Posts Tagged ‘reading assignments’
December 16 - Making the Review of Assigned Reading Meaningful
By: Sarah K. Clark, PhD in Effective Teaching Strategies
The typical college student dreads hearing, “Let’s review the chapters you read for homework.” What generally ensues is a question and answer drill in which students are peppered with questions designed to make clear who has and hasn’t done the reading. In reality, these exchanges do little to encourage deep thought or understanding of the assigned reading. They produce awkward silences during which students squirm in their seats, hoping to become invisible. Other times students decline to answer for fear of giving the wrong answer. Almost all the time a negative tone permeates the classroom during this review. I decided to restructure the way that I approached reviews of reading assignments, and found that by doing things differently, I could change both the tone and outcomes of the review activity. I’d like to share some of the ideas and techniques that I have found useful:
October 31 - Using the Reader’s Guide to Increase Reading Compliance and Metacognitive Awareness
By: Tiffany F. Culver, Ph.D in Effective Teaching Strategies
For many college instructors, getting students to read their textbooks is a continuous struggle. Not only are students unmotivated to read, but even when students do read they often lack the necessary skills to fully comprehend the material. As a result, instructors may subtly or unwittingly communicate that reading the textbook is not necessary in order to pass a course. This communication can take the form of providing students with elaborate study guides or notes that summarize the reading or include all the answers to upcoming tests or quizzes.
January 13 - More on Students and Reading
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Effective Teaching Strategies, Teaching Professor Blog
Last week’s “Sink or Skim” blog post on students and reading generated some comments! Yes! Thank you!
Dave shared his daily quizzing strategy which he describes as “brief but challenging.” His approach includes several noteworthy design features. First, before the quiz students can ask him about anything in the chapter this is unclear to them. Then they take the 10 question multiple-choice quiz. After that they retake the quiz in groups of three and their score is an average of the two quiz scores.
October 12 - Students and Reading: Another Good Idea
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Faculty Development, Teaching Professor Blog
The quest to get students doing assigned reading and engaging with that material is one of those ongoing challenges faced by university and college teachers today. Simply assigning the reading, telling students to do it and making threats about what will happen if they don’t is rarely enough to get most of today’s students interacting
July 23 - 11 Strategies for Getting Students to Read What’s Assigned
By: Mary Bart in Free Reports, Teaching & Learning
Despite the correlation between reading and course success, many students try to do as little reading as possible. Whether your students struggle with the material or simply lack the motivation to read what’s assigned, this report will help ensure your students read and understand important course material.
May 14 - Is There a Place for Reading Lists in Today’s Curriculum?
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Curriculum Development
Given the difficulty most faculty have getting students to read for courses, even assigned reading in required textbooks, reading lists may not be used as extensively now as they were 20 years ago. Nonetheless, they still figure prominently in the delivery of independent studies, special topics courses, and senior and graduate seminars.
April 13 - Helping Students Understand What They Read
By: Lydia Conca, PhD in Effective Teaching Strategies
Many college students struggle with their reading assignments. As a teacher educator with expertise in reading development and disability, I find it useful to model effective reading strategies and provide immediate feedback on those strategies frequently used by students. One versatile method I use with undergraduates involves examination of what they underline (or highlight). Throughout the semester, I ask students to refer to their assigned readings and share with the class passages they underlined and reasons for their selection. In this way, the types of thinking that accompanies purposeful, active reading become more apparent.
