Why

don’t

they

read???

Hoeft, Mary E. (2012) "Why University Students Don't Read: What Professors Can Do To Increase Compliance," International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Vol. 6: No. 2, Article 12.

Whose responsibility is it to ensure reading compliance?

Different findings regarding reading compliance of first-year students

• Burchfield & Sappington (2000) <25%• Clump, Bauer & Bradley (2004) 27.46%• Connor-Greene (2000) 72% rarely

or never

Overall, only 20-30% of students have done the reading on any given day. (Hobson, 2004)

Data collection of the current study

• Two sections of 1st yr seminar• Large section n=100• Small section n=24• Small, 2-yr liberal arts college• Self report survey, administered

3x/semester– Readers/non-readers– Comprehension tested through open-

ended “paraphrase” prompt

Percent of students who did not read

Large Class (n=100)

Small Class (n=24)

Early semester

56 38

Mid semester 55 56

Late semester

52 68

Why?

Readers• Concern over grade• Respect for prof• Interest in course• Concern over

testing• Concern over what

the prof thinks of me

• Fear of being called on

• Interest in topic

Non-readers • Work schedules• Social life• Lack of interest

in topic• Dislike reading

of any kind• Lazy

One big problem… …Only 55% of

compliant readers were judged to have understood the material

“Armed with a yellow highlighter but with no apparent

strategy for using it and hampered by lack of

knowledge of how skilled readers actually go about

reading, our students are trying to catch marlin with

the tools of a worm fisherman” (Bean, 1996, p. 133).

And another…

…Non-readers say

– Remind us! (and make it interesting)

– Give Quizzes– Give supplementary

assignments

Study 2: Test of students’ recommendations

• Three-course learning community (two teachers)

• Same 24 first year students in each course

• Different treatment for each course• Test of comprehension

Study 2: Test of students’ recommendations

Course Treatment Compliance

Comprehension

Public speaking

Reminders 46% * 31% (14)

Comp 1 Quizzes 74% 54% (40)

FY Sem Journals 95% 42% (40)

* 46% is the same as in the first study when no treatment was given

What to do?

• Less is more• Aim at less skilled readers• Assess reading metacognition

Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies

• Global (setting purpose, activating prior knowledge, previewing, skimming to note characteristics)

• Problem-solving (reading slowly and carefully, adjusting rate, pausing to reflect)

• Support strategies (note taking, paraphrasing, using reference materials, discussing with others)

Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002

References• Hobson, E. H. Getting students to read: Fourteen tips. The Idea Center,

Manhattan, KS. Idea paper # 40.

• Hoeft, Mary E. (2012). Why university students don't read: What professors can do to increase compliance. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 6 (2) Article 12.

• Mokhtari, K. & Reichard, C. A. (2002). Assessing students’ metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94 (2) 249-259.

• Sappington, J., Kinsey, K., & Munsayac, K. (2002). Two studies of reading compliance among college students. Teaching of Psychology, 29 (4), 272-274.