Learning Through Reading: Strategies to Support Students’ Reading Practices

Reading is crucial to student learning, yet instructors may find students not completing course readings or struggling with comprehension and deeper engagement. These challenges, which have made recent headlines (e.g., “Is This the End of Reading?” or “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books”) can be further compounded by the evolution of digital reading environments (Cohn, 2021) and tools like Generative AI, which can help students bypass learning through readings (Horowitch, 2024; McMurtrie, 2024; Watkins, 2024). AI-assistance with reading can be tempting to learners that are “fully aware of their own illiteracy,” feel “embarrassment, shame, and fear,” and want “help learning how to read but are unsure of where or how to get it.” (Bruggeman, 2025). Instructors are able to support student learning through reading by communicating the importance and value of readings, leveraging the reading in meaningful ways during class, and explicitly teaching students how to read in their discipline. The following resource presents strategies for instructors facing challenges with course reading assignments, as well as activities they might leverage to increase student engagement and enhance students’ learning through reading.

Cite this resource: Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (2025). Learning Through Reading: Strategies to Support Students’ Reading Practices. Columbia University. Retrieved [today’s date] from https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/resources/reading/

Promoting Learning through Reading: Practices for Instructors

Instructors play an important role in supporting student motivation and engagement with course readings. When students see the classroom space as supportive, and feel their instructor believes they can be successful, they are more likely to be motivated (Lovett et. al, 2023, 96-7). The following section offers some strategies for instructors to help signal the importance of course readings, while further supporting their students’ reading practices. 

Rethink the reading you assign and how it’s leveraged in class.

Reflect on your reading assignments, and consider why certain readings are assigned: what do you want students to learn, and how will the readings help support those? How will students engage with the readings during class time? Try to assign reading assignments that will be used extensively in class discussions, that students will directly apply in class or in support of present or future course work. This will give students more time to focus on deeply grappling with the key texts in your discipline. If students read an assignment and it is not discussed in class, that can discourage them from doing their reading in the future. 

Communicate the value and purpose of the reading, and set expectations. 

Be transparent with students about the importance and purpose of assigned readings in the class. Frank conversations can help students better understand why they are being asked to do something, while also highlighting for students the very real learning opportunities that come from completing the reading (McMurtrie, Sept. 2024). Be explicit with students about what they should come away with in specific readings, including when a reading might be particularly challenging. Include some context in the syllabus, and talk with students early in and throughout the semester about the importance of grappling with difficult texts. Emphasize your belief in students’ abilities, and share how you will support them in the process, for “without encouragement from the teacher, students often feel incompetent, even stupid, when they fail to understand a text” (Bean, 2011, 169). 

Given the prevalence of Generative AI tools, it is important to have open conversations with students about their AI usage and expectations. Doing so will help students understand that reliance on AI-generated summaries of assigned reading may not serve them well. For example, explain to students why it is important to read a poem rather than an AI summary of the poem, or why it is important to read a legal brief instead of an AI summary of one. Watkins (2024) writes about co-constructing AI expectations with his students, where the class determined that they would “only use an AI tool to help [them] read once [they] hit a pain point that would cause you to stop reading.” Work with your students to determine the most appropriate and helpful use of AI tools when it comes to course readings, acknowledging potential benefits the tools pose for students, while also discussing the hazards of overreliance. Consider implementing strategies for engaging in deep reading practices in digital environments, as more and more students are turning to these spaces for their reading practices. 

Survey your students to learn about their reading practices. 

Learn more about your students’ reading practices and experiences to help inform your expectations, and ensure students are getting the support they need. Early in the semester, conduct a brief survey that asks your students specific questions about their experience with and practices around reading. Some questions you might consider include: 

• What is your experience with reading [specific disciplinary genres (e.g., journal articles, long texts, popular press publications, etc.)]? 
• What is your comfort with and confidence to deeply understand the readings and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the readings?
• What does your reading practice look like? What is your approach to note-taking in class, or while reading homework?
• Can you access the course materials? 

