Improving Your Classroom Teaching

by Maryellen Weimer

Using vivid examples, classroom strategies, teaching tips and feedback tools, this book demonstrates how to improve teaching skills. Weimer dissects the elements of good teaching - enthusiasm, organization, clarity, among others - and emphasizes that good teaching can come in a variety of guises.

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 24, 1993

About the author

Editor-in-chief of Teaching Professor since 1987. Penn State Professor Emeritus of Teaching and Learning.
Received Penn State’s Milton S. Eisenhower award for distinguished teaching in 2005.

Past Director of the Instructional Development Program at Pennsylvania State University for ten years. Past Associate Director at the National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment; a U. S. Department of Education research and development center.

Reviews

[Matthew Kirkman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed reading this book. As a soon to be undergraduate alumni, many of my greatest complaints were expounded upon in this book. Although introductory I think this book would be a great asset to any professors or lecturers in an academic environment, and should be highly encouraged for teaching assistants. Definitely a book I will read again.

[Patrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book for the beginning University or College teacher. There are so many books on teaching and learning and most of them deal with very specific and higher-level issues. This is important and very useful, but for a beginner teacher it is perhaps more important to get the basics correct. Maryellen Weimer's book describes, based on research, what the the basic components of effective teaching are. She then proceeds to discuss each one, giving practical advice on what to do in order to be successful.

I believe that reading a book like this, and a similar one is McKeachie's "Teaching Tips," is very valuable.

The five components of effective instruction presented and discussed by Dr. Weimer are:
1. Enthusiasm
2. Preparation and Organization
3. Stimulating Student Thought and Interest
4. Explaining Clearly
5. Knowledge and Love of Content

Of course, the devil is in the details; How do you convey enthusiasm? How much do you need to prepare? How do you explain clearly?

One very big idea, which is recurring throughout the book, is that knowledge of content is not enough. To be an effective teacher you need, of course, to know the subject that you teach, but you also need to understand teaching and learning. Becoming a good teacher requires careful study of how students learn and effective pedagogy, it is not a by-product of content knowledge.