Stockholm university
Centre for the Advancement of University Teaching

The hidden skill — bringing academic reading to light

What do we understand when confronted with a text that is both contextless and challenging to grasp? How do we develop better strategies to enhance our comprehension? This workshop presents an opportunity to deepen your understanding of academic reading and find strategies to better support your students in becoming more adept readers of complex academic texts.

Läsande studenter på rad på studieplatserna på plan 5, Stockholms universitetsbibliotek.
Foto: Lena Katarina Johansson

A workshop for university teachers and teaching doctoral candidates who are interested in enhancing their understanding of academic reading and incorporating this knowledge into their teaching practices. Using texts from various disciplines and genres, we will collectively reflect on how we create understanding as readers and explore how different reading techniques impact comprehension.

 

About the Workshop

Academic reading is a vital yet often underexplored skill in higher education and research. While academic writing receives significant attention in teaching, reading is frequently overlooked, treated as an implicit component of "study skills"—a framing that can suppress curiosity and a genuine enjoyment of reading.

This workshop challenges conventional approaches to academic reading and invites you to engage in a collaborative exploration. Together, we will examine texts from diverse disciplines and genres, reflecting on the following questions; What do we understand when confronted with a challenging, context-free text? What strategies do we employ to enhance our understanding? Which techniques do we actually use in our academic reading, and, how is our understanding influenced when we discuss texts with others, i.e., when we read collectively?

The purpose of the workshop is to, through experiential learning (Kolb, 1984), better understand how reading techniques affect comprehension so that you can better support your students in developing as readers of academic texts.

In this workshop, you will:

  • Reflect on and analyze your own reading techniques and comprehension strategies.
  • Organize and articulate these strategies in a structured way.
  • Share your approaches with colleagues.
  • Learn from the experiences and techniques of others.

The workshop will be led by Kristina Jerner Widestedt, Associate Professor at the Department of Media Studies, and Magdalena Holdar, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Culture and Aesthetics. The workshop is conducted in English

 

Preparation

Before the workshop you will be asked to send a short subject-specific text that can be used in the workshop via email to the workshop leaders. Texts in Nordic languages and English are welcome.

 

Registration

The workshop is aimed at all teaching staff and educational managers, regardless of subject affiliation, at Stockholm University. Participation is free of charge. Book your place in good time, as places are limited. First come, first served is applied.

The workshop spring 2025 is canceled

Organizer is the Centre for the Advancement of University Teaching (CeUL). CeUL offers workshops on a variety of teaching and learning topics with the aim to support and stimulate engaging and high-quality teaching at all levels at Stockholm University.

An opportunity to explore and develop academic teaching skills that falls under category 6. Reflective practitioner
The workshop offers tools and ideas for systematic development of your teachership.

Learn more about The 8 dimensions Academic teachership

Last updated: March 13, 2025

Source: Centre for the Advancement of University Teaching

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