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Super Courses: The Future of Teaching and Learning
From the bestselling author of What the Best College Teachers Do, the story of a new breed of amazingly innovative courses that inspire students and improve learning
Decades of research have produced profound insights into how student learning and motivation can be unleashed--and it's not through technology or even the best of lectures. In Super Courses, education expert and bestselling author Ken Bain tells the fascinating story of enterprising college, graduate school, and high school teachers who are using evidence-based approaches to spark deeper levels of learning, critical thinking, and creativity--whether teaching online, in class, or in the field.
Visiting schools across the United States as well as in China and Singapore, Bain, working with his longtime collaborator, Marsha Marshall Bain, uncovers super courses throughout the humanities and sciences. At the University of Virginia, undergrads contemplate the big questions that drove Tolstoy--by working with juveniles at a maximum-security correctional facility. Harvard physics students learn about the universe not through lectures but from their peers in a class where even reading is a social event. And students at a Dallas high school use dance to develop growth mindsets--and many of them go on to top colleges, including Juilliard. Bain defines these as super courses because they all use powerful researched-based elements to build a "natural critical learning environment" that fosters intrinsic motivation, self-directed learning, and self-reflective reasoning. Complete with sample syllabi, the book shows teachers how they can build their own super courses.
The story of a hugely important breakthrough in education, Super Courses reveals how these classes can help students reach their full potential, equip them to lead happy and productive lives, and meet the world's complex challenges.
Decades of research have produced profound insights into how student learning and motivation can be unleashed--and it's not through technology or even the best of lectures. In Super Courses, education expert and bestselling author Ken Bain tells the fascinating story of enterprising college, graduate school, and high school teachers who are using evidence-based approaches to spark deeper levels of learning, critical thinking, and creativity--whether teaching online, in class, or in the field.
Visiting schools across the United States as well as in China and Singapore, Bain, working with his longtime collaborator, Marsha Marshall Bain, uncovers super courses throughout the humanities and sciences. At the University of Virginia, undergrads contemplate the big questions that drove Tolstoy--by working with juveniles at a maximum-security correctional facility. Harvard physics students learn about the universe not through lectures but from their peers in a class where even reading is a social event. And students at a Dallas high school use dance to develop growth mindsets--and many of them go on to top colleges, including Juilliard. Bain defines these as super courses because they all use powerful researched-based elements to build a "natural critical learning environment" that fosters intrinsic motivation, self-directed learning, and self-reflective reasoning. Complete with sample syllabi, the book shows teachers how they can build their own super courses.
The story of a hugely important breakthrough in education, Super Courses reveals how these classes can help students reach their full potential, equip them to lead happy and productive lives, and meet the world's complex challenges.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published March 9, 2021
36 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 2, 2021
This book was so obnoxious. It started off with the "by Ken Bain . . . . . [4 pages later] with Marsha Marshall Bain". Every sentence in this book used the pronoun "we" or "our", so I feel pretty salty about how the woman was relegated to not even a co-author.
The title is also super obnoxious and is never explained.
There is some good content in here, but I felt like the main message was, if your class doesn't take your students into a prison, inspire them to meet at 7am to work on a project, solve world poverty, or otherwise transform their fucking lives, then why are you even teaching? And honestly it's not clear to me that every class could or should be like that. I don't think I would have the emotional bandwidth to do more than one of those things at a time.
The title is also super obnoxious and is never explained.
There is some good content in here, but I felt like the main message was, if your class doesn't take your students into a prison, inspire them to meet at 7am to work on a project, solve world poverty, or otherwise transform their fucking lives, then why are you even teaching? And honestly it's not clear to me that every class could or should be like that. I don't think I would have the emotional bandwidth to do more than one of those things at a time.
January 14, 2022
This is a good book to dip into to find good class activities and approaches to course design. There’s nothing particularly new here—“super courses” seems synonymous with “high impact practices”—but I did enjoy many of the ideas.
August 12, 2022
This book got off to a fantastic start and then settled into a lull of repetition that got a bit old by the end. The person who recommended it to me described it as a "flexible text", meaning you don't have to read all of it to absorb the book's main lessons. She was spot on! I did learn quite a bit in the beginning about engaging course elements and models, and it was great food for thought in general when it comes to combatting apathy in young learners.
May 22, 2025
This book inspired me to take some risks in the design for my lab course-- specifically, giving students more autonomy in picking their projects and emphasizing thought process over teaching specific techniques -- so check back in a year and we'll see how that went! I did feel like I missed an introductory "hallmarks of super courses" chapter, but I think the gist is: project based, teamwork heavy, with real student autonomy and a chance to take on a real world problem that students will be intrinsically motivated to solve. Not every class can incorporate all of those things, of course, but I was still excited to mix some of these principles and practices into my other courses as well. As a very new professor still learning the pedagogy ropes, this book was readable and inspiring. Definitely check out the appendix for syllabus examples!
