Context & Scale
This pattern is concerned with meaningfully engaging students with course readings. Gradual and active engagement with reading materials is used to spark student curiosity and target students who typically have limited interest in academic texts. This pattern interweaves reading tasks as integral activities in the wider course design.
Problem
Educators have concerns about changing trends of student engagement with readings. The nature of student relationship, comprehension and engagement with readings is shifting, and on average only 20-30% of students read (Deale & Lee, 2021) the assigned course materials. Students rarely regard textbooks as a primary source of information; this is linked to increasing power of technology, media and apps affecting engagement.
The main reasons why university students struggle, and do not engage, with course readings are: (1) unpreparedness, (2) time constraint, (3) lack of motivation, (4) an underestimation of reading importance, (5) insufficient reading skills, (6) sociocultural aspects (Kerr & Frese, 2017). In addition, domestic and international students often have limited awareness of different reading strategies, e.g. skimming, reviewing, and their benefits.
Solution
In the early weeks of semester, the teaching team communicates clear expectations on what, how and why to read and their role in the wider course design. The readings should be carefully and purposefully selected to meet learning objectives and engage students. Depending on the frequency of readings, the unit should use the same template/structure/steps each week and thus build a participatory culture during the semester. When readings are provided, students are expected to complete a list of tasks to engage with readings on a learning management system (LMS) e.g. Canvas. We suggest three tasks: (1) Read the must-read pages, (2) Complete a short online activity, (3) Review and skim the full reading.
Implementation
Create a visually engaging template page on the LMS for students to use weekly or fortnightly. It should provide clear expectations, tasks and interactive tools to help students to engage with the reading content.
Template step 1: Read the must-read pages – a short excerpt (1-2 pages) of the full text is provided and embedded as an open PDF file on the LMS. Students can easily read the text without leaving the page.
Template step 2: Complete a short online activity – Students complete a brief online activity (e.g. Padlet, live poll, discussion board) about the must-read pages. The activity should provide options for students to reflect and share with, and learn from, other students.
Template step 3: Review and skim the full reading – students are expected to engage with the full text. Clear guidelines on how to engage with text, e.g. using strategies such as skim or critique, should be provided, and a direct link to the text (in the readings depository) should be highlighted. Depending on the context, step 2 could include activities/questions that relate to the step 3.
Active synchronous discussion – the artifacts from the online activity (Template step 2) should be used as the impetus for a facilitated class discussion by students and teaching team. Preferably, the discussion is enquiry-focused rather than check-your-understanding-focused.
Examples of pattern in use
International Business
This pattern was tested in a first-year post-graduate unit called IBUS5003: Global Business with 300 students and then reused with 1,500 students in the following semester.
This pattern was iteratively developed and implemented. We acknowledge the unit coordinator Vikas Kumar from the International Business discipline and the wider co-design team.
Description
In 2020 the unit was redesigned from face-to-face to blended mode delivery. The new design included 2 hours of self-paced online modules (including reading, videos, texts and a range of interactive activities) and a 1-hr tutorial each week. In occasional weeks, the unit coordinator delivered live classes which were linked to self-paced online learning. Students were required to complete the online work prior to coming to their tutorial.
Before the intervention, students were expected to read 2-3 articles referenced in the unit outline before attending the lecture. No guidelines were provided on how and why to engage with the texts and how they contribute to the wider or weekly course design. After the intervention, the second page on the LMS was designated to the course readings and associated tasks. The page included a clear rationale for readings, simple steps (tasks) on how to engage with them and opportunities to engage with individual and collaborative reflections.
Technology/resources used
Three reading tasks were used weekly and embedded directly into the LMS (Canvas) as the second page on the weekly online module. The page consisted of the designed structure, including weekly readings (1-2 articles), 3 reading tasks, the importance of weekly readings, guidelines on how to participate in collaborative reflections, and a collaborative tool. The Canvas page was used as a weekly template that integrated new articles and activity questions each week. The engagement with the tasks was optional and not assessed. However, the reading and activities were integrated in the weekly tutorials.
The following guidelines were provided to students. Each week they were expected to complete three tasks:
- Read the must-read pages – you must thoroughly read the highlighted 1-2 must-read pages. These pages will be embedded as a PDF on the required reading page for each week. See Week XX pages below.
- Complete a short online activity – you will then need to complete a brief online activity about the must-read pages to check and expand your understanding.
- Review and skim the full readings (reading reference and link) – you are expected to engage with the full readings each week.
Findings
Student survey data indicated that 94% considered the three readings task intervention as useful (includes ‘extremely’, ‘very’ and ‘moderately useful’), with a significantly large portion of students engaging with readings. The majority of students engaged with all weekly must-read pages, while there was a proportional increase of students who read full articles. Students described the reading tasks as “easy to understand”, “straightforward”, and “very useful and manageable”.
Although the engagement with full readings increased slightly, the majority of students read most, often all, must-read pages that addressed the key points of the article. The latter portion included those students who rarely, if ever, engaged with full course readings.
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