John Miedema

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Two significant measures related to VSR are reading rate and comprehension. Reading rate provides an objective measure of slow reading, and measures of comprehension point to the quality of a reading. In Carver’s (1990) seminal work on rauding theory he proposed five “gears” of reading: scanning, skimming, rauding, learning and memorizing. Unlike scanning or skimming, the third gear, “rauding” includes comprehension; it is what we normally think of as reading. (He calls it rauding because he views reading and auding – listening to words – as the same process). Learning and memorizing are slower and even more powerful than rauding. Carver found that most people reading a constant rate, their rauding rate, and it is best for comprehension of relatively easy material. When difficult material is encountered, individuals will temporarily shift down to slower rates of reading.

Carver’s depiction of the fourth and fifth gears as learning and memorizing seems incomplete given the diverse techniques already discussed for VSR, including not only word-by-word reading and rereading, but also contextual and structured analyses, selection of regional materials, group discussions and performance reading. Carver credited Yoakam (1928, cited in Carver, 13) who argued for four types of reading, with the fourth being called “careful reading, which included assimilative and analytic reading” (13). Yoakam’s types seem a better fit for slow reading and its multitude of methods.

Reference

Carver, Ronald P. (1990). Reading Rate: A Review of Research and Theory. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.