Geeky Pedagogy: A Guide for Intellectuals, Introverts, and Nerds Who Want to Be Effective Teachers

Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

by Jessamyn Neuhaus

Geeky Pedagogy is a funny, evidence-based, multidisciplinary, pragmatic, highly readable guide to the process of learning and relearning how to be an effective college teacher. It is the first college teaching guide that encourages faculty to embrace their inner nerd, inviting readers to view themselves and their teaching work in light of contemporary discourse that celebrates increasingly diverse geek culture and explores stereotypes about super-smart introverts. Geeky Pedagogy avoids the excessive jargon, humorlessness, and endless proscriptions that plague much published advice about teaching. Neuhaus is aware of how embodied identity and employment status shape one’s teaching context, and she eschews formulaic depictions of idealized exemplar teaching, instead inviting readers to join her in an engaging, critically reflective conversation about the vicissitudes of teaching and learning in higher education as a geek, introvert, or nerd. Written for the wonks and eggheads who want to translate their vast scholarly expertise into authentic student learning, Geeky Pedagogy is packed with practical advice and encouragement for increasing readers’ pedagogical knowledge.

Genres: Teaching, Education, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Academia, Academic

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Lance Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neuhaus's collection of thoughtful and insightful tips for instructors is a wide-range how-to and why-to that instructors of every kind will find useful with practical tips, research-related groundings, and places to find more knowledge on the subject of effective teaching. As a person who is clearly passionate about their field, Nauhaus knows that passion is useful and important but not enough to effectively teach because many instructors make a variety of mistakes when they step into the class. These include forgetting what it's like to be a non-expert in the field, determining that everyone must have the same passion for the subject as they do, and rethinking how one was taught with how one should teach. Neuhaus structures the book in a way that helps readers through the process of teaching. Initially, she explores what it means to teach and then into preparing for teaching be it an entire course or an individual class session. Next, she covers the reflective process and how that is one of the most essential ways to improve either over the duration of a course or a classroom session. She also substantively addresses the importance of support and the need for a team and colleagueship to improve one's teaching practice and finally explores what it means to move forward with all of this in mind. All of that is great, but there's definitely one aspect that can rub readers. She developed an acronym (GIN) that she uses to refer to her dominant audience throughout, which stands for Geeks, Introverts, and Nerds. She does describe these individually but then seems to lump them together as a singular profile, which can clash with readers. Many geeks and nerds are not introverts, which is fine but the way in which she continually invokes GINs, readers would believe that the only way to be a geek or nerd is to be an introvert. Thus, for some readers, they go along reading and agreeing with many things but then are distracted by Neahaus calling them an introvert (or saying that this is really meant for introverts). It just feels a big haphazardly done in the end. Regardless of that small piece, the book is a really great resource and read for anyone that is looking to become a more effective and engaged educator.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Speaks to my geeky side and my teaching

While not specifically aimed at any one particular discipline, this book is great for teachers who self-identify as geeks or nerds. Incredibly well-referenced, this book left me wanting to continue to learn more about how people learn and how I can continue to improve my teaching.

[Steve Granger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about effective teaching strategies for nerdy introverts? Count me in. New semester is on the way and thought I'd check this book out to see if I can pick up some useful strategies. While what was offered in this book was not very surprising, it did give me the opportunity to reflect, which is actually one of the key strategies put forward in this book. Indeed, critically reflecting is something I try to do within each of my lectures, detailing what worked and what didn't work, and I've found this to help me avoid making the same mistakes over again.

I think more broadly this book starts out with trying to get you in the right mindset for feedback. As academics, we're used to the peer-review process for research, yet we are hesitant to integrate this into our teaching. Something that I've found to be extremely helpful and less threatening is to retrieve informal feedback from students throughout the semester. I'd also like to start getting feedback from peers, but I'm sure that day will come.

As for something the author mentioned that I avoid doing but would like to change is informally interacting with students before and after class. Crippling introversion does not help and if thrown into a social situation without the right behavioural architecture in place, I'd almost certainly avoid, especially because I can. However, I think it would be pretty simple to put myself in positions where it's unavoidable and I think I'll try that out this term and see how it goes.

[Karen Chung · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ordered this book almost immediately after listening to an interview with the author on Fresh Air. Hey, I'm an academic with introvert tendencies – though I consider myself more an ambivert – and nerdiness is for me also a badge of honor. I was really looking forward to reading it.

