Academic reading: fear and trembling or being and belonging?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi32.1446

Keywords:

academic reading circles, belonging, emotions, collaborative learning

Abstract

At the University of the West of England (UWE) Bristol, we are in the second year of a project to promote and improve reading skills. One part of our work has focused on embedding collaborative reading techniques within subjects to improve confidence in tackling texts, promote reading as a social practice, and boost belonging within disciplines and cohorts. Our poster presentation reviews the literature on student emotions towards reading, and how these influence their practices. We use this visual representation when liaising with academic colleagues to co-create and facilitate collaborative reading activities. 

Considerations of the role of student ‘affect’ foreground the motivational dimensions of the reading experience; we look at both pre-existing psychological and emotional barriers to engagement, and incentives and enablers that encourage confident reading and enjoyment of academic texts. We consider how the research literature accords with and further informs our empirical experience of running practical reading workshops. It is hoped that activities such as reading circles and textmapping relieve the individual from sole accountability for comprehension, bringing reading ‘out from the dark’. Deconstructing the process of reading through collaborative roles contributes towards the co-construction of understanding and knowledge, activating fresh insights. 

Discussion of reading through this shared approach potentially helps to develop student confidence, to nurture feelings of belonging, and to enhance cohort identity. However, we are mindful of the real-world impacts and outcomes of reading strategies for the diverse body of students that we encounter in higher education, with their wealth of difference in cognitive abilities, backgrounds, and cultural experiences. Through this literature review, it is intended that learning from work already published will contribute towards evolving best practice in channelling agency and easing anxiety in academic reading for all students. 

Author Biographies

Jane Saville, University of the West of England, Bristol

Jane Saville is the academic development manager at UWE. She is a Senior Fellow of Advance HE and her interests include assessment and feedback literacy, teacher education, and leadership within the third space of HE.

Tasha Cooper, University of the West of England, Bristol

Tasha Cooper is a library learning developer for the College of Health, Science and Society at UWE Bristol. She is a Fellow of Advance HE, and her special interests include digital literacy, digital reading and adopting new learning technologies.

Stephen Hunt, University of the West of England, Bristol

Stephen Hunt is the library learning developer for the College of Business and Law at UWE Bristol. Within this role he coordinates academic skills; English language teaching; and learning materials for university-wide and embedded, subject-specific purposes.

References

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Huda, N. (2022) Towards the setting up and evaluation of academic reading circles: a critical commentary on academic reading practices in Higher Education institutions. Investigations into University Learning & Teaching.

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Maguire, M., Reynolds, A., & Delahunt, B. (2020). Reading to Be: The role of academic reading in emergent academic and professional student identities. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 17(2). Available at: https://doi.org/10.53761/1.17.2.5 . (Accessed: 15 December 2023).

Marinkova, M. and Leslie, A. (2021). ‘Becoming well-read or reading well? Academic reading circles as an innovative and inclusive practice’. Journal of Academic Development and Education Special Edition (Becoming Well Read). Available at: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/421661/becoming-well-read-or-reading-well-academic-reading-circles-as-an-innovative-and-inclusive-practice. (Accessed: December 11 2023).

Kimberley, E., and Thursby, M. (2020) ‘Framing the text: understanding emotional barriers to academic reading’. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice: 17(2). [Accessed 6 December 2022]. https://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol17/iss2/2.

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Qi Xu (2021). ‘Incorporating reading circles into a task-based EAP reading scheme’. ELT Journal, 75 (3) 341–350. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccab012 . (Accessed: 18 March 2024).

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Published

31-10-2024

How to Cite

Saville, J., Cooper, T. and Hunt, S. (2024) “Academic reading: fear and trembling or being and belonging?”, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (32). doi: 10.47408/jldhe.vi32.1446.