Teaching Strategies for the College Classroom: A Collection of Faculty Articles

by Maryellen Weimer, Alice Cassidy (Introduction)

Teaching Strategies for the College A Collection of Faculty Articles is a practical, classroom-tested “tool kit” for faculty members who would like to develop their teaching practice. The 35 articles are drawn from the pages of The Teaching Professor newsletter and are written by college faculty for college faculty. They contain concrete pedagogical strategies that have been tested in the authors’ classrooms and together form a handbook of classroom strategies. There are articles • Honoring (and challenging) students’ beliefs • Improving student focus • Introducing a syllabus • Balancing control of the classroom with freedom of inquiry and expression • Establishing the relevance of course material • Creating an environment in which students can feel safe • Conducting the final day of class Edited by Maryellen Weimer, Ph.D.—editor of The Teaching Professor, author of numerous books and articles, and award-winning professor emeritus of teaching and learning at Penn State Berks—this collection is an important resource for faculty at all career stages. For newer instructors, it’s an accessible introduction to the proven teaching methods of more than a score of highly accomplished educators. For experienced teachers, the book provides a range of perspectives on age-old challenges and ideas for addressing some more current ones, such as how to deal with a growing sense of entitlement among students. For all faculty members, it provides inspiration and an affirmation of the critical work they do in their classrooms every day. Teaching Strategies for the College Classroom focuses on methods that can be easily implemented in the classroom. It is organized into four Chapter 1: The Start of a Successful Semester Chapter 2: Building Rapport with Students Chapter 3: Managing Challenging Behavior Chapter 4: Strategies for Student Engagement An emphasis on specific, practical information makes the book a uniquely valuable faculty resource. Readers will learn many classroom strategies, • Four strategies for creating a positive learning environment • Ten tips for a successful first day of class • Six keys to building rapport • Four solutions to the civility problem • Nineteen elements of a “behavior contract” • Four principles of successful classroom management Teaching Strategies for the College Classroom presents a comprehensive look at sound pedagogical practices. It is accessible, actionable material covering a broad spectrum of classroom issues. Throughout the book, readers will find some aspects of conventional wisdom affirmed and some challenged. There is a well-made case for being strict with disruptive students, while another contributor offers a persuasive argument for cell phones in the classroom! Readers will discover innovative ways of resolving thorny For instance, one article demonstrates how instructor and student goals for a class, while rarely identical, can often be achieved. The articles in this book are compiled from The Teaching Professor newsletter, a publication dedicated to the art and science of teaching since its inception in 1987. The newsletter is published by Magna Publications, which was founded in 1972 and is recognized as one of the country’s foremost providers of faculty development materials. Teaching Strategies for the College A Collection of Faculty Articles includes a foreword from Alice Cassidy, Ph.D., longtime member of the leadership teams at the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth and the Institute for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Bulk Purchases To purchase multiple print copies of this book, visit www.MagnaGroupBooks.com

Genres: Teaching, Nonfiction, Education

108 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

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

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection did provide some powerful, relevant strategies for higher ed instructors. But it was also quite general and vague at times, and even out-dated in some cases (especially those involving cell phones). It was a quick read and some of the articles may inspire faculty. But many were rushed and superficial, not enough to motivate me to action, unfortunately.