I give the author a lot of credit for writing this book – it's much needed. There were lots of useful things in it.

However, the writing was very very dense and difficult to slog through – and that's saying something, coming from a fellow nerdy academic. It took me almost a full month to get through its mere 160 pages – I could only take a dose of about 3 pages a day – thus holding me up on other books I wanted to get to. Personally, I would have preferred to absorb the information through a well-constructed ppt file. There was lots of repetition and wordiness where something considerably more succinct would do.

Some suggestions: The author should include in the glossary the expansion of all the initialisms and acronyms she uses, like SET, SoTL, PWCU, TC and CTL – there are quite a few. I also still don't know what pomo-speak (p. 140) is – ironic that it occurs in a paragraph that goes on to criticize "excessive jargon" in SoTL. I scrambled many times, checking the glossary (often no dice) and paging through the entire text of what I'd read so far, and often still didn't find the full forms. This would be very very easy to remedy.

Next, I realize that popular American culture forms a big part of the author's research and teaching specialties, and she seems to have a special fondness for fantasy genres. There's certainly nothing wrong with that. However, I'm guessing that not all readers are as up to date as she is on the references to the Star Trek movies or Middle Earth characters and events. I'm not - these are really just not my thing at all. So I had trouble with some of these, and often had to Google things. When I saw something was again from fantasy lit, I skimmed the results of a Google search, sighed and moved on.

There was however one reference I did really like: the one about Captain Picard learning that he wouldn't be the same person had he been spared a traumatic injury in his youth (p. 153). This was excellent and very apropos. I may cite this in a future class or article.

Another thing that put me off a bit was the corny metaphors and turns of phrase, e.g. p. 116: "...awareness and gratitude can force us to move out of Resentmentville and into Reality Town." The "putting on your professor pants" metaphor gets recycled over and over till it becomes cliché – even once was pushing it for this reader.

I caught a very few typos, including "hones in on" for "homes in on" (p. 55) and "in a new environments" (p. 77); otherwise the book was very carefully produced.

I think I got the most out of the last two chapters, "Support" and "Practice".

I still recommend this book – it addresses a key area not often addressed by other works I'm aware of. But with the above caveats in mind.

[Jessica Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was on a list I had to choose from for my Doctor of Health Science course on Instructional Design and Delivery as I work toward being a professor in public health and aging studies some day. This book made me feel compelled to reach out to a few impactful professors throughout my educational journey and let them know how indebted I am to their dedication to the profession and my educational and personal growth. This book perfectly outlines "teaching is HARD" just as "learning is HARD." There is so much more to being an effective teacher than just slapping together a syllabus and walking into a classroom to spout your nerdy academic obsessions; to be an effective teacher, you must consider the four key aspects of teaching outlined in this book. While I've been learning the complexity of teaching in my coursework, this book does an amazing job translating how to implement student centered learning and prevent burnout. Highly recommend for prospective, new, and tenure professors.

[Harriet Schwartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessymyn Neuhuas's "Geeky Pedagogy" is a terrific read -- useful for new and experienced teachers alike. Neuhaus helps us think about who we are in relation to our students, and how to think about preparing for and reflecting on our teaching. In particular, she explores teaching from the perspective of "intellectuals, introverts, and nerds". Through this perspective, Neuhaus pushes us to stay cognizant that most who teach excelled in school and we know how school works -- we can lose track of this and forget that school can be much more difficult for many of our students. Neuhaus also offers valuable advice about managing the social demands of teaching -- a challenge for the many introverts who teach in higher ed. Neuhaus's voice is authentic, wise, and humorous. Quoting everything from Star Trek to Spongebob Squarepants -- "Geeky Pedagogy" is a fun journey of professional development.

[Masosote Masosote · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the beginner science professor who finds the landscape of pedagogy muddled with discipline specific language that you have to google all the time, this is such a great read. It also offers practical ways to navigate the peopling demanding nature of giving lectures if you are an introvert while also alerting you to your blind spots. Teaching the students you have and not the students you want to have is often a challenge , but Jessamyn shows that there are ways to use your strengths such as geekiness to be an enthralling lecturer. I enjoyed it.
I also think one will enjoy this book even though they are not a college professor, but are introverted and have an influential position that needs some peopling.

