Motivating your students to read

Posted on: July 23, 2020

It can often be difficult to get students to engage with their course reading, with excuses ranging from the books being too expensive to them simply being boring, often an excuse that comes from students who haven't learned active reading skills. This infographic provides some pointers to help you encourage your students to read. You can download the PDF of this infographic here. 

• Remind your students that their learning is their responsibility.
• Reward students who come to class prepared and hold to account those who don’t do the reading.
• Many students are poor readers. Make sure they know how to access support should they need it. Requiring them to read the textbook in advance gives them a change to learn and improve their skills.
• Reading the textbook can provide them with an additional viewpoint on the topic.
• Construct your course so that students can’t do well without doing the reading.
• Make it clear from the start of the course that reading the text is required and the book will be used in class.
• Tell your students about the book and how it will be used on the course. Help them to see why it is important.
• Teach your students effective study strategies to help them engage with the textbooks content.
• Make sure your students know why this book has been chosen and how the pedagogy will help them learn from it.
• Make sure your students know about any supplementary materials, such as a companion website.