Students often arrive at the University of Toronto overwhelmed by the immensity and density of their course readings; teaching effective reading strategies is one way for TAs and CIs to promote healthy, active reading skills that can enhance reading comprehension and retention, better preparing students for tests, exams, and essay research.
Why Promote Active and Effective Reading?
At the University of Toronto, much support offered by TAs and CIs centres around developing strong essay- and report-writing skills. While crucial to the university education, it is integral to recognize that students cannot mount arguments, synthesize knowledge, and/or display confidence with course materials if they cannot retain and effectively engage with assigned readings.
Active and effective reading strategies not only ensure that students are more confident in class, but can increase participation in tutorials and labs, and develop skills around engaging with difficult content and abstract ideas.
In short, as a TA or CI at the University of Toronto, promoting active and effective reading strategies can benefit your classroom community by preparing students to discuss materials in advance of class.
What is Active and Effective Reading?
As Briskin (2005) states, active reading “means seeking out its internal logic, identifying its strengths and weaknesses, and a developing a critical perspective on it.” Additionally, as the Open University notes, active reading means reading for your needs. This entails reading for specific topics, concepts, and ideas that are relevant to an essay you might be writing, a presentation you’re developing, etc.
Another way to think about active reading is as a sustained dialogue with the author (Landmark College, “Active Reading”). You might describe active reading to your students as a process of asking the text’s author hypothetical questions about their arguments and ideas, in order to promote question-asking and critical engagement that can lead to effective classroom participation and essay writing.
How Do I Promote Active and Effective Reading in My Classroom?
The TATP’s Active Reading Strategies is full of great active & effective reading exercises you can use in your classroom.
Exercises around active and effective reading strategies focus on three primary ideas:
- Time Management (Briskin 2005): Active and effective reading strategies and exercises can help students manage their time more efficiently. Often, students are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of readings they’re expected to undertake at the university level. Using techniques like selective highlighting, reading the introductory and conclusion paragraphs before reading the rest of the essay, and circling any key words or concepts while reading can be great strategies for reducing the total time a student spends with a text, while increasing retention.
- Asking Questions: Since active and effective reading strategies are founded on imagining a dialogue between the reader and the text’s author, students can develop incisive and critical questions from their reading. As a TA or CI, you might ask students to bring 2-3 questions about the reading(s) to class each week, motivating them to read effectively and critically, and increasing participation in your classrooms. Asking questions can also better prepare students for tests and exams, as it can clarify confusion ahead of testing.
- Increasing Retention and Understanding: Oftentimes, students do not retain much of what they read. Using active and effective reading strategies can help students retain and synthesize knowledge more efficiently, without having to do additional work, re-reads, etc. Some techniques that increase retention and understanding might be chunking texts into manageable segments; paraphrasing; drawing visual diagrams and mind maps; and pausing reading to “predict” what happens next (thereby encouraging the student to get inside the author’s argument). (See Monterey Peninsular College, “Active Reading Strategies”).
What Are Some Accessibility Considerations Around Active and Effective Learning I Should Be Aware Of?
Active and effective reading strategies are not “one size fits all.” It’s important, when promoting active and effective reading strategies in the classroom, not to suggest that certain techniques are “guaranteed” to improve all students’ critical reading abilities. In other words, we as TAs and CIs must always remain mindful of the principles of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA) while teaching. Suggesting that there is a standard pace at which students are expected to read could alienate students who are struggling due to various circumstances to keep up with course materials. Visit the TATP Toolkit on EDIA Principles for more on teaching for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility.
For instance, students who are English Language Learners (ELLs) might feel overlooked if a TA or CI were to suggest that “everyone” can read at the same rate, if only they were to use these activities and techniques. Please see the TATP’s Toolkit webpage for “Strategies to Help Multilingual Learners” for more on this.
Additionally, neurodivergent students might feel overlooked if a TA or CI suggested these techniques and strategies all benefited students in the same way. A student with ADHD or dyslexia might find certain exercises more confusing than helpful, while others might be incredibly influential and help them immensely. You might recommend that students liaise with an Accessibility Advisor to identify and practice strategies suited to their needs.
The goal, then, is to provide a series of exercises and techniques, and allow your students to select the exercises they feel best suit their learning style. You could send out Active Reading Strategies, and ask students to select one activity per week with which to read their assigned texts. This promotes self-directed learning and student resilience.
For more on Accessibility in teaching at the University of Toronto, please see the TATP’s Toolkit webpage, “Accessibility.”
Sources and References
Briskin, Linda. “A Guide to Active Reading and Asking Questions: A Handout for Students.”
Claybaugh, Amanda. “How to Read a Scholarly Monograph.”
Landmark College, “Active Reading.”
McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, Princeton University. “Active Reading Strategies: Analyze and Remember What You Read.”
Monterey Peninsula College, “Active Reading Strategies.”
The Open University, “Critical Reading Techniques.”
TATP Toolkit, University of Toronto. “Strategies to Help Multilingual Learners.”