DEMO: Teaching the 21st Century Student

1.1.2

Peer reading

PEER READING is a cooperative learning method that helps with comprehension of texts of varied difficulty. Its aim is to grasp the content step by step through in- terpreting and explaining it to each other in pairs. Peer reading is most suitable for theoretical or course relat- ed texts when the content is complicated, or informa- tion is compact. It is also a good method for self-study when peers or friends want to cooperate or help each other beyond the classroom. Ideally, the learners review the text individually first, to get a rough idea about the title, the area of study and the topic. They should also become cognizant of its author and his or her viewpoints. Readers then focus on the structure, review the chapters, sections, and individual paragraphs and try to capture the text organization, general outline, and logic. When studying the material together, numerous tasks can be pursued. Based on the text length, partners first agree on dividing it into mean- ingful small units, such as subchapters or paragraphs. Then, they apply multiple perspectives in capturing the content. They can start with agree- ing on key words, searching for leading ideas, or suggesting for each par- agraph or section a title. Partners may proceed to reviewing each section by summarizing its content, or paraphrasing its key ideas. They may alter- nate tasks and give each other feedback. Peer reading is also a goodpreparation technique formore advancedwork with resources. Partners may proceed to the content analysis (Ch. 3), de- construct the resource, develop a relevant visual key, such as a mindmap, graph or diagram, and further reconstruct the content together.

42