Why Learning Preferences Aren’t Always the Best Guide for Educational Design

A recent NPR segment caught my attention: “Do Audiobooks Count as Reading?" The research it covered was compelling—suggesting that for fluent adult readers, listening and reading result in similar levels of comprehension. In other words, audiobooks aren’t “cheating.” They’re simply a different way to access the same information.

For readers still building confidence, reading tends to support stronger comprehension than listening—especially with complex material.

But that story immediately raised a question for me: Does that hold true for the students I’ve been designing for?

The community college learners I’m working with aren’t always fluent readers. For some, English is a second language. Most are juggling jobs, coursework, and family obligations. Many prefer to listen while commuting or multitasking. And yet, that preference might not lead to the kind of understanding we hope our study guides will support.

What the Broader Research Says

Beyond the NPR study, educational research still leans in a clear direction: for developing readers, reading, over listening, leads to stronger comprehension—especially when the material is complex or technical. Here’s why:

• Reading gives students control. They can pause, reread, or slow down—something audio rarely allows.

• Listening can be passive. It’s easier to tune out or miss details when the pace isn’t self-directed.

• Reading + listening together shows promise. Dual-format learning has been shown to improve vocabulary and retention, particularly for multilingual learners or those with literacy gaps.

What This Means for Designers

Many learning tools today are adding audio formats to meet student preferences. And that makes sense—preference matters when motivation and access are in play. But simply providing both text and audio options isn’t enough. As designers, we need to consider:

• How can we guide students toward reading when deeper comprehension is needed?

• How can audio act as a scaffold, not a substitute?

• Where do we insert checkpoints, summaries, or engagement cues to keep both formats active?

Our job isn’t to make everything frictionless. It’s to design experiences that balance ease with effectiveness—meeting students where they are, while gently guiding them toward what works.

How We Design Reading Pages That Actually Get Read

If we want students to get the comprehension benefits of reading, we can’t just hand them a wall of text and hope for the best. For many community college students—especially those still building confidence as readers—the way content is presented matters just as much as the content itself.

Here’s how we’re rethinking reading pages to support real engagement:

• Use visual hierarchy to guide the eye. Clear subheads, short paragraphs, and bolded key terms help break content into manageable sections. If it looks skimmable, it feels more approachable.

• Write at the right level, but with respect. We aim for a 9th-grade reading level—but never condescend. Plain language isn’t “dumbed down”; it’s just smart communication.

• Anchor content with visuals. Well-placed icons, diagrams, infographics, or illustrative photos can provide context and memory cues, especially for technical or process-heavy material.

• Give students ways to interact. Embedded audio, callouts, or short comprehension checks (even simple “Did you get that?” prompts) help turn passive reading into active processing.

• Limit scroll fatigue. When a student opens a page and sees endless text, it’s easy to bounce. We structure content to feel digestible and goal-oriented—like something you can actually finish.

In short, we design reading as an experience—not a task. The goal isn’t to trick students into reading. It’s to remove the intimidation factor and build the kind of trust and clarity that makes reading feel doable.

Takeaway

The NPR story was right—for adult readers, audio and text can function equally well. But for many community college students, reading still holds the edge for comprehension. And that means we have to go beyond formats and preferences. We have to build with intent.

When we understand not just what students want but what helps them succeed, we stop designing for convenience—and start designing for their real learning.