Motivating Students to Read and Write in All Disciplines
Overview
Integratingreadingandwritingimprovesstudentlearninginalldisciplinesbecauseitrequiresstudents
tobecomemoreactivelyengagedinwhattheyarestudying.Withthisengagementcomesgreater
academicsuccess,andthatinturnincreasesstudentmotivation.Importantastheyare,readingand
writingactivitiesneedtobecarefullymanaged.Simplyassigningreadingisnotenough.Studentsneed
guidanceinHOWtoread—guidancethatcollege-levelinstructorsarenotalwaysaccustomedto
providing.Similarly,writingassignmentsneedtobethoughtfullyconstructedtobeeffective.This
handoutdescribesgeneralconsiderationsthathighlighttheimportanceofmotivatingstudentstoread
andwrite,anditoffersstrategiesthatyoucanuseinyourcoursestointegratereadingandwritinginall
disciplines.
General Considerations
Effectiveintegrationofreadingandwritinginanyclassbeginswithhelpingstudentsbuilduponwhat
theyhavealreadylearnedfrompreviouscoursesorothersourcesof“old”information.Another
foundationalprincipleformakingreadingandwritingcentralinlearningistoremindstudentsoftheir
personalinvestmentinwhattheyarelearning,particularlyasitconnectswiththeirlong-term
professionalgoals.Arelatedprincipleemphasizestheideathatacademicknowledgehaspracticaluse
outsidetheuniversity.Analogiesandexamplesfromeverydayknowledgecansetupapositivesocial,
emotional,andintellectualclimate,whichcanmotivatestudents.
Becausebothreadingandwritingarecognitiveprocessesthathelpstudentsmakesenseoftheirworlds,
theyworkbestwhentheyarecloselyconnected.Effectivereading-writingconnectionshelpstudents
synthesizecoursecontentandassessnewinformation.Tofostereffectivereadingandwriting,you
should:
• Makesurethatstudentsunderstandhowtoreadefficientlyandwhytheyarewriting.
• Identifyandteachcriticalanddiscipline-specificreadingandwritingskills.
• Allowtimeandopportunitiesforpractice.
• Providefeedbackthatfostersfurtherintegrationofreadingandwriting.
IntegratingReadingandWritingtoImproveStudents’CriticalLiteracy
Readingisawayofunderstandingwritingthatcomesfromadifferentpointofview,anditismost
beneficialwhenitallowsstudentstosynthesizeandevaluaterhetoricalstrategiesandpurposes.
Writing,likewise,isawayofreproducingprocessesofsynthesisandevaluationforrhetoricalpurposes.
Inordertoimprovestudents’criticalliteracy,youcan:
•
•
•
•
ProvideanAppropriateLevelofChallenge:Studentslearnbestwhenyousetupreasonableyet
challenginggoalsthatbuildontheliteracyskillsstudentsalreadypossess.Onewaytobeginisto
offermodelsofgooddiscipline-specificwriting,explainingwhatmakesthewritingeffective.
Analyzingmodelsandanti-modelsofeffectivewritingcanmotivatestudentstoreadsources
withacriticaleyeandtoperformwritingtaskswithmoreconfidence.
AllowSufficientTimetoPractice:Thismeansdevotingclasstimetoreading/writingactivities,
notjustexpectingstudentstodothemoutsideoftheclassroom.Someinstructorsresistusing
classtimefortheseactivitiesbecauseitcanreducethetotalamountofmaterialcovered,but
theemphasisonstudentreflectionthatisfosteredbyintegratingreadingandwritingoften
yieldsdeeperlearning.
EvaluateStudents’ReadingandWritingPractices:Manylow-stakeswritingassignmentsdonot
needtobegradedformally,butstudentlearningwillbeenhancedwhenyouprovidefeedback.
Onewaytodothisistomodelresponsesforthewholeclass,explaininghowyouwouldreada
particulartextorpassage,andhowyouwouldwriteaboutit—makingsuretoexplainwhysuch
strategiesareeffectiveandhowtheyachievethedesiredresult.
