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This article explores the role of reading activities in online learning.

What Are They?

Long a staple in academic endeavors, the type of reading that takes place in a course is what Cull (2011) refers to as “a sustained and in-depth... contemplative cognitive activity.” Readings from one or more textbooks, online sources, or content written within the learning management system all fall into this category.

Why Use Them?

In all its forms, reading serves to inform students with baseline knowledge, helping them reach the initial levels of Bloom’s taxonomy (remember and understand) before moving on to higher levels such as analysis or evaluation. Reading is a great vehicle to deliver complex concepts, but it is participation in the learning activities that come after reading where students would begin to apply the concepts, analyze them, etc.

Best Ways to Use Them?

Ideally, you will want your students to be engaged while reading! You can design later activities based upon the reading, such as a discussion forum calling for an analysis of a case study or a private journal post that asks students to share their “muddiest point.” Alternatively, your students will also benefit if you provide small suggestions for remembering and thinking about what they read. Inviting students to jot down a 1-minute reflection or complete a compare and contrast analysis on specific points, for example, can go a long way toward bringing students to think critically about the reading.

Planning for Reading Activities

Make readings count. If you are using a textbook, consider whether students will need to read every chapter, or whether you must adjust the sequence of chapters to better support course goals. If you want to use only certain chapters from books, consult with an Albertsons Library librarian regarding delivery formats that comply with fair use and copyright restrictions.

Why Students Don't Do the Reading

When students in an online class fall behind on assigned reading, they find it very difficult to catch up. It's important to think about the reasons why students are not reading and develop strategies that support students to be successful in this area. Here are some common reasons why students don't do the reading:

  • Failure to use or adjust reading strategies for different purposes

  • Difficulty with complex syntax, the structure of an argument, jargon, lack of prior knowledge or vocabulary

  • Difficulty seeing themselves in conversation with the author

  • Not held accountable

    • The purpose for the reading or how it will be used is unclear

    • Peripheral or not integrated within discussions, assignments, or assessments

    • The course emphasis on personal experience suggests that the author's content is unnecessary

    • Acceptable grades are possible without reading

    • Instructor materials restate key points making reading unnecessary

  • Too much reading assigned

  • Lack of planning or self-regulation

There are many ways to get students engaged in the reading. Instructor guidance regarding the relevance, application, and integration of the reading in subsequent course activities is essential. Students may also significantly increase the value of reading by using effective reading strategies. 

The most common ways educators use to build reader engagement call for reflections that may or may not be submitted for a grade:

  • One-minute paper - Ask students to write for one minute on a question after the reading, such as “What did you learn from this reading?”

  • Muddiest point - Ask students to write a journal post (a blog that is open only between you and the learner) stating the most confusing point they are still mulling over from the reading.

  • Homework - Provide a list of key terms and questions that help students develop notes on key concepts, or have them create a concept map.

  • Concept maps - Ask students to draw a concept map before reading, reflecting on preconceptions and prior knowledge they bring to the topic.

  • Reading strategies - Suggest reading strategies such as 3QR that students should use and ask them to reflect on the gains made on using them.

  • Self-evaluation surveys - Have students evaluate their ability to describe, explain, or outline the concepts, principles, or key points made in the reading. Alternatively, have them report on their use of prescribed reading strategies.

If you would like to explore additional suggestions for getting students to engage with the reading, take a look at the following (extensive) list of interactive learning techniques by Kevin Yee of the University of Central Florida (the list of actions that students can take begins with No. 31): Interactive Techniques.

Designing for Reading Activities

If you are writing your own text within the learning management system, best practice suggests that you organize the text into appropriate chunks, or sections, and then add headings. This approach is conducive to learning most any time you are writing, but especially so in an online course. Research shows that Web users scan more than they read (Nielsen, 1997). 

Consider giving students cues as to the main points they should gain from a reading; listing your objective(s) will be appropriate, of course, but you can take this framing of the mind a step further by offering terms or concepts that will help students make sense of what they read.

This 1-page handout created by the University of Victoria summarizes key points for designing reading activities:

Designing Reading Activities and Assignments

OPTIONAL: If you wish, take a look at any of the following for more information:

References

Example Reading Activities

Example 1

Reading Prompt from HLTHST 101 Medical Terminology Course at Boise State University

Estimated time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

  1. Read Chapter 01: The Structure of Medical Language.

    • Create index cards for all terms.

    • At the end of each chapter, you will find the Chapter Review Exercise. Use this section of the textbook to test your knowledge of the chapter by completing the review exercises.

Note: Use the answer key at the end of the book to check your answers.

Example 2

Reading Prompt from UF100 Intellectual Foundations Course at Boise State University

Your first step each week should be to get started on the assigned readings for the course.  Don't worry if you feel confused or frustrated by the readings; you can be sure you're not the only one in the class who feels that way!  These are difficult readings, and we don't expect you to understand them completely on your first time through; we still don't have them mastered ourselves. Although we do want you to understand the main ideas that Plato presents in both dialogues, we're much more interested in the thoughts and questions that they raise for you about what effects education can have on one’s character.

In Meno, pay attention to the way that Socrates keeps pushing Meno to think through his statements and make sure he means what he says.  This style of teaching called the Socratic Method, has been used for centuries to help teach people how to think critically and to communicate effectively.  Do you think it works in this case? Does Meno actually learn anything from the dialogue?  Do you?

In Protagoras, it appears that Socrates changes his mind about whether virtue can be taught.  What makes him change his mind?  Is this change of opinion consistent with the views he shares in Meno, or is he just a "flip-flopper"?

Example 3

Reading Prompt from UF100 Intellectual Foundations Course at Boise State University

John Locke was one of the most important philosophers of all time, not least because of the huge effect his thoughts had on the Founding Fathers of the United States.  He was part of a larger cultural movement called "The Enlightenment," which emphasized humans' ability to reason through problems and solve them with logic, not just with emotion.  His thoughts about education are closely tied to his political belief in the natural rights of people to pursue their lives in liberty.

As you read through Locke's essay, pay attention to the assumptions Locke makes about young people's ability to learn and the ideal conditions for this learning to take place.  Which of his ideas do you agree with?  Which seem impractical or undesirable to you?

Example 4

Reading Prompt that Draws on Students' Prior Knowledge of the Subject

The next reading covers a topic you may be familiar with from previous courses in this subject area. Before you begin the reading, I'd like you to prepare a concept map illustrating your understanding of the underlying issues and factors that impact the magnitude of the issue in the online learning environment. The central issue or concept to unpack is Academic Dishonesty. 

Follow these instructions for Creating Diagrams or Concept Maps With Google Docs and create a concept map. Begin your concept map with an Academic Dishonesty shape in the center. Add factors, subtopics, facts or examples on lines that radiate from the center. Save your concept map as a jpeg file, and paste it in a Word document for later reference.

Example 5

Reading Prompt to Build Good Reading Habits

Though flexibility is a feature of online learning, too much flexibility can encourage lax participation. Establish and maintain a weekly schedule to complete your readings in this course.

As you read, take careful notes, make annotations, and so on. Unless otherwise instructed, skipping around or simply skimming the text will make it difficult to capture the finer points that you will use in the next activity. Taking good notes and making annotations will prepare you for the weekly reading quiz, the first weekly writing activity, and the initial discussion post. You may also want to review those activities now before you begin reading.

[add instructor guidance establishing reading relevance here]

Assigned Reading

  • Library permalink 

    • __text, Chapter ##

    • Title of linked web page  article 

Resources

To get the most out of your reading, the strategies on reading and writing at the college level in this interactive, multimedia text may be helpful: The Word on College Reading and Writing.

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