Purpose and Objectives

Having students complete a common reading during the summer communicates to them that reading and thinking about new ideas are an important part of the college experience. In addition, it provides them with a common topic of conversation during their first year here, while sending a message that college is about learning! This, in turn, can promote their academic integration into the Pace community.

A common reading experience also has the potential to magnify student learning by increasing the quantity and quality of conversations students have about their shared experience. Formal, classroom-based discussions about a common reading may also “spill over” to informal, out-of-class student conversations, which can multiply the educational impact of their reading. If such conversational synergy occurs, then two key theoretical principles of student learning and student retention are implemented: (a) active involvement (Astin, 1984, 1985, 1993)—because these multiple conversations increase the amount of student time and level of student involvement invested in the learning experience, and (b) social integration (Tinto, 1975,1993)—because this common source of conversation promotes student interaction with other members of the college community (e.g., peers, faculty), serving to “connect” students with the institution and strengthen their sense of community membership.

 

Common Reading Objectives