fiction novel that teleports you into a whole different imaginary world or non-fiction that tells the successful story of a Fortune 500 entrepreneur.

Comprehension Strategies and Resources for Educators

SQ3R Textbook Study System - This system was developed by the University of South Carolina in order to help their students read textbooks easily and retain the information that they read. It's very useful if you're trying to study some particular topic and don't have much time.

Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension Skills - A very good article, written by Patricia Babbitt, with effective comprehension strategies and how to apply these strategies to help us get better at text comprehension.

Using Think-Alouds to Improve Reading Comprehension - Another interesting article by Roger Farr and Jenny Conner on improving reading comprehension by making students think aloud while reading.

Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension - written by Ellen K. Cross, this link includes many strategies for teaching reading comprehension to struggling students. It also answers some frequently answered questions about reading comprehension.

Speed Reading Tips and Methods

Is It Really Possible?

You probably have heard about people who read lots of books in a very short time, and you might have wondered how it is even possible to read books that fast. Theodore Roosevelt was a real passionate reader. He could read a book or two in a day. John F. Kennedy was known for his reading speed as well and encouraged all of his cabinet to take speed reading classes.

Average readers have a speed of around 200 words per minute. Good readers can read at about 400-500 words per minute while having good comprehension of the material. There are people who claim to read at 800-1000 wpm but the comprehension percentage drops and there is no point in speed reading if you don't know what you just read.

If, the last time that you grabbed a book to read, it took you a full month to finish it, then you're probably a not so good reader. Practice makes perfect, true, but you'll never improve your reading speed if you don't fix some of the usual reading problems that a lot of people have because of the way we learned to read at school.

So yes, speed reading is a skill that you can master with time and you'll be able to enjoy reading all those wonderful books that you never had the time to read before. There are many methods that speed-readers use, so it's all up to you to choose the one that works best for you.

Speed Reading Methods That Work
Stop Subvocalizing
At school, we were taught to read each word one by one aloud, and now even if we don't read aloud there is still a voice inside us that sub-vocalizes each word while reading. This is one of the key problems that make us read not as fast as we want to.

Identify that internal voice and instead of sub-vocalizing, try counting 1, 2, 3...etc. or humming while reading. Just glide through the words with your eyes. The important thing here is to keep practicing this as much as you can and whenever you find yourself subvocalizing just replace it with counting or humming.

It takes time to do this perfectly because you'll always go back to the old habit, but keep practicing and you'll get used to it.
Read Clusters of Words
After you overcome the problem of sub-vocalizing words while you're reading, you need to learn how to read clusters of words. Our eyes can focus on 3-4 words at a time, so try grouping words and focus your eyes on those groups instead of single words.

Avoid focusing on words that don't give any specific information, such as: and, a, an, the...etc. Your brain will automatically pick these up and connect everything.
Stop Backtracking
One of the biggest problems that average readers face is going back and re-reading previous lines. Backtracking will slow your down a lot, so try using your finger to avoid going back and reading the same words.

They important thing here is to stay focused on what you're reading, so that you don't have to go back and read the same lines again. With time you'll train your eyes to stop backtracking without having a need to use the finger all the time.
Skim Through
We pretty much all learned how to skim in the age of internet and online newspapers, so skimming is not something that is unknown to us, but many speed readers like to skim through text.

When you grab a book to read, it's good to do a little bit of pre-reading in order to understand what each chapter is about so that you can move quickly through the ones that you're not interested in and focus on the ones that you are.

When you skim through text your eyes will only pick the most important words in a line and then your brain does the rest. There is no point in wasting your time reading material that you won't get real benefit from. So, avoid the filler text and try to find the main chapters where the most valuable information is presented.
Read a Lot
Improving your reading speed takes time and a lot of practice, so grab a few books and just start reading as much as you can. Keep a list of the books that you want to read and don't start reading a new book before finishing the last one.

Remember that reading should be an activity that is fun and that you do it for pleasure. There is no point in speed-reading a good novel that is meant to be enjoyed in every detail. Also, good comprehension should be your main goal when reading, so keep that in mind.

Software to Help You Speed Read

Spreeder - This a free online software that helps you improve your reading speed. You can add your own text and choose how many words per minute you want to see.

Eyercize - Another free speed reading tool that works great. It has many options that you can customize. There's also a bookmarklet for your browser so that you can speed-read through any material that you stumble upon online.

Pocket - Pocket allows you to convert any website's content into a minimalist version with only the main content for you. It removes all the ads, comments, and other parts that clutter the website, so that you can have a better reading experience without getting distracted by other stuff on the website.

Acceleread Speed Reading Trainer - This is a great application for iOS devices. It works on both the iPhone and the iPad. It's a great app if you want to track your progress and you're your favorite books on mobile.

Reading Trainer - This is another speed reading app, but for those devices that run Android OS. It includes 12 exercises to help you improve your reading speed and retention as well.

ReadSpeeder - This is a free speed reading course that will help you read faster and enhance your reading comprehension. Many people claim to have increased their reading speed by taking this course.

Literacy Web Resources for Kids

PBS Kids Reading Games - This is a great collection of word games created by PBS Kids to help children improve their literacy in an interactive and fun way.

Reading, Literacy and Your Child - Article with some of the most frequently asked questions about children literacy questions and answers, by the University of Michigan.

Project Gutenberg - Project Gutenberg offers over 42,000 e-books in epub, mobi. Kindle formats, free of charge. Old classics have their copyright expired so this project helps digitizing great books so that anyone can read them.

International Children's Digital Library - The mission of this organization is to support children in becoming members of the global community by helping them with free literature and interactive resources to learn about every culture and language in the world.

BBC Schools Website - Created by the BBC Schools website, this kids literacy section is really great with plenty of interactive resources and games to help children improve their reading.

FunEnglishGames.com - Great website with games and worksheets to help kids improve their reading comprehension.

Abcya.com - This website offers free educational computer games and other activities for kids, created and approved by certified school teachers, to help them use the computer for educational purposes.

Literacy Planet - With over 10,000 interactive English literacy activities for children, Literacy Planet is one of the most helpful resources when it comes to developing good literacy skills.

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Adult Literacy: Better Reading Comprehension, How to Speed-Read, and Some Life-Changing Literature to Improve Your Life | InformED

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Table of Contents Reading Comprehension Guide Speed Reading Tips and Methods Literacy Web Resources for Kids “Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting.” – Aldous Huxley Accordin…