Undergraduate Reading Attitudes and Practices

In this project I aim to explore undergraduates’ approaches to their requred course reading at the City University of New York. My research questions are:

– What reading materials are students assigned in their courses, and how do they acquire or access them?

– When, where, and how do students do their assigned course readings?

During the Spring 2017 semester I interviewed 10 students each at Borough of Manhattan Community College, Brooklyn College, and New York City College of Technology, CUNY, to discuss their attitudes about and practices around their required reading assignments. Results from this study complement my ongoing research into students’ academic habits with my colleague Mariana Regalado, and can inform strategies for faculty, librarians, and administrators to ensure that students have access to their course reading.

Download the research protocol

My interviews with students were recorded, transcribed, and coded, and I’m currently preparing publications and presentations with the results of this research, which will be linked here when available. I’ve also written a few blog posts on aspects of this research:

The Fox Guarding the Henhouse: Thinking about OERs and Textbook Affordability

Just One More Question

Publications/presentations on this research:

Smale, M. A. (2020). ‘”It’s a lot to take in’ – Undergraduate Experiences with Assigned Reading,” IMPACT: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning, 9(1).

Smale, M. A. (2019). “‘To be honest I’m not sure if we have a textbook’: Undergraduate access to course reading,” Hybrid Pedagogy.

Smale, M. A. (2019, April). Save the Time of the Reader: Narratives of Undergraduate Course Reading. Paper presented at the Association of College & Research Libraries Conference, Cleveland, OH.