Participants included 31 undergraduates and an instructor. Data from responses to
discussion questions in reading comprehension questionnaires, essays, classroom observations, and follow-up interviews with students and the instructor were collected. A case study approach with mixed methods was employed; the findings of a qualitative analysis were triangulated with results derived from the quantitative analysis using scoring rubrics. A content analysis of responses to discussion questions and essays of 31 students was carried out. Then five students
who were in different stages of using critical reading and writing strategies were selected as case studies for deeper analysis of the ways discussion questions helped them take a critical stance toward writing as well as the factors that enabled student engagement during critical reading practice.