The month of October featured a duo of workshops addressing the improvement of student reading strategies. These were hosted in the Mellinger Teaching and Learning Center on Oct. 8 and Oct. 30, 2007.

The workshops were hosted by Monie Hayes, assistant professor of educational studies, and were the result of a series of conversations that Hayes had with various faculty members and, specifically, Steve Price, director of Communication Across the Curriculum. Price and others remarked to Hayes that students seemed to be struggling with their writing capabilities, a problem which they believed may be linked to poor reading skills. Hayes was then approached by Marta Tucker, associate dean of faculty, to lead the sessions, and Hayes readily agreed to take on the responsibility. Hayes, being the instructor of a course on adolescent and young adult literacy, seemed to be the ideal candidate to take on this task.

“The premise is that anyone can become a better reader. People who don’t read as well as they’d like to can improve,” Hayes stated.

The two workshops, which 30 students attended during the first session and three students attended during the second session, stressed the importance of individuals looking at particular assignments (especially those entailing extensive research) and applying strategies toward analyzing and summarizing the messages found in texts. Specific strategies Hayes highlighted were those which helped students in identifying a purpose for their readings, understanding how a text is structured, re-reading a text for full intake of information and using discussion to help stimulate comprehension. Furthermore, Hayes sought to help students connect new readings with prior knowledge obtained, a process which Hayes terms “mental velcro.”

According to Hayes, those students in attendance found the workshop seminars to be quite beneficial and valuable in their pursuit of academic success. Hayes hopes to continue these workshops next spring, though she believes greater numbers will participate if she is able to schedule them earlier in the semester and receive more faculty support in advertising the program to their pupils.

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