Reading in Disciplinary Contexts: Understanding Practices and Perspectives of Upper Division African American Students

• In Event: 56.081 - Roundtable Session 24
  In Roundtable Session: 56.081-2 - Critical Thinking, Writing, and Reading

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand how African American undergraduates approach and construct meaning from their disciplinary reading tasks. Three themes emerged from the findings, revealing that students scaffold their own learning by employing a decision matrix driven by career goals; view instructors as “one material on the materials list;” supplement the official curriculum and counter authority with calls for accountability. These findings describe students as active, intentional, and empowered learners, providing an alternative view from current scholarship to the contrary. Implications include the need for university instructors to consider their role in apprenticing students into their disciplinary discourses as well as the need for more inquiry into the agency these undergraduates bring to their learning.

Authors

• Heather Porter, Salisbury University

• Courtney Harned, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

• Gray Jack, Salisbury University