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…

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 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…

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…

We have incorporated an active-learning assignment, Reading Papers Using Key Sentences, in an upper-level Introduction to Chemical Research course. Although key sentences are typically used to help authors write with clarity and organization, we have found that this assignment helps students improve upon and practice reading journal articles for…

The authors maintain that developing an awareness of the skills and tasks involved in proficient reading is necessary in the middle grades and that success with these skills and tasks develops through peer interaction and meaningful activity, not through teacher-dominated discussion. To that end, in this column, the authors introduce the…

Using interviews and 10 weeks of consecutive lesson plans with supporting documentation, the author analyzes four first-year teachers' assigned in-class and out-of-class reading assignments and their choices and uses of reading strategies they learned in their preservice program. (Contains 2 tables.)

Investigates the effectiveness of improving the reading comprehension of sixth-grade social studies students through the use of metacognitive strategies. Finds that students who are instructed in the use of metacognitive strategies increase their reading comprehension more than students who do not receive such instruction. (MG)

Explains why rereading should be an integral part of instructional practice and student behavior. Recommends that teachers of secondary school students give students instructional guidance when asking them to reread a text. (MG)

Proposes that, in addition to demanding literal comprehension of reading materials, study guides should contain questions that require the type of critical reading that promotes interactive, constructive, and dynamic cognitive behaviors. Provides a sample of a general study guide that would promote these reading behaviors. (AEM)

When reading science texts, students often do not know what they know. Prereading activities can help students build bridges from the known to the unknown. Brainstorming will help students recognize their own prior knowledge on the subject and learn from hearing each other's responses. An anticipation guide is a teacher-generated list of questions…

Suggests that content reading teachers set goals for their reading assignments as a method of helping students learn from textbooks and read the assigned material critically.

To help achieve success, students must construct purposes for reading so that they can gain the appropriate kind of information while reading. After a student has set a purpose for reading, she/he may preview the material to be read. The next step is to read the material at an appropriate speed considering the purpose for reading and the nature of…

It is generally assumed that students possess the ability to apply abstract reasoning to content material in a variety of disciplines when they enter college. Yet many college students have not reached the level of formal operations defined by Jean Piaget; thus they experience difficulty in coping with their work. A solution to this dilemma can be…