“Being Able to Listen Makes Me Feel More Engaged”: Best Practices for Using Podcasts as Readings

We investigate student listening compliance, preference for audio versus print content, and exam performance when professionally produced podcasts are assigned as “readings” and provided in both audio and print formats. Listening/reading compliance for the assigned podcasts was high compared with figures reported in previous research. The most popular format for accessing the content was listening, followed by reading, followed by doing both. Most students perceived their selected mode made it easier to focus and comprehend. Many students switched their mode of access between assignments, and some mentioned that having options was important. Students who read podcast transcripts were more likely to answer exam questions correctly than those who only listened to the podcasts, a finding likely tied to multitasking behavior reported by listeners. Our findings suggest instructors should provide students access to both podcast audio and transcripts and explicitly teach students how to best engage with podcast content.

Reading Behavior and Compliance Among Ecuadorian University Students: A National Study

A study into reading behavior and reading compliance among 2,600 students in five universities in Ecuador found that their reading behavior and reading compliance were better than among students in the United States, despite the challenges that exist in Ecuadorian higher education. Suggestions for future research, in particular with regard to improving students’ time management skills as a way to enhance their reading compliance, are included.

Improving reading compliance with whole class qualitative quiz questions

“Have you done your reading?” If you are a teaching academic that always gets positive responses to this question then you are in a very fortunate (or talented) minority. This small case study draws on existing research into why students do not read and evaluations of strategies designed to combat this phenomenon. It reflects on an ad hoc trial of randomly targeted quiz questions to two seminar groups of first year undergraduates within the Business Faculty. The trial spanned seven weeks and sought to improve previously poor levels of reading compliance. The study found that, within a short period, the technique employed significantly increased levels of reading compliance measured across the whole group through qualitative comprehension questions.