Book Review - Thinking Fast and Slow

by Daniel Kahneman 

This was an interesting and thought provoking book. I must admit that I was more interested in part 1 (pages 1 to 105) because it gave me some fresh insights into human cognition and memory. The author simply divides thinking into two systems: system 1 - thinking processes that are automatic, and system 2 - thinking that involves conscious effort. To show the difference between the two systems I will use an illustration from the book.

“Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons in their book ‘The Invisible Gorilla. They constructed a short film of two teams passing basketballs, one team wearing white shirts, the other wearing black. The viewers of the film are instructed to count the number of passes made by the white team, ignoring the black players. This task is difficult and completely absorbing. Halfway through the video, a woman wearing a gorilla suit appears, crosses the court, thumps her chest, and moves on. The gorilla is in view for 9 seconds. Many thousands of people have seen the video, and about half of them do not notice anything unusual. It is the counting task – and especially the instruction to ignor one of the teams – that causes the blindness. No one who watches the video without that task would miss the gorilla.”

The people who are not given the counting task operated using system 1 and tended to see the gorilla because they were not focused on particular details but attended to the more general information. They noticed the unexpected because of its novelty impact. On the other hand those given the counting task used system 2 and focused all their attention on the counting task, they tended to use conscious attention and this meant that they actively ignored other extraneous information. In order to achieve their goal they attended to some things but were bind to others. 

What struck me as being important was that I related this idea to the task of reading - if readers are using conscious attention to decode print then they will miss out on the broader thematic or global ideas that hold a story together. In other words if you attend to the details such as letter by letter or word by word decoding it will overload working memory and other information will tend to be ignored. This also has challenged my thinking about having children set personal reading goals before they read. In other words, if the reading goal is too specific it may narrow the reading focus and some other story information will be ignored.  Alternatively, if the reading goals are made too general then some finer details will be missed. The balance might depend on the purpose for the reading.

Visualization and Reading Comprehension Pt 7

Visualizing strategies can be used by readers at three strategic phases of story reading.

When used at the before reading phase it can activate background knowledge and enable the reader to predict and select a schema or knowledge framework to provide a flexible structure on which to scaffold their imagination as the story events unfold. 

The during reading phase should be characterised by an active imagination that creates images from a combination of the reader's past experiences and the new story ideas. Good readers will often visualise the story as if it was a movie. This visualising activity helps the reader organise and make sense of the text information while, at the same time, enables their working memory to function more efficiently. 

The after reading phase is a  re-organization phase that helps children re-imagine and re-create according to their own view of their world.  Trevor Cairney's blog, 'Literacy,  families and learning' recently had an excellent post that is quite relevant to this third phase. 
He says, "Imaginative recreation is an essential part of learning, probably even life. It sits alongside 'story' as an essential way to relive or enrich narrative experiences. Story in its own right is critical to learning, communication and well-being. Imaginative recreation is one of its essential foundations. For many children, the re-creation of story is a critical part of their growing knowledge of narrative."

Trevor goes on to say that this re-creation phase not only enhances children's enjoyment but also deepens their understanding and appreciation of literature. On his Blog there is an extensive list of visualizing activities from using manipulatives to role play. 

Visualization and Reading Comprehension Pt 6

Manipulating Objects and Figures to Visualize a Narrative.

When readers manipulate objects after reading a story it usually results in improved mental imagery and reading comprehension outcomes. Children are more able to retain imagined pictures of story events after they have used object manipulations even after several days. Object manipulation actively links read text information to the reader’s own background experiences and provides an effective memory strategy that enhances comprehension and recall of story ideas and events. 

After reading a story children can be given plastic figures and props such as trees, fences, and houses  to simulate and interpret the events of a story that they have enjoyed. In other words, a story character's world will become more concrete and comprehensible when objects are used in conjunction with narratives that children have read or heard. Having children manipulate objects after reading to represent characters and their actions will improve their understanding because it makes the visualising of story content more concrete and imaginable. 

