Jun 25, 2019
Episode 60 of The Teaching Space Podcast delves into active reading.
Last year I read 100 books. I know. It’s a crazy number and it’s not something I’m planning to repeat any time soon (I chat about this in episode 47).
While I have run no official statistical analysis on my 2018 reading list (surprised?) I’d estimate 90% were audiobooks. I’m a huge fan of audiobooks, but one downside for me, is I don’t fully absorb everything I hear. While this is usually OK for fiction, it’s sometimes problematic for non-fiction, particularly if I’m reading for professional reasons (e.g. study).
This has lead me to explore active reading, and that’s what I will talk to you about today.
According to the Open University website, active reading is “reading something with a determination to understand and evaluate it for its relevance to your needs”.
When I’m listening to an audiobook or a podcast, I’m listening but I am definitely not evaluating at a high level. The closest I come to evaluating is deciding whether or not I like the narrator’s voice (can I listen to it for 10 hours?!)
There’s a big difference between the passive way I consume audiobooks and the definition of active reading.
(Source)
I’m not giving up audiobooks any time soon; I love them. But I have decided to focus on using them for fiction only. I need to be more active when reading non-fiction.
That’s all from me today, before I go, I have one small ask. Please sign up for my weekly email newsletter, The Teaching Space Extra. It includes access to my free resource library, as well as lots of great reading recommendations and information about productivity, teaching and tech. Hop over to theteachingspace.com/tts-extra to sign up.