چکیده (انگلیسی):

The reasons behind the reading habits of undergraduate MIS students were examined to learn from
the students’ point of view why many don’t read the textbook. Willingness to work hard on
homework and project assignments and an appreciation of what is expected of them appears to be
in place. However, carrots, sticks, ruses and requests all meet with limi ted success when used to
encourage reading assigned material. Four sections of a required business school 2000 -level MIS
course were asked to respond anonymously to a questionnaire covering the course, textbooks,
instructors, and personal reading habits. Follow-up discussions in the classroom and with
individuals volunteering comments provided additional insight. In open discussions, one is led to
believe limited time is the principal determining factor affecting reading habits. In the
questionnaire, admitting to not understanding the textbook material followed by lack of interest in
the subject exceeded limited time as the main reasons for not reading. Lack of interest can often be
overcome by changes in instruction style and emphasis. Working around or compensating for
deficient reading skills is a more difficult challenge. An analysis of the findings is presented in this
paper along with the author’s reactions and thinking on restructuring lecture sessions, reading
assignments, and presentation practices for teaching undergraduate MIS courses