The questions on this page are based on reading workshops and handouts I share in upper-year courses. They are meant to help you (a) identify the reading habits and practice we are already used to, and which we rarely pay attention to; (b) to think about why and how we’ve chosen those habits, and whether they feel appropriate for our current courses or learning goals; and (c) how we might want to build on those existing habits and practices.
Several of my students have reported that just taking time on this reflection has helped them become more aware of their reading practices and goals, and to update those as needed. I hope you will find them helpful too. I suggest you spend a minimum of 15 minutes trying to answer the questions on this page, and that you record them somewhere you can revisit later.
Background
I know that when I was an undergrad, I rarely asked myself how I actually read, I just… kind of did it! I looked at a page, I read the words, maybe I highlighted some of them that seemed important. I rarely ever reflected on these practices, and even less rarely updated them. Many of us have been reading for a long time, and often on autopilot.
Like many philosophy courses, we’re going to spend a lot of time with readings. Unlike many philosophy courses, we are learning at an accelerated pace, and reading articles that may come from many different disciplines or backgrounds. The start of the course can be a useful time for us to reflect on our reading habits and goals.
The following questions are meant to help us become more aware of our existing habits and practices, and then to think about which of those we might wish to keep or to revise. There are many questions here, and I think they are all important.
If you want to engage this exercise closely, I suggest you spend at least 15 minutes trying to answer the following: at least one minute on each set of questions. I emphasize trying, as many students find that these questions are harder to answer than they first appear.
Finally, try to write down your answers somewhere, or to record yourself talking through them, so you can reflect on your answers later. Working on these reflections can count toward your learning journal later in the course.
Reflection Questions:
- Your current goals: Why am I reading this page or browsing the resources on this website? What do I hope to get out of it? What problems or questions led me to think more about how I read?
- Previous reading instruction: What, if anything, have my current instructors or syllabi told me about how I should read in the courses I’m taking? What, if anything, have my previous instructors or syllabi told me about how I should read? Did I try these? Did those change how I engaged with the course? If I didn’t receive any previous instruction, is there anything I wish I had been told?
- Changes in previous practices: How have my reading practices changed between courses, if at all? How have I changed my reading practices over time, if at all? Do I wish I did anything different in those previous courses?
- Past successes in context: What are reading strategies that have worked well for me in the past? Have these worked the same in every course? Are they the same when I am reading a textbook versus an assignment rubric versus an academic article?
- Reading spaces: Where do I most like to read? Where do I read most often? Are these different places? Does the level of lighting, noise, or comfort make a difference to where I choose to read? How much control do I have over these conditions? What are other places I could try reading?
- Reading times: When do I most like to read? When do I read most often? Are these different timings? Do I do most of my readings before, or after class? How does when I read depend on the timing of lectures, assignments, or even my courseload? How does when I read depend on other parts of my life? Which of these things are under my control?
- Different types of readings: Do my answers to how, when, or where I read look different if I am reading a novel, a poem, a news article, a magazine, or other non-academic texts? What would it look like if I read my assigned readings in the same ways I read a novel or a poem? What would change, for the better or for worse?
- Reading workload and time management: How long does it take me to read 20 pages for a course? If this depends on the course, what is it about those courses or course readings that affects my reading time? What other kinds of things most impact how long it takes me to read this much? How much time do I spend on readings during a week, for all my courses? Am I happy with how long it takes me to read this much?
- The goal(s) of course readings: What is the point of doing readings in my current or previous courses? How are the readings related to the lectures, tutorials, assignments, and learning outcomes? Why would the instructor bother assigning these readings? Think charitably here: even if your lectures largely cover the readings, why would it still be important to do those readings? Why would an instructor who is genuinely interested in my learning bother assigning them at all, instead of just lecturing to me?
- Skipping readings: Are there readings I could have skipped doing in the past? What made it so that I could skip them? What learning, skills, or opportunities would I have potentially lost by skipping them?
- Motivation to read: What motivates me most to do course related readings? How are these motivations connected to the reasons that I took this course, or pursued this program or degree? how do these motivations connect to some of my previous answers, such as those about goals, where I read, when I read, or what I read?
- Reading blocks: What do I do when I don’t understand what I’m reading? What do I do when a paragraph doesn’t make sense, or I am reading the same sentence over and over? What do I do when I find a word I don’t know the meaning of? What do I do when there are a lot of words I don’t know? Are these existing habits or practices useful for me? Are there alternatives I could consider trying?
- Describing myself as a reader: If someone asked me to describe myself as a reader, what kinds of verbs or adjectives would I use? Remember, verbs are action words about what we do (maybe I skim, examine, refuse, comment, highlight, point, annotate, listen, read out loud) and adjectives are words that modify people and other nouns (maybe as a reader I am fast, slow, disinterested, motivated, curious, bored, excited, exhausted, novice, experienced, struggling). Are there any words I wish I could use to describe myself? What small changes might bring me closer to these wishes?
- Reflecting back on answers: Is there anything from my above answers that is surprising to me? Is there any interesting patterns, or things I had not thought about closely before now? Do they suggest any new strategies I could try out, or at least specific areas for improvement?
- Looking forward: What do all my above answers say about how I generally approach reading? What do they say about how I wish I approached readings? What resources would I need to help become the reader I wish I was? Are any of these resources already available to me?
C Dalrymple-Fraser 