MOTIVATING STUDENTS TO READ JOURNAL ARTICLES

A technique is described that motivates students to complete assigned readings of journal articles. The technique requires students to write a summary and critique of each article on an 8 x 5 in. index card. Students completing the readings receive two types of tangible benefits: extra course credit and use of their notecards during subsequent tests. Objective assessment of the technique in two classes indicated that students turned in notecards for 73.7% of the readings, and only one student failed to submit any notecards. Students responded positively to the technique on an end-of-term survey.