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The New College Classroom
What the latest science of learning tells us about inspiring, effective, and inclusive teaching at the college level.
College instruction is stuck in the past. If a time traveler from a century ago arrived on today’s campuses, they would recognize only too well the listlessness of the lecture hall and the awkward silence of the seminar room. Yet we know how to do better. Cathy N. Davidson and Christina Katopodis, two of the world’s foremost innovators in higher education, turn to the latest research and methods to show how teachers at every kind of institution can help students become independent, creative, and active learners.
The New College Classroom helps instructors in all disciplines create an environment that is truly conducive to learning. Davidson and Katopodis translate cutting-edge research in learning science and pedagogy into ready-to-use strategies to incorporate into any course. These empirically driven, classroom-tested techniques of active learning―from the participatory syllabus and ungrading to grab-and-go activities for every day of the term―have achieved impressive results at community colleges and research universities, on campus, online, and in hybrid settings.
Extensive evidence shows that active-learning tools are more effective than conventional methods of instruction. Davidson and Katopodis explain how and why their approach works and provide detailed case studies of educators successfully applying active-learning techniques in their courses every day, ensuring that their students are better prepared for the world after college.
College instruction is stuck in the past. If a time traveler from a century ago arrived on today’s campuses, they would recognize only too well the listlessness of the lecture hall and the awkward silence of the seminar room. Yet we know how to do better. Cathy N. Davidson and Christina Katopodis, two of the world’s foremost innovators in higher education, turn to the latest research and methods to show how teachers at every kind of institution can help students become independent, creative, and active learners.
The New College Classroom helps instructors in all disciplines create an environment that is truly conducive to learning. Davidson and Katopodis translate cutting-edge research in learning science and pedagogy into ready-to-use strategies to incorporate into any course. These empirically driven, classroom-tested techniques of active learning―from the participatory syllabus and ungrading to grab-and-go activities for every day of the term―have achieved impressive results at community colleges and research universities, on campus, online, and in hybrid settings.
Extensive evidence shows that active-learning tools are more effective than conventional methods of instruction. Davidson and Katopodis explain how and why their approach works and provide detailed case studies of educators successfully applying active-learning techniques in their courses every day, ensuring that their students are better prepared for the world after college.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published August 30, 2022
50 people are currently reading
212 people want to read
About the author
Cathy N. Davidson
30 books47 followersCathy N. Davidson served from 1998 until 2006 as the first Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke University, where she worked with faculty to help create many programs, including the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and the program in Information Science + Information Studies (ISIS). She is the co-founder of Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory, HASTAC (haystack), a network of innovators dedicated to new forms of learning for the digital age. She is also co-director of the $2 million annual HASTAC/John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning Competition. She has published more than twenty books, including Closing: The Life and Death of an American Factory (with photographer Bill Bamberger) and The Future of Thinking: Learning Institutions in a Digital Age (with HASTAC co-founder David Theo Goldberg). She blogs regularly on new media, learning, and innovation on the www.hastac.org website as Cat in the Stack. She holds two distinguished Chaired Professorships at Duke University, the Ruth F. DeVarney Professor of English and the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies. She has been awarded with Honorary Doctorates from Elmhurst College and Northwestern University."
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 31, 2022
4 stars
There are few things I enjoy more about the end of the semester than thinking about what worked and what I'll do differently during the next round, so I couldn't have been happier to receive this book during finals week. It did not disappoint.
This text, authored by two folks who have varied experiences in higher ed instruction, centers on a timely topic: the outdated state of current college classrooms and how to correct that situation. In two parts - "Changing Ourselves" and "Changing Our Classrooms" - the authors set the scene for why and how modern instructors need to change and some specific strategies for making this happen.
