how much reading to assign in an undergraduate lecture course

by Freda Jones 7 min read

A recent large-scale study has found that the more often students take courses with at least 40 pages of reading a week *and* 20 pages of writing in a semester, the greater their gains on the Collegiate Learning Assessment . So, all things being equal, these are good minimums.

Full Answer

How do you write a good lecture?

Focus your lecture on analyzing issues or problems, rather than on conveying factual information. Rely on students to get facts from their reading. Devote lectures to more in depth discussion and analysis. For instance, begin each class session with a question that you will devote the session to answering.

How accurately do new instructors assign reading?

New instructors tend to be very optimistic about the speed at which undergraduates read and their comprehension of the material. The worst-case scenario is when the amount of reading you’ve assigned mirrors that of a graduate-level course.

What is the optimal reading rate for a college student?

The optimal reading rate of the skilled adult reader (including college students) is around 300 words per minute. This assumes a "normal" reading environment in which there are no new words or concepts in the text and the purpose of the reading is to understand the meaning of each sentence (Rayner et al., 2016; Carver, 1982).

What happens when the amount of reading you’ve assigned mirrors the coursework?

The worst-case scenario is when the amount of reading you’ve assigned mirrors that of a graduate-level course. The first thing to do is take a deep breath and temper your expectations for how much a student can or is willing to absorb.

How much reading should I assign in college?

A recent large-scale study has found that the more often students take courses with at least 40 pages of reading a week *and* 20 pages of writing in a semester, the greater their gains on the Collegiate Learning Assessment. So, all things being equal, these are good minimums.

How much assigned reading is too much?

Less is more especially when undergraduates are reading the types of scholarly articles that many of us typically assign. In my own courses, I've come to the conclusion that assigning students to read more than one five-page academic-journal article for a particular class session is, in sum, too much.

How many hours should you study for every 1 hour in a lecture course?

2-3 hoursFor a long time, the rule of thumb has been for every 1 hour that you spend in lecture, you should spend 2-3 hours outside of lecture studying.

How much does the average college student read?

about 350 words per minuteThe average college student reads about 350 words per minute. A "good" reading speed is around 500 to 700 words per minute, but some people can read a thousand words per minute.

How many pages can a college student read in an hour?

To conclude, the answers to the questions “how many pages can you read in an hour” and “how long does it take to read 100 pages” can vary greatly depending on a number of factors, but the short answer is that the average person can read around 40 pages in 1 hour, and reading 100 pages can be achieved in about 2 hours ...

Do you need to do all the readings in university?

I learned that when it comes to assigned readings, you shouldn't do all of it. Assigned readings are important. They help you learn and understand the course material. But profs often (perhaps inadvertently) assign long chapters that include fluff paragraphs containing information that won't show up on the exam.

How much time should an undergraduate student spend on a classroom course per course credit hour outside of his or her time in the classroom?

Most sources recommend that a typical undergraduate college student should study at least 2 hours outside of class each week per unit credit. So for a 4 credit hour course, this common guideline suggests that a typical student should spend at least 8 hours outside of class studying for that course each week.

How long should I study for a 3 hour class?

For example, for a 3-unit course, this means 6-9 hours devoted to studying per week.

Is studying 3 hours a day enough?

The consensus among universities is that for every hour spent in class, students should spend approximately 2-3 hours studying. So, for example, if your course is three hours long two days per week, you should be studying 12-18 hours for that class per week.

Is reading 100 pages an hour fast?

The average reader will read 100 pages in 2.8 hours when reading at a speed of 300 words per minute (wpm). Typical documents that are 100 pages or more include full-length novels. A typical single-spaced page is 500 words long. You may read faster or slower than this depending on your average reading speed.

How long should it take to read 20 pages of a textbook?

about 33.3 minutesAnswer: the average reader takes about 33.3 minutes to read 20 pages. A single-spaced page usually has around 500 words. The average person's reading speed is around 300 words per minute (WPM).

How much homework should I assign?

A widely endorsed metric for how much homework to assign is the 10-minute rule. It dictates that children should receive 10 minutes of homework per grade level—so a 1st grader would be given 10 minutes a day, while a senior in high school would have 120 minutes.

Why are students not reading the things we assign?

Lack of interest was a common theme. In fact, it may be the biggest reason students are no longer reading the things we assign. They have complained over and over again that a lot of assigned texts are just too boring or too long or — the deadliest of combinations — both at once.

Do undergraduates read?

They read only if they have time and if the readings are relatively easy to digest. Most of the time, students tell me, they skim.

How to do a lecture in high school?

1) Hand out 3 x 5 cards at the end of the class and ask students to identify the major points covered. This can be anonymous or not. Collect them, skim them, and begin the next class by talking about their responses. Ask those students who were off to see you or their GSI, or to review their notes, etc. 2) Ask them to identify the “muddiest point” in the lecture. 3) Begin the lecture by soliciting questions (on cards or not) based on their reading for the day. 4) Stop a lecture at any time after a difficult topic and ask them to explain it to an intelligent high school student who knows nothing about the topic .

What should a lecture cover?

Lectures, particularly in large enrollment courses, should cover the following kinds of material: material of high interest/relevance to students. Steps to take: Read through your syllabus and mark every topic as either “essential” or “helpful.”. Cut out all the “helpful”—move them to “suggested further reading.”.

How to make lectures more manageable?

Six ways to make lectures in a large enrollment course more manageable and effective. 1. Establish learning goals. Once you and your students know where you’re going, the trip is easier and more efficient. And often the very act of creating learning goals results in reducing the amount of material to be covered, ...