Students often have trouble reading closely and critically. This is a common refrain I hear from professors. Students will often speak in class based on opinion rather than on the text they have read, and rarely do they seriously engage with the arguments and ideas presented in the text. The most common method that professors use to infer whether and how students read a text is through writing assignments and quizzes. However, a necessary prior step is to teach students how to interact with a text as they are reading it. This improves their analytical and critical reading skills and, ultimately, their writing as well. In this presentation, I will demonstrate how to teach critical reading skills using an application called Perusall. This tool allows students to annotate class readings online while engaging in real-time discussion with their peers. This method of publicly annotating and reading the text encourages students to work closely with the text and can generate a more open and directed exchange of ideas. It also allows the professor to offer guidance and feedback on the way students are reading and reacting to the text.