There are many worthwhile aspects of this read, including but not limited to its helpfulness for a wide variety of audiences and its inclusion of various practical strategies. The authors provide insight into the modern classroom that does feel a bit basic at times; however, the tone is welcoming versus patronizing. Folks who have not been spending all of their free time in pedagogy-centered webinars since March of 2020 can be brought up to speed quickly, and those who have taken regular advantage of every PD opportunity may find some review but not to a frustrating degree. MOST folks who are interested enough to give this book a shot will find something new and/or at least an affirmation of why they need to persist with those newer efforts. The most practical use is definitely the detailed strategies. There's a solid attempt to make this useful for instructors of all disciplines. Everything from collaborative syllabus building to enhanced class participation to meaningful feedback to more effective grading practices gets covered here. There's enough material for a reader to learn about the topics and employ some beginner to intermediate strategies from the jump. Those interested in more in-depth conversations about meatier subjects like antiracist teaching and ungrading will get an introduction here but should be prepared to participate in further study.
I've taught at the college level for almost two decades now, and in addition to being an avid fan of every PD opportunity, I also regularly train fellow faculty. I love how useful this book is for introducing multiple current concepts to newer faculty and will be recommending it frequently. As an added bonus, I'm completing the read with a spark to go back to some ol' tried and true methods mentioned here as well as the compulsion to keep tackling some of the more challenging techniques. As the authors remind readers, we don't have to get it right all the time. Davidson and Katopodis also give us that friendly nudge to never give up or surrender, thus effectively practicing exactly what they're preaching: skilled facilitation.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Harvard UP for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
There are few things I enjoy more about the end of the semester than thinking about what worked and what I'll do differently during the next round, so I couldn't have been happier to receive this book during finals week. It did not disappoint.
This text, authored by two folks who have varied experiences in higher ed instruction, centers on a timely topic: the outdated state of current college classrooms and how to correct that situation. In two parts - "Changing Ourselves" and "Changing Our Classrooms" - the authors set the scene for why and how modern instructors need to change and some specific strategies for making this happen.
There are many worthwhile aspects of this read, including but not limited to its helpfulness for a wide variety of audiences and its inclusion of various practical strategies. The authors provide insight into the modern classroom that does feel a bit basic at times; however, the tone is welcoming versus patronizing. Folks who have not been spending all of their free time in pedagogy-centered webinars since March of 2020 can be brought up to speed quickly, and those who have taken regular advantage of every PD opportunity may find some review but not to a frustrating degree. MOST folks who are interested enough to give this book a shot will find something new and/or at least an affirmation of why they need to persist with those newer efforts. The most practical use is definitely the detailed strategies. There's a solid attempt to make this useful for instructors of all disciplines. Everything from collaborative syllabus building to enhanced class participation to meaningful feedback to more effective grading practices gets covered here. There's enough material for a reader to learn about the topics and employ some beginner to intermediate strategies from the jump. Those interested in more in-depth conversations about meatier subjects like antiracist teaching and ungrading will get an introduction here but should be prepared to participate in further study.
I've taught at the college level for almost two decades now, and in addition to being an avid fan of every PD opportunity, I also regularly train fellow faculty. I love how useful this book is for introducing multiple current concepts to newer faculty and will be recommending it frequently. As an added bonus, I'm completing the read with a spark to go back to some ol' tried and true methods mentioned here as well as the compulsion to keep tackling some of the more challenging techniques. As the authors remind readers, we don't have to get it right all the time. Davidson and Katopodis also give us that friendly nudge to never give up or surrender, thus effectively practicing exactly what they're preaching: skilled facilitation.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Harvard UP for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
July 27, 2022
This book was provided to me by the Publisher through the NetGalley platform. I am thankful to both for the opportunity to go through the book and provide my thoughts.
The book came at an opportune time, when I was just starting off with my teaching for the current academic year. Reading through the book and having some of the ideas that were being shared was extremely useful. I am ever open to new ideas which I can use, be it in terms of teaching or technology or in research. This book fit in nicely with the teaching part. I was inspired by some of the ideas and immediately implemented it in the classroom. One idea which was not novel to me was the Think-Pair-Share idea - I had been exposed to this idea as part of the Harvard executive education on participant centred learning. But I was not aware of the “think” preceding the pair and share. It gave me something more than I knew and used. I could immediately apply this in my classroom at the next opportunity - I did that with a self-assessment the students did with respect to knowing their learning styles. It was a nice break from the routine that the students were going through and they seemed to enjoy the opportunity to share with their neighbor what they had learnt about themselves.
