Goals for student learning:
- Read carefully and with understanding
- Understand intellectual or disciplinary debates
- Gain a conceptual framework for in-class discussions or problem solving
Be aware that:
- Students, especially students new to your field, may complete a reading assignment quickly or shallowly.
- Students may divide up lengthy reading assignments with classmates or consult existing study guides rather than completing the reading on their own.
To encourage deep, honest, and active engagement:
- Provide students with guidance on and resources for how to read in your field; share your own reading and note-taking practices with them.
- Prioritize weekly reading assignments for students. What’s most crucial for them to complete?
- Situate a particular reading in its context or contexts (disciplinary, historical, etc.).
- Advise students on whether or how to use online synopses, syntheses, or reading guides that may be available to them.
Assignment types and examples:
- Weekly reading
- Close reading, listening, or “seeing”
- Case reading
- Observations/fieldwork
- Scientific reading
- Reading for context
- Reading for research
Resources for students:
Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams, The Craft of Research (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008)
BSC Resources on Reading
Amanda Claybaugh, “How to Read a Novel” and “How to Read a Scholarly Monograph”
Harvard Library: Research Guides on Reading Habits
Michael Mitzenmacher, “How to Read a Research Paper”