How Do I Read? What Colleges Can Learn about Supporting the Transition to College Reading from First-Year Students' Self Reported Reading Lives

In order to succeed in college, students need to be able to read closely, critically, and independently. Unfortunately, large scale studies of graduating high school students in the United States have indicated that many are underprepared for college and career reading. When these students enter college, they often find themselves in a space that is heavily dependent on reading and yet provides little support for the new content, context, and forms of reading they will encounter. These students bring with them a lifetime of literacy experience though, which can help faculty and learning designers to understand how they read. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study looked at the personal reading lives of first-year college students. For the purpose of the study, an individual's reading life was separated into four dimensions including belief and confidence in their skills, habits during reading, preferences, and motivation. In the fall of 2018, participants completed a survey which asked about their reading lives as well as their preferences for instruction. The survey was followed by focus groups held in the spring of 2019. Overall, the study participants had a positive view of reading and their reading skills, however, the focus group discussions indicated that students became aware of the need to improve their reading skills as the year progressed. This study found that students valued their college faculty and expected them to act as content experts, teachers, and learning support, and valued reading-based activities that were social in nature and connected them to content, faculty, and peers. Students had strong preferences about the types of materials used in classes as well as classroom practices. The study results yielded several suggestions for improving teaching and building reading-centered learning experiences and the professional learning needed for faculty. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]