A bit more serious was the insight into the active learning method of teaching, which is what our B-schools typically follow. Though we do a lot to inform the students of the sudden change in their experience from a passive to an active mode, I felt it was not enough. The authors very nicely explain in the book through use of detailed research (especially a paper in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences), which statistically showed that the active learning model actually improves the outcome of learning, but ironically, has the students feeling that the learning is lesser compared to passive learning. I thought this was a great piece to share with the students to break them into the active learning mode. I used graphics from the paper to show the students that though they may feel that learning is not really happening in the active model, the outcome is shown to be better. Across different fields of study. I think it was a good input for the students to deal with the sudden change.
The next interesting input for me was about the syllabus crafting - where the authors suggest how students can be involved in the co-creation fo the same. This is something that appealed a lot to me but in the courses that I teach it is difficult to achieve this. Probably this is something that can be looked at in some of the elective courses that are taught - it may actually be very useful and popular.
One very simple but practical input that I took from the book to my classes immediately was the concept of warming up the room - or entry tickets, which is to offer everyone a chance to contribute. The version that I applied in my class was to inform the students that the whiteboard was open for anyone in the class to come and write their thoughts before I walked in (which is normally 5 minutes before time). It was a pleasant way to get into communication anonymously and in equal opportunity. I did get some interesting comments on day 1. It is yet to be seen how this will progress through the entire term. But it is definitely something useful and worth trying. Another interesting suggestion is to have an open days session - where there is no set agenda. We had this over the last two years in our classes which were purely online, however it did not go very well. Students were not very forthcoming on doubts they wanted to ask.
A suggestion they offer about the first class is to have students break up into groups and discuss parts of the syllabus and then discuss/annotate and share with other groups. This seems very interesting and will surely bring up the enthusiasm levels in the first class. This may be something I will try in the next course that I will take up.
The authors suggest an interesting method to get engagement levels up - everybody raises their hands to a question asked and then they can say they do not know the answer when specifically asked, and also pass it on to someone else who may know. This is a very good idea to try out - more so because as they suggest it shows that the starting point can be that they do not know the answer - and there is no shame in admitting that.
Another good input from the book is about feedback giving to students - how there is a problem when there is too much focus on grades, and how ungraded feedback works a lot better. Feedback that helps students figure out best ways to get things right is better than telling them what they are doing wrong. Students who are primarily concerned about grades struggle academically compared to those who have a learning orientation.
In summary the authors have done an excellent job of going through the entire lifecycle of the teaching process - from syllabus creation, to execution in the classroom to feedback and grading. In each part they provide great examples, some from their own classes and some from great teachers elsewhere. They constantly provide research references throughout the way - like the PNAS paper I mentioned above.
This book is one I would highly recommend to teachers at every stage in their teaching career - because it has a lot to offer to each. I have learnt a number of things which I can implement right away - and some that I will try at a later stage.
The book came at an opportune time, when I was just starting off with my teaching for the current academic year. Reading through the book and having some of the ideas that were being shared was extremely useful. I am ever open to new ideas which I can use, be it in terms of teaching or technology or in research. This book fit in nicely with the teaching part. I was inspired by some of the ideas and immediately implemented it in the classroom. One idea which was not novel to me was the Think-Pair-Share idea - I had been exposed to this idea as part of the Harvard executive education on participant centred learning. But I was not aware of the “think” preceding the pair and share. It gave me something more than I knew and used. I could immediately apply this in my classroom at the next opportunity - I did that with a self-assessment the students did with respect to knowing their learning styles. It was a nice break from the routine that the students were going through and they seemed to enjoy the opportunity to share with their neighbor what they had learnt about themselves.