August 6, 2021
Great book to read over the summer while prepping for a new school year in which students and staff return to classes reminiscent of pre-COVID but of course, nothing at all like those days. Bain's profile of courses that use flip classrooms, peer tutoring, self-reflection, deep thinking provoked by open questions, real-life assessments outside a school, zero to little lectures, and grading determined by example and not quotas and averages provides staggering evidence for the power of deep learning. I will be referencing this book from here on out as well as recommending it to any who care about schools and education.
January 2, 2023
Insightful read for everyone who seeks to teach in the age of ChatGPT and guide people in their learning journeys (even if masked as university studies and degree required coursework). This book offers inspiration from great teachers/mentors/scholars across disciplines (physics meets history, Russian literature) and provides tangible examples from classrooms - and even syllabi and activities.
I was slightly confused by the structure of separate chapters and how they contributed to the whole argument, but still it's worth reading even during Christmas break.
I was slightly confused by the structure of separate chapters and how they contributed to the whole argument, but still it's worth reading even during Christmas break.
August 29, 2022
Not a super huge fan of the way this book is written, but absolutely the contemporary look at innovative transformative course design that I wanted my faculty to read this year. “Natural critical learning environments” that make students want to learn…are a lot of work, but I don’t think it can be denied that this is what’s needed of educators now. Maybe the system will start to pay teachers more as a result! Ha!
December 1, 2023
There are some really interesting ideas and examples in this book. If I weren't an educator, I would probably have enjoyed it a lot more. But as someone who actually designs courses, it needed a lot more detail and a different organization in order to be useful. There were also a few "yikes" moments, starting with the unclear contributions of Marsha Marshall Bain.
Tip: if you plan to read this book, but sure to check out the notes! There are also example syllabi at the end of the book.
Tip: if you plan to read this book, but sure to check out the notes! There are also example syllabi at the end of the book.
April 14, 2022
The book said there are super courses available and gave 3 examples at the end. But I was hoping to learn what makes a super course so I can teach myself. I got a few hints about this in the book but there wasn't a specific list. Thus I'm not sure I would even recognize a super course if I was looking for one.
June 7, 2021
A helpful read for anyone who works in education. This book reveals ways in which traditional assumptions about teaching and learning need to be rexamined and in many cases discarded in favor of a student-driven, teacher facilitated dynamic that values curiosity and exploration over all else.
August 4, 2022
This is a book of best practices. It spotlights pedagogical programs that are recognized as innovative, mainly because they go beyond (or even subvert) the conventional knowledge transmission model.
So basically, the old 'guide on the side' over 'sage on a stage' cliche. The other one is the "knowledge is lighting a fire, not filling a bucket" saying. An oldie but goodie.
There's a big of focus on Mazur’s Peer Instruction method -- https://mazur.harvard.edu/research-ar... -- a bit dated now, but I guess the principle of involving students in your learning still holds. There are a few tips and strategies here that are valuable for any educator regardless of discipline. The main point, for me anyway, is to keep working with your colleagues and students in finding ways to strengthen the social relevance of your curricular content. Its easier said than done, which is why books like this, for all the critique that people have of it, is still valuable and useful.
For a book that is purportedly about the future of teaching and learning, I would have expected a bit more on A.I and machine learning and how we, as educators, could configure our pedagogy to equip students for this 4th (or 5th?) Industrial revolution. But I guess there are books devoted specifically to that.
So basically, the old 'guide on the side' over 'sage on a stage' cliche. The other one is the "knowledge is lighting a fire, not filling a bucket" saying. An oldie but goodie.
There's a big of focus on Mazur’s Peer Instruction method -- https://mazur.harvard.edu/research-ar... -- a bit dated now, but I guess the principle of involving students in your learning still holds. There are a few tips and strategies here that are valuable for any educator regardless of discipline. The main point, for me anyway, is to keep working with your colleagues and students in finding ways to strengthen the social relevance of your curricular content. Its easier said than done, which is why books like this, for all the critique that people have of it, is still valuable and useful.
For a book that is purportedly about the future of teaching and learning, I would have expected a bit more on A.I and machine learning and how we, as educators, could configure our pedagogy to equip students for this 4th (or 5th?) Industrial revolution. But I guess there are books devoted specifically to that.
September 22, 2022
Great advice, but it doesnt read like a textbook. It is a chatty and meandering look at what makes courses great. The focus is ground courses but most of the advice is just as applicable to online. Trusting students and giving them reason to trust you, open ended and authentic assignments, etc.
April 6, 2024
Found several moments of greatness punctuated by a few ho-hum ones, but overall a very solidly researched and articulated volume when all is said and done. Worth a read and I’m planning to go back through my notes made in it this summer.
April 23, 2021
Great book, well-written, lots of good ideas and inspiration in a time of pedagogical difficulty (pandemic-online).
Want to read
June 9, 20212021/05/24
April 1, 2022
How do we motivate our students to embrace a culture of deep learning? This is a systemic concern.
June 7, 2022
Took me a while but fell in love with the ideas and directions this book took me. It’s a must have for educators and a absolutely invigorating.
March 1, 2023
DNF @ 46%
Read
March 12, 2023DNF 60%
December 23, 2024
Many useful ideas!💡
March 24, 2025
At this point in time in the education sector, this feels like its information that is old and by now should already have been implemented!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews