READING as a PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESS LESSON 3 Physiological

READING as a PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESS LESSON 3

Physiological Processes The functions of living organisms and their parts, and the physical and chemical factors and processes involved.

Here are known facts about reading: 1. Reading involves both an organic or physiological process and a mental or cognitive processes.

2. In the physiological process, the most basic step is for the eyes to see, identify, and recognize the printed word or image.

3. The light pattern from the printed symbols hit the foveal areas or closely packed sensory cell or the ritena.

4. In turn, this induces chemical changes that create patterns of nerve currents into the optic nerve fiber. 5. Then these currents travel to a center in the mid-brain.

transmits visual information from the retina to the brain.

6. The stage of reading revolves around the ability to identify and recognize words which are the smallest unit of visual identification and meaningful recognition. But the act of reading does not take place if the letters are perceived in isolation.

7. Finally, using the currents that travel to the mid-brain, the cerebral cortex interprets the symbols.

8. Studies show eye movement in reading with the eye perceiving and pausing on the printed material horizontally from left to right and top-to-bottom or right to left and bottom-to-top.

9. Scientific experiments have also shown that there are several eye movements: a. Fixation or the eye stopping or getting fixated on the word or words.

b. Inter-fixation or the eyes moving from stopping point to the other c. Return sweeps with the eye swinging back from the end line to the beginning of the next line.

d. Short quick hop and jump movements called saccades, done especially by literate people, to move ahead on a line of print.

e. Regression or backward right-to-left movement in case there is need to double check what is being read.

f. Span of recognition or the eyes’ recognition of the group of words. It is believed that readers can add to their reading ability by widening the span or recognition by means of chunking of phrases, a focus on the total word pattern. As the span widen, fixation decreases resulting in increased speed in reading.

LESSON 4

The mental or cognitive process in the perception of meaning is also known as Comprehension

2 basic steps in Reading Comprehension 1. the extraneous process that creates a stimulus on the visual centers of the brain. 2. fusion/interpretation/ construction or “meaning” by the mind out of the stimuli

2 steps involve other complex processes to include: * immediate arousal of associations in the recognition of the written symbols – their pronunciation, vocabulary meaning, context, ect. * other stimuli inclusive of what is kinesthetic or auditory.

* These stimuli are distributed to brain centers * Synthesis or the fusion or related inputs from brain centers resulting in the recognition of the meaning of the printed symbols.

Scientist have described the cognitive process in reading: “ Selecting and combining relevant items of experience that are implied by the immediate context, by the author’s mood, tone, or intention, and by everything the reader knows that makes clear the meaning of the passage” (Richards)

Levels of comprehension making us aware of faculties of the mind at work in each particular reading activity: 1. Literal 2. Interpretative 3. Applied 4. Evaluative

Scientist also make reference to meta-cognition which refers to higher comprehension skill characterized by: + Self-awareness + Careful reading and greater retention + making previous assumptions or hypothesis + the deliberate and combine ability to reflect, question, classify, summarize and predict + information reading which gives attention to SQ 3 R

Thank you for listening

Biology Online(2001) Physiological processes, http: //www. biologyonline. org/dictionary/Physiological_processes Wilipedia (m. d) optic nerve, http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Optic_nerve (2008)Reading as a Physiological Process, Lesson 3, Developmental reading, . . . pp. 13 -14 Villanueva, A. S. and Delos Santos R(2008)Reading as a Cognitive Process, Lesson 4, Developmental reading, . . . pp. 17 -19