A bit more serious was the insight into the active learning method of teaching, which is what our B-schools typically follow. Though we do a lot to inform the students of the sudden change in their experience from a passive to an active mode, I felt it was not enough. The authors very nicely explain in the book through use of detailed research (especially a paper in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences), which statistically showed that the active learning model actually improves the outcome of learning, but ironically, has the students feeling that the learning is lesser compared to passive learning. I thought this was a great piece to share with the students to break them into the active learning mode. I used graphics from the paper to show the students that though they may feel that learning is not really happening in the active model, the outcome is shown to be better. Across different fields of study. I think it was a good input for the students to deal with the sudden change.
The next interesting input for me was about the syllabus crafting - where the authors suggest how students can be involved in the co-creation fo the same. This is something that appealed a lot to me but in the courses that I teach it is difficult to achieve this. Probably this is something that can be looked at in some of the elective courses that are taught - it may actually be very useful and popular.
One very simple but practical input that I took from the book to my classes immediately was the concept of warming up the room - or entry tickets, which is to offer everyone a chance to contribute. The version that I applied in my class was to inform the students that the whiteboard was open for anyone in the class to come and write their thoughts before I walked in (which is normally 5 minutes before time). It was a pleasant way to get into communication anonymously and in equal opportunity. I did get some interesting comments on day 1. It is yet to be seen how this will progress through the entire term. But it is definitely something useful and worth trying. Another interesting suggestion is to have an open days session - where there is no set agenda. We had this over the last two years in our classes which were purely online, however it did not go very well. Students were not very forthcoming on doubts they wanted to ask.
A suggestion they offer about the first class is to have students break up into groups and discuss parts of the syllabus and then discuss/annotate and share with other groups. This seems very interesting and will surely bring up the enthusiasm levels in the first class. This may be something I will try in the next course that I will take up.
The authors suggest an interesting method to get engagement levels up - everybody raises their hands to a question asked and then they can say they do not know the answer when specifically asked, and also pass it on to someone else who may know. This is a very good idea to try out - more so because as they suggest it shows that the starting point can be that they do not know the answer - and there is no shame in admitting that.
Another good input from the book is about feedback giving to students - how there is a problem when there is too much focus on grades, and how ungraded feedback works a lot better. Feedback that helps students figure out best ways to get things right is better than telling them what they are doing wrong. Students who are primarily concerned about grades struggle academically compared to those who have a learning orientation.
In summary the authors have done an excellent job of going through the entire lifecycle of the teaching process - from syllabus creation, to execution in the classroom to feedback and grading. In each part they provide great examples, some from their own classes and some from great teachers elsewhere. They constantly provide research references throughout the way - like the PNAS paper I mentioned above.
This book is one I would highly recommend to teachers at every stage in their teaching career - because it has a lot to offer to each. I have learnt a number of things which I can implement right away - and some that I will try at a later stage.
February 18, 2025
I thought that this book gives great ideas/tools for college instructors to try in their own courses. However, the authors just skimmed the surface with these ideas and didn't fully develop them or give specific instructions on how to implement these in a classroom. Some of the same ideas were mentioned several times, so I found that it was a little repetitive. Still a good read though for a college instructor.
.
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October 10, 2022
This is well done, includes sections on Zoom teaching. Overall though I only got a little out of this book but it did reinforce many practices I already do (or at least have tried). I follow the Chronicle's teaching newsletter which links to many of the ideas in the book. Small Teaching is another book with many similar ideas.
December 18, 2022
How does learning happen? If you're a teacher who's always asking yourself this question, reaching for new ways to engage your students and yourself, this is the book for you. Even if you're short on time, and just want some techniques to jump-start active learning, this book provides what you need (especially Ch. 2: "Structuring Active Learning" and Ch. 6: "Activities for Any Day of the Term"). The wonderful thing about this book is that, even amidst these highly practical chapters, you also gain a sense of the learning community around you and the history behind these ideas, all grounded in the science (and art) of learning.
As an example of some of the pedagogical history one learns from this book, Davidson and Katopodis share ideas from educators across history and various countries, including the Progressive Era educator Rabindranath Tagore, in this poignant summary: "Tagore was even more adamant in his disdain for educational standardization. In his allegory 'The Parrot's Training' (1918), a king seeking to educate his priceless bird forces it to eat pages from a standard textbook until it dies" (29).