EngageinPeer-ReviewExercises:Whenencouragedtosharetheirwork,studentscanacquirea
senseofcommunitylinkedtoreadingandwriting.Youcanprovidespecificguidelinesforpeer
reviewsothatstudentscanreinforcediscipline-specificapproachestoreadingandwriting.For
moreinformationonpeerreview,seethe“UsingPeerReviewtoImproveStudentWriting”
handoutontheSweetlandCenterforWritingwebsite.
In Practice
Inthissection,wefocusonactivitiesandexercisesthatyoucanuseinyourcoursestomotivate
studentssothattheycanintegratereadingandwritingpractices.Thesestrategieshavebeencollected
fromseveralsources,andtheycanbeappliedtoalldisciplines.Forfurtherinformationonthese
resources,seethereferencesattheendofthisdocument.
Strategy1:“Read-to-Learn”and“Write-to-Learn”Exercises
Youcanengagestudentsinexercisesthatusewritingtoimprovereadingandexercisesthatusewriting
tohelpstudentsshapetheirideas.
• Askstudentstowriteintheirtexts:Studentsaretoooftenpassivereaders.Iftheyare
instructedtowritenotesinthemarginsoftheirbooks—wheretheycanchallengenewnotions
oraskquestions—thereadingprocessbecomesfarmoreactive.Furthermore,whenwritingin
themargins,studentsfindthatthereis“room”onthepagefortheirconversations—avisual
reminderthatalltextsarepartofanongoingdiscussionandarenotthelastwordonagiven
subject.
• Requirestudentstowriteshortresponsepapers:Youmightallowthesebriefwritingexercises
tobeconnectedtooneparticularpassageinthetext(ofthestudents’choosing).Shortresponse
•
•
•
papersnotonlyencouragestudentstowritetheirwaytowardsamorecompleteunderstanding
ofthetexts,theycanalsoserveasthebasisformoreproductiveclassdiscussions.
Assigndiscoverydrafts:Thoughithelpsifyoucanprovidesomedegreeoffocus,discovery
draftsareessentially“free-writing”exercises,inwhichstudentssitdownatthecomputerand
allowthemselvesto“thinkoutloud”onaparticulartopic.Discoverydraftsareespeciallyuseful
ifstudentsareencounteringneworchallengingideas.Discoverydraftshelpstudentsbecome
acquaintedwiththephrasingsandnuancesofdifficultorunfamiliarmaterial.
Assignin-classfree-writingassignments:Presentstudentswithatopic(orletthemcomeup
withtheirown)andallotfifteenminutesofclasstimeforfree-writing.Thenusewhatstudents
havewrittentoguidetheclassdiscussion.
Askstudentstosharetheirwrittenreactionstothereading:Studentscanexchangetheir
“marked-up”textsandnoteswithotherstudents,sothateachcanseethekindofactive
readingtheothersaredoing.
Strategy2:TheInventionJournal
Theinventionjournalisaplacewherestudentsarefreetorecordinwritingtheirprogressioninthe
class.Itisalsoaplacewherestudentscanexpresstheircreativitybyestablishingconnectionsand
generatingideas.Themotivatingfactorinaninventionjournalisthatitisnot,perse,partofaspecific
assignment,butitworksasapreparationforother,morestructuredassignments.
Insuchajournal,studentscan:
• Generateideasforaprojectorassignment.
• Analyzelinesofreasoningandwaysofthinkingthatareimportantwithintheproject.
• Analyzetheiraudienceandtheirownperceptionofthataudience.
• Recordandplanfurtherresearch.
• Planforandanalyzestrategiesforcompletingaprojectorassignment.
• Recordtheirownpersonalreactionstothetasktheyareaddressingandtheirprogressonthe
task.
• Beginorganizingandcomposingtheirprojectsintheformtheywillultimatelytake.
• Recordthefeedbackreceivedfromyouandothersduringpeer-critiqueactivities.
