Reflections on the resource and adapting it for future use
we discuss how some of those reflections could be drawn together, or contrasted, thereby mirroring the synthesising of ideas that is expected in their academic work. The important thing for students to remember is that rather than just stitching together a collection of sources in their academic work, it must be clear to the reader why this information has been included and how it supports the argument conveyed.
Reflections on the resource and adapting it for future use
This resource was designed as one of three activities in Level 5( second year, undergraduate) and Level 7( postgraduate) workshops on the theme of‘ returning to study’. During these workshops, it became clear that time for discussion was too limited and students wanted more time to reflect on how the themes in each question could be applied to the academic context. Therefore, I devised a workshop on the topic of academic reading, with this resource as the main activity. Whilst anecdotal feedback has been positive, there are still opportunities to adapt the resource further.
The first iteration of this resource included three different versions of Hansel and Gretel as the example texts. Students only became aware of the differences once working through the questions in small groups. Whilst this created interesting discussion, replicating this in an online environment proved challenging. The decision to focus on a single text, Rumpelstiltskin, still allowed for small group discussions in online breakout rooms, but reduced the administration of sending different texts to participants and organising groups comprising students who had read different versions of the story.
Moving forwards, it could be possible to re-introduce a variety of texts to the delivery of this resource. Following feedback from a colleague, I wrote a version of Hansel and Gretel from the viewpoint of the witch in order to facilitate conversation around context( Question 2), however, this text is yet to be used in a workshop. In addition to variations on a single story, different fairy tales could also be used, with students selecting which text they work with. Takagaki( 2002, cited in Nguyen and Henderson, 2020, p. 5) suggests that allowing students to select material leads to“ increased motivation and improved student attitudes to academic reading” as students feel empowered when given this agency. Furthermore, offering students the choice of using a printed version or an online version of the text, may allow for individuals to engage with the material in a way that suits their own“ preferences and reading styles”( Lim and Toh, 2020, p. 27).
Additional questions can be used to highlight other aspects of academic reading. For example, Shahabudin( 2011) notes that extensive reading lists and access to a vast array of online resources can become overwhelming for students. Whilst the facilitator could introduce these ideas in response to Question 1 above, a more focused discussion on how to select appropriate reading materials would be helpful. This would also allow for consideration of the function of different types of documents( Manarin et al., 2015) and the credibility and authenticity of materials( Miller and Merdian, 2020). Similarly, facilitators working in different subject areas may wish to add questions that draw attention to particular aspects of academic reading within their field. The key aspect of the resource is to ensure that each question is applied to the academic context.
In previous workshops this resource has been the central activity, but there are various opportunities to use this as a stimulus for further support for academic reading. For example, using a range of texts and creating a hypothetical assignment question relating to the fairy tales could encourage students to take an“ informed position based on a thoughtful evaluation of multiple perspectives”( Nguyen and Henderson, 2020, p. 4), thus mirroring the process of preparing an academic assignment. Also, during the discussion at the end of my presentation at‘ Becoming Well Read 2021’, participants commented on how this resource could be an introductory activity to further reading instruction such as Academic Reading Circles( Marinkova and Leslie, n. d.) and this is
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