"Not reading," even for many good students, has become a mode of operation with respect to book-length texts assigned in school. Many students enter secondary and postsecondary literature classes "intending" to "not read" the books teachers assign. More students than teachers want to admit do not complete assigned reading, choosing instead to…

This study explored the relationship between reading for pleasure and creativity. University students (N = 225) completed measures of reading for pleasure and creativity (SCAB). The results indicated that reading for pleasure was significantly, positively correlated to creativity. Implications for the classroom are explored, including possible…

At the college level, the effectiveness of active-learning interventions is typically measured at the broadest scales: the achievement or retention of all students in a course. Coarse-grained measures like these cannot inform instructors about an intervention's relative effectiveness for the different student populations in their classrooms or…

Thousands of U.S. faculty travel abroad each year to teach host-country students (George, 1995). This study explores the "teach-abroad classroom", defined as "the teaching and learning processes and interactions between faculty and students" in this learning environment (George, 1987, 1995; Slethaug, 2007). Faculty and student…

Academics often treat students' discipline-specific literacy as unproblematic. In doing so they may underestimate the difficulties for university students as they move between subjects of study that may involve different disciplines, language genres and academic practices. This paper describes an initiative aimed at supporting students in reading…

A reading-writing initiative began in 2011-12 at the University of Toronto as a partnership between an East Asian Studies (EAS) department and an English Language Learning (ELL) Program. In this institution, students are expected to enter into scholarly discussions in their first year essays, yet many (both native English speakers and non-native…

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between student beliefs regarding instructor-imposed activities to encourage student use of course textbooks and Life Orientation (i.e., dispositional optimism or pessimism). A convenience cluster sample (n = 105) was obtained from students taking summer classes at a regional state…

Asserting that cognitive maps can serve as a technique to review course readings in a small group format and allow students to both become familiar with course content and learn group processes. A sample map and evaluation sheet are also provided. (EV)

College science teachers know that students get the most out of class if they have completed the assigned reading. To reinforce this expectation, we ask our introductory physics students to submit a question they had about the reading. In this paper we describe the rationale and logistics of this assignment. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

The author of this article relates how she presents a lesson she termed as "Arthurian Information Quest" to her college-level children's literature class. To have an idea of how books on King Arthur affect her students, the author asks them to read one of the numerous books on the topic and asked them write their personal responses prior to…

In a detailed analysis of the reserve book collection at the University of Alberta, it was found that students made more extensive use of material assigned frequently in small amounts than when all of the material was assigned on only one occasion. (Author)

Outlines the many benefits of humor. Describes a reading and writing strategy to help at-risk college students reduce stress, appreciate the humor in many areas of college life, and use reading and writing about humorous college situations as a tool for developing critical thinking. Describes an application of the strategy. (SR)

This study examined self-monitoring strategies used by both developmental and non-developmental college students. Students were asked to describe how they know when they have completed a reading assignment, have studied enough for a quiz, and have studied enough for an examination. It was anticipated that at the beginning of the semester, the…

Three studies evaluated a method for developing prior-knowledge structures that prepares students to learn from a text or lecture. Findings indicate that there is a place for lectures and readings in the classroom if students have sufficiently differentiated domain knowledge to use the expository materials in a generative manner. (TJQ)

A number of professors of English comment on the reading requirements of their departments, the amount of reading done by their students, and the ability of their students to handle the reading load. They also contrast their opinions against past practice and student ability of the 60's and early 70's. (RK)