I wanted to brag about a recent GLCA workshop I watched — Getting Students to Read with Chris Hakala of Springfield College. I watched the recording and am sharing a summary (with help from CoPilot).

• You can access the recorded video using password: &*Hef=H7
• Hakala has also shared his presentation slides and a link to Wake Forest’s Workload Estimator

⭐ Overview

In this talk, cognitive psychologist Chris Hakala breaks down what really happens when students read and why so many of them struggle with reading comprehension. He explains that reading isn’t a simple skill students should already have mastered when they come to us; it’s a complex interaction between attention, background knowledge, memory, vocabulary, and motivation. And when any one of those pieces is missing, students quickly become overwhelmed and disengaged.

“As humans we search for the easiest pathways through tasks…But once you get in that habit it’s difficult to change. In higher ed we need to try to inculcate in our students the habits of considering metacognitive awareness of what we’re doing and how to control that. You’re reading something hard? Have a strategy of getting through it. Reading something that doesn’t seem interesting? Look for things that are interesting; when you’re done, reflect on it.”

The first half focuses on why students disengage. They think it takes too long, they don’t see the relevance, they feel disconnected from the material, or they lack the context needed to make sense of what they’re reading (he spends more time on this). His examples show how disorienting academic reading can feel without the right scaffolding.

From there, he what faculty can do—practical, evidence-informed strategies before, during, and after reading that help students build meaning, connect ideas, and develop metacognitive awareness. Hakala outlines specific techniques that support attention, strengthen comprehension, and model the expert thinking we often take for granted. These range from previewing and contextualizing readings, to modeling annotation and self-explanation, to using tools like annotation platforms, to structuring post‑reading concept maps or reflection prompts.

🎒 Ideas for Faculty to Try Right Away

🧭 Model Your Reading Process for Students

In class, show students how you would approach a reading. Where do you start? What do you notice? What do you look for?  Where do you pause?  What background knowledge do you draw on?  What do you do when confused? What do your annotations look like?  What do you annotate?

🗺️ Provide Context Before Students Read

Offer a brief preview: What is the reading about, why are they reading it, what should students look for? A brief “when done I want you to think about…”  This context setting can dramatically improve comprehension.

Another example was “Know-Want-Learn”: Before starting the reading what do you already know about the topic?  What do you want to get out of it?  After the reading what did you learn?

🎙️ Ask Students to Self-Explain

After reading, have them write a short paragraph or record a 1-minute audio note explaining the main ideas in their own words. Or this can be an end of the week reflection. This can reveal misunderstandings and strengthens comprehension and encoding into memory.