UWM Libraries Research and Course Guides: CGS Supporting Student Reading, Workshop 2: Reading Strategies: Recommended Readings

Recommended Readings

Flippo, Rona F., and Thomas W. Bean. Handbook of College Reading and Study Strategy Research. Edited by Rona F. Flippo and

Thomas W. Bean, Third edition., Routledge, 2018.

Provides a comprehensive overview of the research (both theory and practice) on college reading and study strategies.

Hovland, Ingie. “Bringing Reading into the Classroom: Using Active Learning to Practice the Invisible Skill.” International Journal of

Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, vol. 31, no. 3, Jan. 2019, pp. 512–23. Education Research Complete,

An example of how one might design an entire course around making reading more visible and developing students’ abilities to read in a critical and complex manner. The author details how she developed her course using backward design, covering her goals, assessments, reading selection, and smaller activities/assignments. The article provides many ideas for specific strategies instructors could implement. The author gives a lot of examples of her own activities and assignments, but also cites strategies used by others. Ideas are widely applicable.

Lampi, Jodi P., et al. “Using Disciplinary Approaches for Reading Literary Texts in Developmental Literacy Courses.” Journal of College

Reading and Learning, vol. 49, no. 3, Jan. 2019, pp. 244–51. ERIC, https://ezproxy.lib.uwm.edu/login?

A very discipline-specific article that provides some concrete strategies that could be applied in other disciplines.

Kershaw, Trina C., et al. “Practice Makes Proficient: Teaching Undergraduate Students to Understand Published

Research.” Instructional Science, vol. 46, no. 6, Dec. 2018, pp. 921–46. Education Research Complete,

A concrete example of how to teach disciplinary literacy. Students were taught how to read scholarly articles for a psychology class, using a specific method for analyzing articles repeatedly throughout the semester. Comprehension was compared to students who were not given the same level of instruction and repetition.

Ritchey, K. A., and A. List. “Task-Oriented Reading: A Framework for Improving College Students’ Reading Compliance and

Comprehension." College Teaching, May 2021, pp. 1–16. doi:10.1080/87567555.2021.1924607. 

Provides a rationale (including an overview of the literature on reading instruction) and description of the authors’ approach to supporting reading. Approach can be applied across disciplines.

Staudinger, Alison. “Reading Deeply for Disciplinary Awareness and Political Judgment.” Teaching & Learning Inquiry, vol. 5, no. 1, Jan.

Gives some specific strategies that are applied within a particular course but that could be applied in other disciplines. An example of modeling is provided.

Theriault, Jennifer C., et al. “The Continued Need for Strategy Investigations: College Readers’ Use of PILLAR.” Journal of Adolescent &

Presents a study that measured the effectiveness of a generalizable reading strategy.

Tighe, Elizabeth L., et al. “In College, But Not Always Earning College Credit: Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies for Success

During--and Beyond--Developmental Courses.” American Educator, vol. 45, no. 1, Spring 2021, pp. 16–52. Education Research

Provides a detailed (but still fairly concise) overview of evidence-based approaches and strategies for supporting college reading, including recommendations for online teaching and mathematics courses.