The Art of College Teaching: Twenty-eight Takes

Teachers everywhere are confronted with a problem. Whether at a small liberal arts college, major research university, or some other institute of learning, instructors are continually challenged to create smart, effective pedagogical techniques in order to be efficient in the classroom.The Art of College Teaching is a first: twenty-eight insider essays about this process by distinguished and highly acclaimed teachers of note from across the curriculum—including eleven Carnegie national award winners—grouped here to uncover common values, approaches, and even debates among today’s educators.Rather than a “rulebook” for good teaching, Professors Marilyn Kallet and April Morgan have assembled a wide variety of practitioner lore—what successful teachers have learned to do well and what they’re still seeking to master. From the embarrassing to the inspirational, contributors take us inside their classrooms to explain the “light-bulb moments” that form the bases of their teaching philosophies, making this collection reader-friendly, often humorous, and very real.Contributors take up a broad range of subjects: setting boundaries with students; teaching as performance; the pros and cons of lecture versus “active” learning; gaining students’ respect and keeping it; creativity in the classroom; encouraging diversity; and many others. The interdisciplinary approach allows for a stimulating mix of voices and kinds of expertise, from “takes on teaching” by Nobel Prize Laureate James Buchanan to coaching strategies from champion ice-skating instructor Robert Unger.Theories about the “right” way to teach abound, but like any art, teaching isn’t easily defined by guidelines or prevailing wisdom. A narrative, experiential approach to one of our most rewarding and demanding disciplines, The Art of College Teaching is a book to be of use. It is a handbook of ideas that will empower new teachers and refresh those who have been in the trenches for years.