Increasing Reading Compliance of Undergraduates

Abstract

A common source of frustration for college instructors is getting their students to read. Since the 1970s, studies have shown that no more than 30 percent of students complete a reading assignment on any given day. But what can be done? What strategies can instructors use to make certain that their students read? Do pop or announced quizzes work better? Does it help to call on students randomly in class? To date, little systematic evidence exists concerning the relative utility of the many methods instructors use to encourage reading compliance. This study begins to address that lacuna. Specifically, using survey data collected in introductory sociology classes (N = 423), we examine how students evaluate seven commonly used methods ranging from announced quizzes to short writing assignments to being called on randomly in class. We find that students perceive mandatory and/or announced methods to be more effective in motivating them to complete reading assignments than unannounced or optional methods.

Exploring the Reading Practices of Undergraduate Students

“…The third theme that emerged in the data was that of Course structure. For example, students suggested they would read more if they were to be quizzed on material (see also Hatteberg & Steffy, 2013;Heiner & Wieman, 2014;Howard, 2004;Johnson & Kiviniermi, 2009). Another key theme was that Lack of time was a key factor that negatively affected reading habits.…”

“…Ryan, 2006), a lack of motivation and engagement (e.g. Derryberry & Wininger, 2008;Hatteberg & Steffy, 2013), poor attitudes towards reading (Marek & Christopher, 2011), a lack of confidence with reading (Lei, Bartlett, Gorney & Herschbach, 2010), and competing demands for students' time (e.g. Erdem, 2015;Hoeft, 2012;Marek & Christopher, 2011;Starcher & Profitt, 2011;Sharma, Van Hoof, & Pursel, 2013).…”

Reading Deeply for Disciplinary Awareness and Political Judgment

“…Undergraduate students need powerful reading habits so they are not struggling alone in their dorm rooms or at their kitchen tables. Coercion does not produce deep engagement with texts (Hatteberg & Steffy, 2013), nor are reading quizzes likely to require more than surface recall (Roberts & Roberts, 2008). Intrinsic motivation to read is rare in university students who may have had traumatic experiences with reading in high school and before.…”

Improving reading compliance with whole class qualitative quiz questions

“…A multi-faceted approach, including both academics and students (Starcher and Proffitt, 2013) and strategies that enable both surface and deeper levels of comprehension (Hatteberg and Steffy, 2013), should always be part of the wider learning design.…”

“…Non-compliance, when it comes to set reading, is widely recognised amongst teaching staff (Burchfield and Sappington, 2000;Starcher and Proffitt, 2013;Hatteberg and Steffy, 2013) and lecturers' perceptions of it appear to be reflected in the reality. Hatteberg and Steffy (ibid.…”