An important part of college learning is the ability to comprehend complex texts. Research indicates that epistemic beliefs--views about what knowledge is like and how people come to know--may guide readers' goals and behaviors. Metaphor is a tool for uncovering individual's beliefs. This article reports on a study examining 90 beginning…

Undergraduates report a variety of reasons for not reading assigned text(s), including confusion regarding instructors' expectations, while faculty report using reading as a major instructional tool and attest to the negative consequences of students' lack of reading. To bridge this divide, we propose Task-Oriented Reading Instruction (TORI) as a…

While educators believe reading is an investment in learning and knowing, what many are not considering is what reading analytically means to civic life in the digital age when many of the old gatekeepers of traditional publishing are disappearing. As new voices have emerged, and there is an explosion of reading material, there is also less…

We investigate student listening compliance, preference for audio versus print content, and exam performance when professionally produced podcasts are assigned as "readings" and provided in both audio and print formats. Listening/reading compliance for the assigned podcasts was high compared with figures reported in previous research.…

Extensive reading with graded readers has been proved to be an approach that helps learners improve their reading ability. However, only a few studies have explored the effects of additive extensive reading with other types of reading materials on struggling EFL learners. This study investigated the effects of Science and Research Association…

Studies show only 20 to 40 percent of students read assigned texts and are prepared for class discussions. To address this issue we created the "3-2-1 Reading Assignment," in which students engage in critical reading and deep learning by providing "three" points that summarize the text, "two" points that analyze it,…

Synthesizing theory from literacy scholars with strategies derived from classroom inquiry projects, "Rethinking Reading in College" argues for more--and more systematic--attention to the role of reading comprehension in college as a necessary step in addressing the inequities in student achievement that otherwise increase over time.…

This paper reports on the development and piloting of a new model of multiplechoice question (MCQ) assessment used in two undergraduate degree modules at a tertiary university. The new model was purposefully designed to promote deeper learning closely aligned with the SOLO taxonomy. Students were invited to participate in an exploratory…

Course readings play a crucial role in many college courses, but students often struggle to comprehend this material. Building on evidence that students benefit from playing the role of an editor when reading each other's writing, this exploratory study investigated whether they benefit from taking the same editorial stance to assigned readings.…

This paper reports on the effectiveness of Interactive Reading Comprehension Teaching (IRCT) in improving the oral English communication ability of Prince of Songkla University (PSU) undergraduates. It is based on a preand post-test quasi-experimental study employing IRCT, composed of self-study reading assignments and a structured peer-teaching…

We compared college students' learning from, and perceptions of, print and digital readings, with the goal of providing an informed recommendation for students and educators regarding best approaches for reading assignments. To add to the literature, we focused on a common experience in college -- reading an educational article -- in addition to…

This article presents a summation of the field's past contributions to understanding the nature of undergraduate reading practices and meaning making processes in relation to contemporary perspectives of disciplinary literacies. In presenting a synthesis of over 40 studies across interdisciplinary journals, the goal was to construct a generalized…

It is commonly accepted in the academy that developing a critical thinking capacity and related capabilities will make students more effective thinkers and writers, and that these are desirable traits for graduates to have no matter what path they take after graduation. While most academics agree that critical thinking is an essential component of…

The author presents self-report data from students in three upper-level undergraduate courses to illustrate the comparative effectiveness of different out-of-class assessment approaches in promoting completion and comprehension of reading assignments. Students reported agreeing or strongly agreeing that all three assignments motivated them to…

The literature reveals that no adequate instrument exists to measure college students' attitudes toward academic reading even though such attitudes are crucial for reading compliance and learning from text. To remedy this, the authors created and refined an attitude survey, administering it to 855 university students across four iterations. The…