The process is just as important as the product. When children cooperatively simulate story events with objects and describe the actions of figures it enables the linking of words and ideas to objects. It also  enables them to more easily visualise story ideas and relationships. Rich discussion can enhance the vividness of mental imagery and enables readers to project their own thoughts and feelings in a way that seems quite natural. The manipulating of objects in space and the rich talk that accompanies these actions should not be thought of as just a way to develop a scene or an end product but should be part of this complex learning process.

A model of an Aboriginal Dreamtime story (Legend)

10 other ideas using manipulatives:

1. Make a diorama
2. Use a cardboard theatre with cardboard figures to develop a play
3. Use a puppet theatre with puppets and props
4. Use plasticine to make figures and scenes
5. Buy a set of plastic figures and objects to make the scenes
6. Use a felt board and cut out felt figures to create a scene
7. Dress-up and act out the scene
8. Make figures and object with clay or play dough
9. Paint a series of pictures to illustrate the story
10. Draw a cartoon with captions and speech bubbles

Visualizing and Reading Comprehension Pt 5

Graphica

I have been reading "Advetures in Graphica: Using Comics and Graphic Novels to Teach Comprehension, 2-6. by Terry Thompson. Chapter seven "In the Mind's Eye: Making Mental Images and Inferring" is a particularly interesting chapter and well worth reading, particularly if you want to have a slightly different take on visualisation and comprehension.

The book is written in an easy to read and conversational style with lots of good teaching tips and practical ideas. The author says, "Comics can help by serving as a tangible model of the visualisation that good readers create in their heads as they read. Using examples from graphica, we can mirror mental images and display them right there on the page in front of our students, allowing them to make real connection with what we mean when we say "make a picture in your head." Whether you call it visualisation or creating mental images, the important thing to remember is that students must learn to use their imaginations to bring texts to life." (page 73-74).

He goes on to say that visualisation is not like a static picture or photograph, it changes and becomes more like a movie as the story unfolds. It incorporates movement, sounds, smells, taste, touch, and feelings. The mental images integrate your past experience and with perceived elements within the story. Inferences are formed when the missing details are filled in by the imagination. Thus, inferences are made by combining the new to the known.

How can graphics help children visualise? It can demonstrate the artist's imagination in various ways by using the graphics conventions such as speech bubbles, narration boxes, panels, gutters, text, etc. to encapsulate action, characterisation, mood, and emotion. For example, mood may be expressed through different variations of colour, line, perspective, font size and style. Children can be encouraged to use their inferencing skills to explore character traits. In the graphics they are able to gain clues as to the mental states of the characters through the depiction of their actions, what they say in speech bubbles, and by the expressions on their faces.

"Because comics represent characters visually, they help the reader in identifying and getting to know them. ..., this can help readers monitor who's speaking and how each character works into the story line. This visual connection to the players in the text frees readers up so they can practice attending to the characters and analyse the important role their presence plays during reading."(page 74).

Visualizing and Reading Comprehension Pt4

The ability to decode words accurately is essential but not sufficient for efficient reading and comprehension. Most children, who decode well while reading, comprehend most of what they read. However, there are many children who do not understand what they are reading even though they appear to be reading fluently. Often these children are not detected in the early years of schooling because they generally sound like they are reading beautifully. It is not until the latter years of primary (or elementary school) when they are expected to read for understanding that they appear to be having problems with reading comprehension.   

One of the problems is that these children do not normally connect emotionally with what they read. Emotions are usually associated with mental imagery. For example, the events of 9/11 were emotionally charged and the images of the planes crashing into the twin towers have been firmly etched into our long-term memories. It is difficult to read or talk about these events without replaying those horrific scenes in the 'mind's eye'. These images are vivid because they are emotionally charged and are often referred to as flash bulb memories. Not all mental images are as emotionally charged as this example but often readers make the comment that the book seemed to 'come alive'. What they are really saying is that they became emotionally involved with the book and the imagined scenes seemed to play like a movie. This is because mental imagery facilitates emotional associations and links reading to life experiences. 

Watch this YouTube video to find out more about the role of mental imagery and reading.

Thus, the degree of involvement, enjoyment, and interest in reading are enhanced by the generation of images. 

To find out more about mental imagery read 'Dual Coding Theory and Education' at http://www.umich.edu/~rdytolrn/pathwaysconference/presentations/paivio.pdf