How to Read Like a Professor
According to a study by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, “[e]ven the strongest, most experienced readers making the transition from high school to college have not learned what they need to know and do to make sense of texts in the context of professional and academic scholarship — to say nothing about readers who are either not as strong or as experienced.” Reading comprehension and mastery of college-level texts require different skills and strategies than those used in high school. Even further, research now suggests that digital technologies are eroding deep reading skills, thereby demanding more explicit instruction in critical reading skills. This course prepares students for deep reading at the college level by exposing students to the types of college-level reading materials they will encounter across the curriculum; explicitly teaching the essential skills and strategies that professors expect students to demonstrate (e.g., critical analysis, evaluation); and providing resources to aid in the application of those skills and strategies throughout their coursework.