Reading as a learning strategy for engineering undergraduates

Abstract

ABSTRACT One of the indicators of achieving the graduate attribute, Investigation, is to review the research literature, which needs both critical thinking and critical reading skills. The SQ4R strategy is used to develop the students’ reading comprehension skills together with critical thinking. Thus, the main objective of this research is to develop the reading skills of students so that they will be able to conduct investigations using research-based knowledge. Semester Four Civil Engineering undergraduates were selected as the sample group and the quasi-experimental approach was used in this study. The results of the t-test revealed that there is a significant improvement from the pre-test to the post-test of the experimental group, which indicates that the SQ4R strategy was effective in developing reading comprehension skills. The students’ write-up described how some of the students developed their thinking from a lower stage of Perry’s model of cognitive development to an upper stage.