Most academic courses require learners to do some amount of reading to provide background in core concepts, to demonstrate applications and use cases, and to elaborate intriguing new applications and directions—or maybe just to navigate the various prompts and guidelines. But reading is a skill, one that learners may not possess when they walk in the classroom door. That’s why, even if it’s not an explicit part of your course curriculum, spending some time talking about reading expectations and strategies for best practices can reap very real and very positive benefits in terms of learning and retention. By explicitly framing the reading requirements in your academic class and taking steps to make reading strategies a part of the conversation from day one, you can help lead your students to more rewarding engagement with the course content, leading to a deeper level of engagement and retention.
