Reader response is aimed at involving students directly in their learning to advance understanding of literary texts and to help students learn to enjoy reading. Students are encouraged to participate in the learning process, using their own life experiences to interpret meaning in literary works. An English professor and associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, Karolides also is a distinguished educator, in addition to his literarcy achievements. In 1994, he received the Regents Teaching Excellence Award, the University of Wisconsin System's highest honor for teaching effectiveness.
Reader response is a theory of reading from which the teaching techniques emerge.
To interpret meaning, these theories may concentrate on the author, analyzing the text in terms of the author's life and times, or analyze the words and structure of the text. Under reader response, the readers play an integral part in bringing meaning to the text, thier thoughts, reactions and ideas included in analyzing and learning. The reader cannot be separated from the text. Karolides said the purpose of his book is to change the way instructors teach and use literature in the classroom. There are different and more effective ways to engage students in their learning, Karolides said.