Strategy3:TrainingStudentstoReadLikeaWriter
Youcanaskquestionstohelpstudentsreadlikeawriter,i.e.readingtoseehowsomethingis
stylisticallyandargumentativelyconstructedsothatstudentscanusesimilarstrategies.Youcanuse
thesequestionstostartclassdiscussion,andtheyoftenserveasagoodstartingpointformodeling
strategies.Whenencouragingstudentstoreadlikeawriter,havethemaddressquestionssuchasthese:
• Whatistheauthor’spurposeforthispieceofwriting?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Whoistheintendedaudience?
Howeffectiveisthelanguagetheauthoruses?Isittooformal?Tooinformal?Perfectly
appropriate?
Whatkindofevidencedoestheauthorusetosupporthis/herclaims?Doeshe/sheuse
statistics?Quotesfromfamouspeople?Personalanecdotesorpersonalstories?Doeshe/she
citebooksorarticles?
Howappropriateoreffectiveisthisevidence?Wouldadifferenttypeofevidenceorsome
combinationofevidencebemoreeffective?
Arethereplacesinthewritingthatyoufindconfusing?Whatmakesthewritinginthoseplaces
unclear?
Howdoestheauthormovefromoneideatoanotherinthewriting?Arethetransitions
betweenideaseffective?Howelsemighthe/shehavetransitionedbetweenideas?
Whatrhetoricaltechniquesdoestheauthoruse?Aretheyeffective?Whatwouldbethe
advantagesanddisadvantagesifyoutriedthesesametechniquesinyourwriting?
Strategy4:LearningRecords
TheLearningRecord(LR)requiresstudentstogather,organize,analyze,evaluate,andreportevidence
oftheirprogressandachievement.Whileitoffersaconsistentstructurefororganizingandpresenting
thisevidence,itdoesnotconstraineitherthecontentsorthemethodsbywhichtheevidenceis
produced.TheprinciplesoftheLRmodelincludereviewofdiverseformsofinformationaboutstudent
learningovertime,includingsamplesofstudentworkandstudents’reflectionsonwhattheyknowand
cando.
TheprocessofkeepingtheLRbeginswiththestudentcreatingaBackgroundDocumentbyestablishing
thestudent’slearninghistoryfromtwosources:aninterviewaboutthestudent’sdevelopment
conductedbythestudentwithsomeonewhoknowsthestudentwell(aparent,ateacher,afriend),and
thestudent’sreflectionabouthisorherdevelopment(PartA).
Thenextstepistogatherworksamplesasongoingevidenceoflearning,includingtaperecordingsof
performances,draftsofpapers,sketchesanddiagrams,diagnostictestresults,quizzesorexams,linksto
onlinematerials,andothersamplesofstudentwork.
IntheanalysisportionoftheLR(PartB),studentsinterpretthisevidenceintermsofthecourse
objectivesandfivedimensionsoflearning:
• Confidenceandindependence
• Knowledgeandunderstanding
• Skillsandstrategies
•
•
Theuseofpriorandemergingexperience
Reflectiveness
InthefinalsectionoftheLR(PartC),studentsdevelopanevaluation,comparingtheevidenceintheLR
withgradecriteriathatyoudefined.Youthenrespondtotheevidence,theanalysis,andthestudent’s
estimatedgradewiththefinalevaluation.
Thus,theLRiswellsuitedtoassesscollaborativework,creativeinquiry,onlineprojects,andotherkinds
ofworkthatareusuallyconsidereddifficulttoevaluate.Itisalsowellsuitedforevaluatingstudentswho
comeintotheclasswithdifferentsetsofskillsandbackgroundexperience,orphysicalorlearning
disabilities.
Strategy5:ThePrécis
Challengestudentstowriteaneffectiveprécisonanassignedreadingorontheirowndrafts.Aprécisis
designedtoreflectthestructureofatext’sargument;itisnotjustasetofnotesonthetext’scontent.
Typicallyaprécishasthreesections:
SectionOne:astatementaboutthetext’sfocus.Thisisthemainissuethatthetextaddresses.Students
writeaconcisestatement(1-2sentences)onthatfocus.Studentsshouldnotincludejournalistic
commentary,orexamples,orevaluations.Theyshouldjuststatethetopicofthetext.
