When reading a textbook, you may actually enjoy it, if you can "get into" it. A good way to do this is to approach it the way you approach a story. That is the point of the odd title of this page. The approach most students would naturally adopt when reading a comic book is better for learning and memory than the approach most students adopt when studying a textbook. To "approach your textbook like a comic book" simply (1) start at the beginning, (2) pay attention to every word, (3) relax and (4) enjoy.
People who read a comic book never jump into the middle. They don't bother with the "skim and preview" nonsense taught in some study skills courses. They just start at the beginning and read every word. They try to understand it all, and they follow the flow of ideas. They relax and enjoy the reading experience. Later, they remember what they have read, effortlessly, without even trying to memorize it. Why? Because they were "into it." They were making vivid, accurate constructions in their head while reading. The same exact thing can happen when you read a good textbook.
Granted: if you lack the needed vocabulary and background knowledge, reading can be a struggle. In this case, there is little your teacher can do for you. Some students are poorly prepared by their high schools. Some have never been required to "really read" for school classes; they could get good grades simply by paying attention in class and skimming their books. To my amazement, some students report that they engage in no pleasure reading whatsoever--no comics, no books, no magazines. Consequently, they have little practice with sustained reading and some are not prepared to read university-level material of any kind. The idea of "getting into" a college textbook might seem like an absurdity to such a person. But then, such a person is unlikely to be reading this page. If you have read this far and are following the argument, you can probably cope with most college textbooks.
I find that students who have trouble with reading comprehension despite adequate vocabulary and background experience are often doing one of two things: (1) skimming instead of "really reading," or (2) approaching the chapter as a series of factoids (little facts). In either case, little is absorbed. When studying becomes a matter of memorizing answers to isolated questions, rather than becoming immersed in a flow of ideas, the burden on memory is greatly increased. Instead of remembering one interconnected whole, the student is trying to remember 100+ little statements, and nothing ties it together. The overall framework is missing, and so is the trance-like state of absorption which makes learning easy and fun. Boredom sets in, different items are mingled and confused, and the result is poor test performance.
Sometimes students do better if they simply read the chapter slowly from front to back before ever using the study questions. When you sit down in a comfortable place and "just read," something happens in your brain. Suddenly you are back 10,000 years listening to a story around the campfire. Our species has used "oral history" (story telling) for many thousands of years. Our imaginations are automatically engaged by stories. We know how to do it, without ever being taught. The same underlying process occurs with movies, comic books, spoken stories, and even a well-written textbook. One knows to (1) start at the beginning, (2) pay attention to every word, (3) relax, and (4) enjoy.
Unfortunately, many students do not approach a textbook chapter the way they would approach a novel or comic book. They work with the book; they do not get into it. When these students drop by my office to find out why they are failing, they describe all sorts of "work" to me. They show me how they are writing out answers, or highlighting, or drawing up cards with questions on one side, answers on the other. None of this seems to matter very much, if they do not understand the underlying ideas. To achieve such understanding, they would be far better off trying to trying to "get into" the chapter. They should read front to back at a comfortable pace. Relax. Enjoy. In a second phase, later, they could use the study questions to test their retention of specific facts, reviewing sections of the chapter when necessary to insure comprehension. But this should come only after they learn as much as possible the easy and natural way, by absorbing it.
Many students have achieved sudden improvements in their test scores with this two-phase procedure. (1) Just read, but read well. (2) Use the study questions later to review and check on comprehension. If you have trouble remembering the material from your textbook, give it a try!
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