2008 Woodie Awards
Reading key to college success
Elena Harding
Issue date: 11/12/07 Section: News
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His goal is to get a master's degree in international relations and become secretary-general for the UN.
His name is Tolbert Oringi and he is one of many students who have been placed into Developmental Reading.
Developmental Reading is part of developmental studies in the Communications Division at Brookhaven College. To determine if students need developmental classes Brookhaven administers a nationally standardized test, the Accuplacer. The developmental classes are non-credit classes and are non-transferable.
Monique Mannering, professor and coordinator of Developmental Reading, said she is currently teaching two fast-track courses. Fast-track courses allow students to complete two levels of reading in one semester.
Mannering said when students exit the developmental reading program they should be prepared for college-level classes with heavy reading loads.
Oringi took the fast track of Developmental Reading with Mannering his first semester at Brookhaven. Oringi said she motivated and encouraged him to come to school. One of the things Oringi learned in this class is how to study by reading with purpose.
Mannering describes this process as first determining why a student is reading a textbook and then keeping that purpose in mind.
She said this also includes teaching students not to let their minds wander and think of other things while reading.
Oringi said this class has not only helped his studies, it has benefited his everyday speech. He said he can now speak more concisely.
Reading has even helped him with his job, he said. Now when he is coaching someone he can shorten his instructions to "follow through" and "backhand" instead of describing these motions.
Mannering said, "I think the data shows that they [students who have exited the developmental reading program] do better than students who haven't had that extra semester of developmental reading or writing."
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