Bison Library Bytes

An article in the June 20^th issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education caught my eye. It’s titled ”The Reading Struggle Meets AI.” The author begins by talking about the ongoing struggle to motivate students to complete course reading assignments and how students are using AI as a means to circumvent actually reading. There were two things that I found interesting about the article. The first is the student perspective on reading revealed through research at the University of Mississippi. The second is how faculty are adjusting to these challenges to reading and instruction. 

You can find this article in the June 20, 2025, issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education in the Opelika library.

One of the magazines we still get in the Opelika library is CCJournal, or the Community College Journal. This monthly journal frequently has interesting feature articles that I wish more people knew about. This month is no exception. “Easing the Burden” by Douglas J. Guth (an education writer) asks the question, “In what ways can community colleges better support the needs of parenting learners?” From the students I have interacted with in the library, I know we have many students parenting children from newborn through college age. These students have different needs from the more traditional student body. The article helps highlight some ways community colleges are supporting parents who are also students.

The second article I wanted to highlight is “Guiding Students Through Trauma” by Ed Finkel, another education writer. This article does not suggest that faculty, administrators, or staff should be trauma counselors. Instead, citing a 2017 report that showed “roughly two-thirds of community college students have experienced at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE)…and between 20% and 30% have experienced two or more,” Finkel argues that community colleges need to be “trauma-informed.” This means understanding how trauma, whether from a childhood experience or military service, can affect learning and persistence through the program.

To read these articles, come by the library. You can also access these articles online on the American Association of Community Colleges Community College Journal page.