[Michael Whitlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, relatively quick introduction to higher-education pedagogical tools, techniques, and considerations. Humorous, engaging, and accessible, the "nerd" qualities are neither a shameless veneer nor overbearing, just a recognition of the ways in which the intellectual qualities that lead people to be Geeks, Introverts, or Nerds (GINs, in her book) can be both an obstacle AND a potential strength when it comes to teaching.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a smart book that did a great job of illuminating some of the challenges that college teachers are likely to face given their (predominantly) geeky personalities. An introvert (and geek) myself, I found that much of what Neuhaus said resonated. And many of her offered strategies were smart and easily actionable ones. I particularly liked what she had to say about gathering (and revisiting) gratitude statements. We don't do so enough!

[Chris Esposo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was disappointing, it can be summarized simply as : Have strategic empathy for your students, and don't be a socially inept. This is the essence of the entire several hours of the books length. The author peppers the text with analogies from Star Trek, Harry Potter, and other "geeky" IPs, but I question whether this was wise given that not every "geeky" teacher will be fans of this material. Not recommended.

[Stacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read and discussed this book along with colleagues in the Academy of Educators. Humorous and informative, yet a whole lot of editing (or more and varied writing) could have made this a much better book. So quote heavy I thought I was reading an ode to bricolage, which led to 25% of the book being glossary and references. We get it. You read a lot. Most interesting chapter was on reflection and gratitude. Our discussions were good though.

[Ramon Girona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book that takes advantage of the nerdy qualities of its writer, giving to the whole book a special taste. Lots of geeky sentences and nerdy play on words are present around the text, and its plenty of good pieces of advice about how to be a more effective teacher.

Nice introduction to how to teach from a special point of view provided by Neuhaus, who is actually a bookish, sci-fi, comic-book fan.

Highly recommended.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

You don't have to be a GIN (Geek, Introvert, or Nerd) to appreciate the suggestions provided in this book. Despite missing the Geek Pop Culture references (I did get some of the Star Trek ones), I was able to glean practical tips to use in the classroom.
This was a faculty book club selection that sparked meaningful conversations. By following Neuhaus' advice, we all have a shot at being "as cool and effective as Sulu"!

[Ardeeach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purposefully rarely give a five star rating. This one earned it. She was to the point, on point, and very helpful. I kept thinking there would be something I disagreed with or thought It inappropriate. Not here. Very good book, instructive for new and seasoned Faculty regardless of their teaching modality. Well worth the read.

[Michelle Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sparkles with personality

The glossary alone is worth the cover price. It’s a refreshing, engaging take on issues that can drag teachers down professionally as well as emotionally.

[Illysa · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a noob, I was incredibly grateful for Dr. Neuhaus’s thoughtful expertise in how to reach students. In particular, the discussion on academic entitlement was a paradigm shift for me that changed my approach in the classroom. Awesome resource for introverted nerds like me!

[Elliedakota · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re an extrovert, skip it. But, as a strong introvert with thirty years of teaching experience everything rang true. I didn’t find much I hadn’t stumbled upon already, but had I had this book decades ago I could have known I was not alone in my quirks and challenges.

[Krysta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing revolutionary here. Mostly reminders to be aware of yourself and your students in the classroom, and to adopt a mindset where you don't automatically assume your students are out to get you.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and lively, but geared more towards junior and developing teachers than those of us who have been in the classroom for a while.

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a real disappointment. Nothing new here, and the focus on GINs (Geeks, introverts, and nerds) feels gimmicky rather than insightful.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agreed with just about everything Neuhaus had to say.

[Anthony Molaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book. It's divided into 4 main parts but the first half is more relevant. The notes are very helpful.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessamyn Neuhaus has written an essential pedagogical book that needs to be read by every college professor. This is not a book to put on your shelf, you will want to use the ideas she presents. Her writing style has organized her complex ideas so you can easily understand and put them into practice. Geeky Pedagogy can be used by th experienced and the novice college professor. I encourage you to read with a group of people as I did, we were able to digest and discuss her writings in detail. She writes about practical things you can do as a college professor then connects them pedagogy. Enjoy reading!

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another read for work. For all those geeky academics out there. This book was written for us :)

[Paul Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent guide for university instructors who wish to improve their teaching. I broke my usual "no marking in book" rule and marked this one all up highlighting wisdom and well-articulated nuggets. I've been at this teaching thing for a long time, but I learned new things! And though my field and setting are both quite different, I recognized many other things in my teaching experience from the book. I have no connection to this book, but I am proud that my university's press imprint is the publisher.