Initial Publication Date: July 15, 2022

Reading with a Purpose

This activity is designed to be used in conjunction with a reading assignment. The aim is to prompt students to read more intentionally and draw out lessons that might help them succeed in their research projects. This activity can be used more than once. It could, in principle, be given in conjunction with every reading assignment for the course. It can also be used in conjunction with Reading for Research.

Download Reading with a Purpose (Acrobat (PDF) 56kB Oct14 22)

Background

The goal of this exercise is to help you learn how to learn about your own learning and how to make adjustments to learn more effectively. This process, called 'metacognition,' has been shown to improve student success in all sorts of ways, including boosts in reading comprehension, exam performance, and problem-solving. This exercise gives you an opportunity to learn about your own learning and apply those lessons to your research project.

 

Purpose of the exercise

This exercise is intended to help improve reading comprehension. Metacognitive students are effective as learners because they plan for success, monitor their progress, and make adjustments when needed.

 

Instructions

This exercise is being done in conjunction with a reading assignment. It comes in two parts. Answer the first set of questions before you do the reading and the second after you have completed the reading.

 

Part One: 

  1. What is your approach to completing assigned readings? Do you have a particular reading strategy? If so, please describe how it works.
  2. In your experience, how do reading assignments differ in different classes. For example, how does reading history differ from biology or literature differ from sociology?
  3. How much time should you budget for completing the reading assignment?
  4. Why do you think this reading might have been assigned? What do you think your instructor/research mentor hopes you will learn?
  5. How will you know if you have been successful?

 

Part Two:

  1. What did you learn from the reading? (Be specific.)
  2. How did you learn it (that is, what was your approach)? Did you use a particular strategy? If so, please explain.
  3. What kind of thinking was the reading asking you to do? How is that type of thinking different than that being asked in other classes?
  4. As you were reading, did you find yourself engaged in the material or distracted? If engaged, what was interesting about it? If distracted, then what might you do next time to limit distractions?
  5. Did you budget enough time to complete the reading? If so, how do you know it was enough? If not, what might you do differently next time?
  6. Identify the lessons will you take with you to the next reading assignment.