How can you help students develop critical reading skills in a digital age?

1 Choose relevant and reliable texts

One of the challenges of critical reading in a digital age is to select texts that are relevant to the learning objectives and reliable in terms of accuracy, credibility, and authority. You can help students by providing them with a list of recommended texts, such as books, articles, websites, or podcasts, that are appropriate for their level and topic. You can also teach them how to evaluate the quality and reliability of the texts they find online, using criteria such as the source, the purpose, the evidence, and the date of publication.

2 Engage with the texts actively

Another challenge of critical reading in a digital age is to engage with the texts actively, rather than passively consuming them. You can help students by encouraging them to interact with the texts in various ways, such as annotating, summarizing, paraphrasing, questioning, commenting, or comparing. You can also use digital tools, such as online annotation platforms, collaborative documents, or discussion forums, to facilitate and enhance the interaction among students and between students and texts.

3 Develop critical thinking skills

A key component of critical reading in a digital age is to develop critical thinking skills, such as identifying the main ideas, arguments, and assumptions of the texts, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence and reasoning, and evaluating the implications and consequences of the claims and perspectives. You can help students by providing them with guiding questions, frameworks, or rubrics that can help them apply these skills to the texts they read. You can also model these skills by demonstrating how you critically read and respond to a text.

4 Compare and contrast different texts

A useful strategy to enhance critical reading in a digital age is to compare and contrast different texts that address the same or related topics, issues, or problems. This can help students to identify the similarities and differences among the texts, to recognize the diversity and complexity of the information and viewpoints, and to develop their own informed opinions and arguments. You can help students by selecting texts that offer contrasting or complementary perspectives, evidence, or approaches, and by asking them to compare and contrast them using criteria such as the purpose, the audience, the tone, or the style.

5 Apply and transfer the knowledge

A final strategy to foster critical reading in a digital age is to apply and transfer the knowledge gained from the texts to other contexts, situations, or tasks. This can help students to deepen their understanding of the texts, to connect them to their prior knowledge and experiences, and to demonstrate their learning outcomes. You can help students by designing tasks that require them to apply and transfer the knowledge from the texts, such as writing a reflection, a review, a report, or an essay, or creating a presentation, a poster, or a podcast.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?