When engaging students in open conversations about their reading practices, you create an opportunity for them to share openly, sometimes in ways they wouldn’t have thought to otherwise. With this kind of information from students, you will be better equipped to support students by sharing university resources, like CU Library Course Reserves services or the Columbia FLI Partnership, as well as identifying the kinds of reading skills you will need to teach. 

Teach reading skills and model disciplinary reading practices

Reading a textbook, science article, history article, play, or a legal filing all involve different skills. 

Despite prior coursework and experience, students need to be taught disciplinary reading practices to support their learning: “Students who were proficient readers of high school texts may still experience difficulty because their reading strategies are not appropriate for the types of texts they encounter in college” (Paulson & Holschuh, 2018, 29). Thus, it is important for students to have opportunities to learn and practice critically engaging with texts in your discipline.

Teaching critical reading skills is essential for students to learn how to read specific genres, and leverage them in fruitful ways in the course. Model for your students how you approach a longform and complicated piece from the discipline: what kinds of strategies do you  use in your own reading practices? How do you categorize information, and how might you help students practice and develop their own processes?

Help students comprehend and make meaning of texts by preparing them for the readings they will encounter. As Bean (2011) notes: “Student reading comprehension increases if they are already engaged with the problem that a reading addresses or are otherwise interested in the subject matter” (172). Encourage students to look up words and concepts that are unfamiliar to them, to read for understanding, and read to evaluate which claims are supported by evidence, identify counter arguments, and ask ‘what if’ questions.

Additional strategies might include:

• Pre-reading activities, like prediction questions, which can help increase students’ curiosity and engagement with the course texts. 
• Guided reflection questions to help students focus their reading on key concepts or terms around a specific theme in the reading. 
• Reading guides, which can support students’ development of critical reading skills by identifying key concepts, vocabulary, and other areas of focus for students as they complete course readings. Over time, students can develop their own guides for reading as they become more familiar with disciplinary reading practices. Explore examples of reading guides, resources to help students read science papers and interpret data, and resources to help students develop reading skills. 

Ultimately, the more guidance provided ahead of completing a reading assignment, the more focused and engaged students can be with the specific reading.

Engaging Students with Course Readings

Lecturing about course readings can communicate to students that it’s okay not to do the reading, as material will be covered in lecture. Instead, consider how students might engage more deeply with the class readings during class time. The following section includes several examples of in-class activities to consider when leveraging reading assignments, as well as the kinds of learning they can help support, and engagement they can help foster.

Writing activities 

Writing activities are a great way to “help students become more active and thoughtful readers” (Bean, 2011, 177). Engaging students in writing activities can help them move beyond surface reading, as the activities will require students to engage with concepts more deeply, putting the concepts and theories into action through practical application. For example, students can be asked to write a paragraph or two that connects the reading to something that was discussed in class last week, a current event, or something from their own personal experience; or to apply something from the reading to solve or better understand a real-world problem. These writing activities can be short and low-stakes in nature, including reflective responses submitted to a discussion board, or a short piece of writing identifying key takeaways following a class discussion. In these ways, they can also help you better assess students’ understanding of course readings.

Collaborative annotation 

Reading itself is a social act, but is often completed as a solo, and potentially isolating, activity (Cohn, 2021, p. 92). Engaging students in collaborative annotation can not only make reading a more social process, increasing student motivation and engagement, but it also creates opportunities for peer to peer learning. Examples of annotation assignments might include: asking each student to record a question and respond to another student’s question by midnight the night before class discussion, or asking students to highlight something interesting and something confusing from the text. Collaborative annotation encourages students to share their questions, comments, and areas of focus with each other, so that they can learn and develop a reading process together. At the same time, you can see where students are most excited about or challenged by a reading, to then inform in-class discussion and activities. 