SectionTwo:astatementoflogicandgoal(thetext’sintent).Thisstatementwillintroduceachartwith
headingsencompassingthetext’sdataintwoparallelcolumnsofnotes(usuallywithpagereferencesto
thereading).
Challengestudentstoidentifythelogicpatterninthetext,andthenhavethemarticulatethatlogicin
writing.Forexample,theycanbeencouragedtocompletecriticalsentencessuchasthese:
“Byexaminingthesourcesof_____________,theauthorshowstheconsequencesof
_____________.”
“Inorderto_______________,thetextcorrelatesthe_____________and_____________of
______________.”
Encouragestudentstorecognizeanduseverbsthattypicallyindicatelogic:compare,contrast,link
causally,cause,followfrom,etc.
Afterrecordingtheirideasonlogicpatterns,studentswritetwocolumnheadingstocreateclassesof
informationthattheauthorsystematicallycorrelateswitheachother.Undertheseheadings,students
canaddthreeorfourexamplesthatillustratethelogicpattern.
SectionThree:aparagraph(about3sentences)indicatingtheimplicationsoftheinformationpattern.
Thisisnotadescriptionoftheinformationpatternorfocus,butratheranextensionofthecovert
statementimpliedbytheinformationandpattern.Thatis,whatisthistextgoodfor?Insettingthe
argumentupthisway,whatisbeingasserted,hidden,orbrushedaside?Whatisneworold-fashioned
aboutthecorrelationsmade?Whowouldprofitmostbythisarrangement?
Strategy6:ReadingandWritingintheClassroom
Onestrategytoaccumulatepracticeinreadingandwritingistocreateatleastonewritingassignment
atthebeginningoftheterminwhichstudentsareaskedtoanalyze—ingroupsandinclassthrough
guideddiscussion—howanargumentinthespecificsubjectareaisconstructed.Then,youcanusewhat
studentshavewrittentofurtherclassdiscussion.
Amodifiedversionofthisstrategy,ifyourcourseincludeslectures,istoaskstudentstowritenotes
duringthelecture.Takingnotesmightsoundlikeagiven,butmanystudentsdonotknowhowtotake
effectivenotes,ortheytakenotesthatdonotreflecttheargumentofthelecture.Afteralecture,it
wouldbebeneficialtoorganizeagroupactivityinwhichstudentssharenotes.Youcanspendsomeclass
timegoingthroughexamplesofclassnotes,explainingwhysomenotetakingiseffectiveandsuggesting
improvementswhereneeded.
Resources
Ambrose,S.A.,Bridges,M.W.,DiPietro,M.,Lovett,M.C.,Mayer,R.E.,&Norman,M.K.(2010).How
LearningWorks:SevenResearch-BasedPrinciplesforSmartTeaching.SanFrancisco,CA:Wiley.
Arens,K.,&Swaffar,J.(n.d.).FormatforPrécis.TheUniversityofTexasatAustin.Retrievedfrom
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/arens/can(n)on/PrecisTypes.pdf
Bunn,M.(2011).Howtoreadlikeawriter.InC.Lowe&P.Zemliansky(Eds.),Writingspaces:readings
onwriting,Volume2(pp.71-86).Anderson,SC:ParlorPress.
Ericsson,K.A.,Krampe,R.T.,&Tescher-Romer,C.(2003).Theroleofdeliberatepracticeinthe
acquisitionofexpertperformance.PsychologicalReview,100,363-406.
Greene,S.(1991).Miningtextsinreadingtowrite.OccasionalPaper,29,n.pag.
Horning,A.S.(2007).Readingacrossthecurriculumasthekeytostudentsuccess.AcrosstheDisciplines,
4.RetrievedJuly2,2013,fromhttp://wac.colostate.edu/atd/articles/horning2007.cfm
Syverson,M.A.(2006).Areferenceguideforthelearningrecord.TheLearningRecord.Retrievedfrom
http://www.learningrecord.org/olr.html
UsingPeerReviewtoImproveStudentWriting.(n.d.).SweetlandCenterforWriting.Retrievedfrom
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/sweetland