In this issue, we are pleased to share with JCRL readers four articles in the areas of learning assistance, peer mentoring, and reading.
Our first feature article is “Supporting College Learners’ Study Time Calibration: Relations to Course Achievement and Self-Regulated Learning Skills,” by D. Jake Follmer, Melissa Patchan, and Robin Spitznogle. Using a framework of self-regulated learning that includes the three phases of forethought, performance, and self-reflection, the authors present a study that follows students through these phases in a class environment, focusing on study-time calibration, the degree of fit between students’ estimates of their upcoming study time and their actual time spent studying. They find that tools to help students improve their study time calibration can contribute to improvements in goal setting and course performance.
In our next article, “Mentoring University Students with ASD on Campus: A Supplemental Program Model,” Tara Rowe examines the effectiveness of using peer mentoring to support the increasing number of university students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The author noted that as of 2019, due to an amendment to the National College Health Assessment survey, which is conducted by the National College Health Association and directs respondents to specifically identify a diagnosis of ASD, it is now easier than ever to track the ongoing rise in enrollment of students with ASD. Rowe contends that despite this breakthrough in knowledge, the support for students with ASD has not kept pace and provides a study of the THRIVE intervention approach at one program as a model for other institutions of higher learning.
In “Critical Reading: What Do Students Actually Do?,” Kendall Hairston-Dotson and Sara Incera address three questions in relation to one another: How do students rate the usefulness of various critical reading skills? How often do students report being taught those same skills? And how often do students report using those skills? Finding that students do not always report practicing the skills that they both say are useful and report being taught, the authors provide suggestions for instruction. These include not only making space for students to practice highly valued skills, but also providing instruction for greater effectiveness in skills like Skimming, which may be less highly valued but are commonly used.
In our final article, “Reading From Screen vs Reading From Paper: Does It Really Matter?,” Turkan Ocal, Aydin Durgunoglu, and Lauren Twite test the difference in reading comprehension of material offered on paper vs. on screen. The authors conducted a study of the reading habits of 69 students at one mid-west university. In the study, students were asked to read passages in both a paper and online condition and respond to comprehension questions in a format like the SAT. The authors concluded that, while there was not a notable difference in the comprehension levels between the formats, students preferred the paper format for more complex material.
While the Journal of College Reading and Learning publishes papers on a diverse set of topics, it is always satisfying to see potential connections between them, planting seeds for collaboration in our work to support student success. We see many such areas in the current issue: How might the question of calibration (Follmer, Patchan, & Spitznogle) apply to students’ application of valuable critical reading skills (Hairston-Dotson & Incera)? In what ways might application of critical reading skills vary on screen and on paper (Ocal, Durgunoglu, & Twite), and how can those skills best be supported in each medium? And, of course, we recognize the diversity of student populations, including students with ASD and must consider the full range of students’ learning and developmental and the role of peer mentoring in meeting those needs.
Thank you for your readership and support. We hope you find this issue of the Journal of College Reading and Learning helpful, thought-provoking, and inspirational.