Jigsaw

A jigsaw activity creates valuable opportunities for practice in synthesis, summary, peer to peer learning, and can be particularly helpful if there is a great deal of reading that can be divided amongst students. In a jigsaw activity, students are broken into expert groups, where everyone in that particular group has read the same text(s) and/or is responsible for understanding a specific concept. Following the expert groups, students are divided into new groups, where a member from each expert group serves as a representative. Each expert group representative teaches the other members of their group about their specific text(s) and/or concept(s). To learn more about the jigsaw activity, as well as access instructor resources for getting started, visit the K. Patricia Cross Academy page on the jigsaw technique.

Case studies

Case studies can be a great way to have students apply concepts and ideas from a reading during class. Prior to assigning the readings, flag for students particular concepts or theories they will need to understand to be successful with the case. During class, students can work together to apply these concepts to a case, and in doing so, have an opportunity to engage in higher order levels of thinking. 

Conclusion

While the challenges and concerns about students’ engagement with course reading is not necessarily new, there are certainly new societal factors raising concerns. The influence of generative AI tools and the move to more short-form, digital media have led to less engagement with longform texts, and in some cases, a reliance on AI-generated summaries of assigned reading. Despite this, however, instructors find themselves with new opportunities for engaging students in class readings. By explicitly teaching and supporting the development of critical reading skills, instructors can ensure their students’ success with reading in their disciplines. Ultimately, instructors have to be transparent with students about the importance of class reading assignments, both explicitly with what they say and share, and implicitly with how these texts are taken up in class. 

The CTL is happy to help instructors think through reading assignments for their course – whether it’s the early, streamlining phase, or developing activities that leverage course reading assignments. Email CTLFaculty@columbia.edu to schedule a 1-1 consultation today!  

Resources and References

Columbia University Resources 

Basic Strategies for Active Reading | Berick Center for Student Advising 

The Power of Previewing —The KWL Reading Method | Berick Center for Student Advising 

Peer Academic Skills Consultants | Berick Center for Student Advising

Course Reserves Services | Columbia University Libraries

Columbia FLI Partnership

Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning Resources 

Case Method Teaching and Learning 

Creating Online Exams 

Designing Assignments for Learning 

Getting Started with Active Learning 

Learning Through Discussion 

Learning Through Writing in the Age of AI 

Leveraging Annotation Activities and Tools to Promote Collaborative Learning 

Metacognition | Columbia CTL 

Poll Everywhere: Audience Response System 

Polling | TeachingTalks by Columbia CTL 

Think-Pair-Share | TeachingTalks by Columbia CTL 

References 

Bean, J. (2011). Engaging ideas: The professor’s guide to integrating writing, critical thinking, and active learning in the classroom, 2nd ed. Jossey-Bass. 

Bruggeman, Seth C. (2025). A crisis of trust in the classroom. Inside Higher Education. 

Bruff, D. (Sept. 2024). The paradox of textbooks. Intentional Teaching with Derek Bruff.  

Cohn, J. (2021). Skim, dive, surface: Teaching digital reading. West Virginia UP.  

Horowitch, R. (2024). The elite college students who can’t read books. The Atlantic.

Johnson, S. (2019). The fall, and rise, of reading. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 

Lovett, M.C., Bridges, M.W., DiPietro, M., Ambrose, S.A., & Norman, M.K. (2023). How learning works: 8 research-based principles for smart teaching, 2nd ed. Jossey-Bass.

McMurtrie, B (May 2024). Is this the end of reading?. The Chronicle of Higher Education.

— (Sept. 2024). Teaching: Connecting with Gen Z through course design. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 

Paulson, E.J. & Holschuh, J.P. (2018). College Reading. In R.F. Flippo & T.W. Bean (Eds.), Handbook of college reading and study strategy research (pp. 27-41 ) Routledge. 

Warner, J. (2023). When students don’t read, get underneath the surface.  Inside Higher Ed. 

Watkins, M. (2024). When AI does the reading for students. The Chronicle of Higher Education.