A Simple Activity to Enhance the Learning Experience of Reading Primary Literature

Countless studies have demonstrated the benefits and the importance of incorporating primary literature into undergraduate curriculum. However, even with regular exposures to primary literature, students still find the reading task confusing and frustrating. Most educators are conscientious about ch...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Min-Ken Liao
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: American Society for Microbiology 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/72323bf0249d46d6a0a93c6a84789283
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
id oai:doaj.org-article:72323bf0249d46d6a0a93c6a84789283
record_format dspace
spelling oai:doaj.org-article:72323bf0249d46d6a0a93c6a847892832021-11-15T15:04:11ZA Simple Activity to Enhance the Learning Experience of Reading Primary Literature10.1128/jmbe.v18i1.12111935-78851935-7877https://doaj.org/article/72323bf0249d46d6a0a93c6a847892832017-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jmbe.v18i1.1211https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7877https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7885Countless studies have demonstrated the benefits and the importance of incorporating primary literature into undergraduate curriculum. However, even with regular exposures to primary literature, students still find the reading task confusing and frustrating. Most educators are conscientious about choosing realistically challenging research articles that match students’ abilities and knowledge, so the negative experiences students have had are more likely due to fear-based emotions than skills. To help students overcome the initial fear of reading a research article, I first presented to them just the title of the paper, with 3 guiding questions, and encouraged them to get into the journey of the researchers by prompting them to speculate “What must they have done to write a paper with such a title?” I gave students 10-15 minutes to reflect upon the title and to jot down the answers to the 3 guiding questions. Depending on the students, time and the paper, we did not always have a class discussion after the reflection, but we always had one after students read the paper. While reading the paper, students were reminded to compare the paper with the notes they jotted down before reading it. Students responded positively to this simple activity. Facing just the title of the paper is certainly less intimidating than combating the entire paper at once. Once the initial fear has overcome, the reading task becomes less daunting. This activity is simple, flexible, and easily implemented and surveys showed that it effectively enhanced students’ experience in reading primary literature.Min-Ken LiaoAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691Biology (General)QH301-705.5ENJournal of Microbiology & Biology Education, Vol 18, Iss 1 (2017)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Special aspects of education
LC8-6691
Biology (General)
QH301-705.5
spellingShingle Special aspects of education
LC8-6691
Biology (General)
QH301-705.5
Min-Ken Liao
A Simple Activity to Enhance the Learning Experience of Reading Primary Literature
description Countless studies have demonstrated the benefits and the importance of incorporating primary literature into undergraduate curriculum. However, even with regular exposures to primary literature, students still find the reading task confusing and frustrating. Most educators are conscientious about choosing realistically challenging research articles that match students’ abilities and knowledge, so the negative experiences students have had are more likely due to fear-based emotions than skills. To help students overcome the initial fear of reading a research article, I first presented to them just the title of the paper, with 3 guiding questions, and encouraged them to get into the journey of the researchers by prompting them to speculate “What must they have done to write a paper with such a title?” I gave students 10-15 minutes to reflect upon the title and to jot down the answers to the 3 guiding questions. Depending on the students, time and the paper, we did not always have a class discussion after the reflection, but we always had one after students read the paper. While reading the paper, students were reminded to compare the paper with the notes they jotted down before reading it. Students responded positively to this simple activity. Facing just the title of the paper is certainly less intimidating than combating the entire paper at once. Once the initial fear has overcome, the reading task becomes less daunting. This activity is simple, flexible, and easily implemented and surveys showed that it effectively enhanced students’ experience in reading primary literature.
format article
author Min-Ken Liao
author_facet Min-Ken Liao
author_sort Min-Ken Liao
title A Simple Activity to Enhance the Learning Experience of Reading Primary Literature
title_short A Simple Activity to Enhance the Learning Experience of Reading Primary Literature
title_full A Simple Activity to Enhance the Learning Experience of Reading Primary Literature
title_fullStr A Simple Activity to Enhance the Learning Experience of Reading Primary Literature
title_full_unstemmed A Simple Activity to Enhance the Learning Experience of Reading Primary Literature
title_sort simple activity to enhance the learning experience of reading primary literature
publisher American Society for Microbiology
publishDate 2017
url https://doaj.org/article/72323bf0249d46d6a0a93c6a84789283
work_keys_str_mv AT minkenliao asimpleactivitytoenhancethelearningexperienceofreadingprimaryliterature
AT minkenliao simpleactivitytoenhancethelearningexperienceofreadingprimaryliterature
_version_ 1718428255062589440