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 Teaching cases Practising methods for reading academic texts

Practising methods for reading academic texts

Short description

Students work with different strategies for reading texts. The aim is to familiarise students with reading texts using a historical academic approach and enhance their historical skills. Before carrying out this activity, students have worked with useful note-taking techniques for reading historical background texts.

Motivation

The reading load for students is heavy. They need to develop skills related to reading strategies, which is also useful in the field of history.

      

Execution

THE PROCESS

STUDENT PREPARATION

The class is divided into groups. The groups all read the same text, but in three different ways: 

  • Group 1: Focus on the historical-empirical content of the text.

    • Important events, dates and people during the time.

    • Other developments in the historical course of events.  

  • Group 2: Focus on the text’s main argument and the author’s interpretation of the historical course of events.

    • How does the author convey the historical course of events?

    • Who are the heroes and villains in the making?  

  • Group 3: Focus on the historical quality of the text.

    • What types of material does the author base their account on?

    • Is there any material that the author does not include? 

DURING CLASS

 Each group reviews the text in plenum based on their area of focus.

RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS

SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS
  • The students are given questions that focus on three different historically relevant strategies for reading texts. 

Learning outcomes

  • To develop an in-depth knowledge of a delimited historical issue and the source material connected to it.

  • To practise working analytically and source-critically with a delimited historical issue.

Outcome

  • Students reported feeling like they developed academic identities as historians.

  • The students will be less overwhelmed because their reading load is reduced when they only have to focus on one area of the texts.

Activities

    Examples of practice

      Teaching plans

      Under development

      Basic information

      Teacher's name Karen Gram-Skjoldager 
      Faculty and department/school ARTS - IKS 
      Degree programme History
      Study level Third semester
      Course/subject Source based subject
      Number of students 25 students
      Time frame Activity
      Form of instruction Classroom instruction
      Main type of activity Information and knowledge/Investigation and analysis

      Karen Gram-Skjoldager

      Professor
      M
      H 1461, 528
      P +4587162306

      Contact

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      Revised 04.03.2025
      -
      Sofie Kathleen Lloyd Thomsen