NB I am part of the Learn Higher CETL - and my research focus is reading
and notemaking - so I would be extremely interested in sharing
successful reading (and notemaking) strategies and resources with
colleagues across the LDHEN!
--------------------------------------
Unfortunately reading is definitely something that the new student seems
NOT to be doing. There appear to be several interconnecting reasons for
the lack of time given to reading by so many of our students:
1. The entry into HE of the new, new student who tends to be younger and
either less motivated or with less to articulate than the more typical
non-traditional student we had before. The 'old' non-traditional student
tended to be motivated and to have something to say - and, importantly,
to know that they had something to learn about HOW to be a good
student. The new, new student may have come straight from school and
think that they know it all already.
2. The discourse created by the abolition of the student grant alongside
the imposition of direct costs on the student. Thus students are often
working for 20 plus hours per week and fitting in full time family life
also. The non-inducted student inaccurately reads this discourse as
'saying' to them that they can fit a full time degree around practically
full time work and all the other family and social commitments that they
had before. They barely make it to lectures and seminars let alone take
on the reading!
3. Certain subjects being perceived as predominantly vocational and thus
not academic and thus not requiring reading - here it is often Maths,
Computing, Business that are seen by students - but not by staff - in
this way!
In Learning Development we try to counter that with sessions on Reading
- initiating discussion on the following:
* Why do we read?
* How do we know what to read?
* How can we read effectively?
We also give an active, interactive and critical reading strategy (one
e.g., below) - and then give class time to the reading of a difficult
passage - such that there is no hiding place and no avoiding the issue.
Whilst often stressful, this often helps students to 'crack the reading
code'.
I have colleagues who take this a step further and build in seminar time
for writing about the reading - encouraging students to build references
and quotes appropriately into their reading...
I think that many of us in Learning Development think that the reason
that so many students 'cannot write' is that they do not read - hence
they are not excavating information - but neither are they assimilating
writing models.
Best,
Sandra Sinfield
London Met
(also - www.learnhigher.ac.uk)
One active reading strategy - in summary:
For each paragraph that you need to read in depth ask:
* What is this para about? Annotate
* Where is the writer coming from? Annotate
* Who would agree or disagree with this position? Annotate
* What is the argument? Annotate
* Who would agree or disagree with this argument? Annotate
* what is the evidence? Is it valid? How do you know? Annotate...
With the advice that on the first read through students annotate that
which they are reading - and only on the second read through do they
construct their SHORT notes.
LATER on the reading strategy can be supplemented with a writing
strategy - the paragraph questions:
1. what is this paragraph about?
2. what exactly is that?
3. tell me more (what is your argument on this topic in relation to the
essay question?)
4. what is your evidence - for and against?
5. what does the evidence indicate?
6. how does this relate back to the question as a whole?
best SS
Kate Smith wrote:
> Dear All
>
>
>
> One issue that lecturers have brought up several times at our PG Cert.
> in Learning and Teaching in HE sessions and in informal discussion is
> the difficulty in getting some students to ‘do the reading’ before they
> attend seminars and how their failure to do this impacts on their
> ability/willingness to participate. We would like to focus on this
> issue in next week’s session with lecturers. I have pasted below an
> example of the kind of advice that I have given and would be interested
> in your comments and further suggestions, including references of any
> articles or books that tackle this issue well.
>
>
>
> “My suggestions would be to design the seminar activity so that students
> need to have completed the reading to be able to take part. You might
> randomly select individuals to present a 1 min summary of their
> corporate report so that they need to do the preparation – this
> experience would be enough to encourage some students to do the work to
> avoid having to ‘wing it’ again. Students generally don’t like to be
> seen to be letting each other down so if they were working in groups and
> some hadn’t done the prep necessary to complete the group task this
> might serve to highlight that they are letting fellow students down.
> These interventions aren’t intended to humiliate individuals, just make
> the prep necessary and purposeful. If it isn’t, why do it? It may put
> some students off coming to the seminar if they haven’t prepared, but
> that is a different issue.
>
>
>
> Also, are you sure that they know what is expected and are able to carry
> out the task? You might ask them to check. You might also re-state the
> expectations of the seminar/module or negotiate what they need to
> prepare in order for you to run a useful session and establish a
> contract letting them know that this prep is their responsibility. Have
> you asked the group in general why they haven’t done the prep? E.g.
> “It’s clear that some of you haven’t prepared for this session by…. I’m
> interested to know why that is.” Then negotiate accordingly, if at all.
>
>
>
> Finally, do those who have done the work feel their effort is valued,
> are they thanked for their contribution? If the session is sabotaged by
> those (majority or minority?) that haven’t done the prep, those that
> have won’t bother in future, unless you make their effort worthwhile by
> rewarding them with a session that allows them to make use of their prep.”
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
>
>
> Kate
>
> Kate Smith
> Education Development Projects Manager
> Learning and Teaching Development Unit
> Ext. 65801
> http://intranet.brunel.ac.uk/ltdu/
>
>
>
--
Sandra Sinfield Coordinator Learning and Language Development
_______________________________________________________________________
The Learning Development Unit (LDU), London Metropolitan University,
North Campus, LC2-12, The Learning Centre, 236-250 Holloway Road, N7 6PP.
Direct line: call Sandra Sinfield: (020) 7 133 4045
[log in to unmask]
For LDU City Campus, contact: [log in to unmask]
or call Pam Dorrington on: (020) 7 320 1125
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/college-of-london/ldu/
_______________________________________________________________________
|
