Adjusting Lecture Style To Accommodate Student Reading Habits

Abstract

The reasons behind the reading habits of undergraduate MIS students were examined to learn from the students’ point of view why many don’t read the textbook.  Willingness to work hard on homework and project assignments and an appreciation of what is expected of them appears to be in place.  However, carrots, sticks, ruses and requests all meet with limited success when used to encourage reading assigned material.   Four sections of a required business school 2000-level MIS course were asked to respond anonymously to a questionnaire covering the course, textbooks, instructors, and personal reading habits.  Follow-up discussions in the classroom and with individuals volunteering comments provided additional insight.  In open discussions, one is led to believe limited time is the principal determining factor affecting reading habits.  In the questionnaire, admitting to not understanding the textbook material followed by lack of interest in the subject exceeded limited time as the main reasons for not reading.  Lack of interest can often be overcome by changes in instruction style and emphasis.  Working around or compensating for deficient reading skills is a more difficult challenge.  An analysis of the findings is presented in this paper along with the author’s reactions and thinking on restructuring lecture sessions, reading assignments, and presentation practices for teaching undergraduate MIS courses.