Encouraging students to engage with course readings in meaningful ways is a consistent desire for many instructors. I can't express how many times I've heard the phrase, "students don't read..." from a plethora of instructors in various disciplines and at many levels in their teaching careers. It’s not so much that students don't read, but more likely it’s that they are not choosing to read the material offered for a particular class. "Deep" reading, sometimes referred to as "slow reading", is more intentional and often the concepts and ideas in the readings are more likely to be retained by students long-term.
Fortunately, there are several proven methods that encourage students to engage with course readings in a significant way. It’s not only important to get students to read the material but teaching them methods for retaining information are also important.
Always provide tangible options when introducing digital text. According to Katrina Schwartz, "Reading print media is undeniably different from reading digital content. Researchers have been trying to understand how and why people interact differently with the two media and have shown that when students read online they comprehend less. But there isn’t enough longitudinal data to know if those deficits can be remediated by learning strategies specific to digital content," (KQED.org). Always point students to an option to print their readings and also places on campus where printing might be free of charge.
Make information available in chunks. "The American Psychological Association (APA) defines chunking as the process by which the brain divides larger pieces of data into smaller units (chunks), so they are easier to retain in short-term memory," (BetterHelp.com). Chunking is essentially the difference between eating an entire burger in one bite as opposed to biting only one mouthful at a time. It’s sometimes overwhelming for students to see an entire article at once, in comparison to seeing only one paragraph at a time. Chunking works!
Use headers, links, graphics and highlighting. Making your data more visually appealing draws the eyes to the most important concepts and ideas, while at the same time creating a sharp distinction between topics to ensure that students are clear when the text transitions or provides a "call to action" option they may have ordinarily overlooked. Graphic novels are very popular with middle grade and young adult readers, simply because graphics provide a break from the monotony of text and allows their attention to relax before they engage with text again. Think of High Impact Interval Training (HIIT), this type of exercising, which allows for brief resting periods in between high impact movement, is said to be more effective than working hard nonstop. This method also helps students who tend to read in a non-linear fashion.
Try playful strategies like scavenger hunts. Another great way to get students to cover important readings before class discussions is to create homework assignments that ask specific questions about the placement of key terms. For example, if the word "foundation" appears in the readings twelve times, you might ask the students to summarize the paragraph where the word "foundation" appears for the sixth time. Or, you might challenge them to find a sentence that best explains what is meant by the word "foundation", and then have them share why they didn't choose two other sentences in the readings that seems close but were maybe not the best explanation. You could even ask them to find hidden phrases. This can be a fun way to encourage a playful approach to covering the readings.
Choose sensational material. It is very common for students to stop reading when the material is not intriguing or engaging. There is always a way to explain any subject matter in a way that awakens the interest of the reader. It is safe to say that most students aren't against learning new things but they do have a problem with boring approaches. This is an especially useful method when covering controversial topics. When students become emotionally invested in the readings, this not only promotes deep reading but also future independent research.
Create assessments that encourage deep reading. This method does require instructors to dig a bit deeper as it pertains to the types of questions on their quizzes and exams. Using essay questions are pivotal but do require more creativity and more grading time. However, the payoff is having students actually engage with the readings on a deep and meaningful level. This way students aren't likely to feel as though the readings are a waste of time since they can see a clear connection to their assessments. While reading the material for fun is the goal, often time constraints might sometimes hinder a student's ability to engage in leisurely reading. Make the readings count!
Students read all day, in fact. They use search engines to find message boards, blogs, articles and ebooks, where they often skim through, read deeply and then skim through again. Students seem to only want to spend time on material that is useful for them or captivating in some way. They do not however, spend a lot of time on reading class material just for the sake of it. Unfortunately, many assigned readings fall into the "just for the sake of it" category, and we want to do our best to shift this perception whenever we can.
Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS
Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence
Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)
Texas Woman's University
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