Promoting Critical Reading With Double-Entry Notes: A Pilot Study

Double-entry note-taking is an active reading strategy that enables students to record their responses to texts as they read. While this strategy has been used in a variety of contexts since the 1980s, mainly for literature analysis and improving writing, its efficacy in developing student critical thinking and information literacy has not been widely studied. This pilot study examines student artifacts from a range of humanities and communication courses to determine whether, and in what ways, double-entry notes promote critical thinking about primary and secondary source material. This presentation explores preliminary results, including potential drawbacks and benefits for students across disciplines.