This is an inspiring book that should be on every teacher's bookshelf. In fact, I am convinced, if the king's bird in Tagore's allegory "The Parrot's Training" had only been given pages of The New College Classroom to eat, it would have lived long, learned much, and flown its golden coop.
As an example of some of the pedagogical history one learns from this book, Davidson and Katopodis share ideas from educators across history and various countries, including the Progressive Era educator Rabindranath Tagore, in this poignant summary: "Tagore was even more adamant in his disdain for educational standardization. In his allegory 'The Parrot's Training' (1918), a king seeking to educate his priceless bird forces it to eat pages from a standard textbook until it dies" (29).
This is an inspiring book that should be on every teacher's bookshelf. In fact, I am convinced, if the king's bird in Tagore's allegory "The Parrot's Training" had only been given pages of The New College Classroom to eat, it would have lived long, learned much, and flown its golden coop.
June 17, 2024
A good read for a new teacher to highlight the different ways one can approach the classroom. The authors do a good job contextualizing things such as the syllabus and grading. They do provide a variety of techniques to bring to the classroom that makes students more involved in the class design/learning process. The approaches are big picture, though, leaving the reader to figure out the actual "how" of the approach for their classroom. The book is well-written, but could benefit from more time spent on how to actually incorporate the approaches into the classroom AND discuss how to overcome failures. Chapter 12 does try to address negatives, somewhat, but the answer is "it's the teacher's fault so you must change."
March 10, 2023
It can be easy to slide into habits that don't serve your students in the best ways. That is why I like books like The New College Classroom to remind me of best practices, get ideas on what changes I can make in my own behaviors, and read research on what is currently working for other professors in higher education. A great deal of the book focuses on active learning strategies to engage students. I have used several and have heard of most in previous works, but I'm still grateful because this book packages the ideas in a helpful way. I was lucky enough to read this book alongside peers in a faculty book club and I look forward to seeing how some of the implementations work out.
February 26, 2025
(First of all I will admit that I skimmed past less relevant parts of this book.)
But it's a really, really excellent reference! The authors are good at giving theory and history that justify their approaches to teaching and then just give tons of practical examples, both big and little steps toward active, participatory, democratic learning. It's already changed my approach to teaching and I expect I will return to it for semesters to come.
But it's a really, really excellent reference! The authors are good at giving theory and history that justify their approaches to teaching and then just give tons of practical examples, both big and little steps toward active, participatory, democratic learning. It's already changed my approach to teaching and I expect I will return to it for semesters to come.
September 4, 2025
For a veteran educator who has read plenty on such topics this is a good refresher. There are some unique ideas that I had not seen before. Some that I had seen but forgotten. I like the framing that the authors do. It helped justify some of the things I would like to do in the future in my own classes. This is a great book for a new educator to change their perspective. We conducted a book club and that helped bring out new ideas that were relevant.
July 8, 2023
Good tips in here, many of which you have probably heard about if you've been following EdSurge, Teaching in Higher Ed, and similar podcasts. A few ideas were new to me. I think this is a good book to have on your shelf as a reference; reading it cover-to-cover is useful as reinforcement and seeing examples of modern pedagogy in action.
April 26, 2023
Fantastic, practical, inclusive book excellent for anyone who wants to reach all learners in a learner-centered, inclusive, active way. Fantastic for higher Ed, with many examples and backed by research.
June 12, 2024
This is basically a call for engaged, active pedagogy. Some great how-to’s and personal experiences. Very specific and applicable to similar situations. You’ll do lots of thinking as you read, working to imagine applications for your own classroom.
January 9, 2023
Very useful book with lots of strategies that are well-explained and clearly illustrated.
August 25, 2023
As a brand new professor, I highlighted and tabbed this book to death. Will be returning to this very practical guide many times, I’m sure!
December 31, 2023
Very helpful, easily incorporated ideas to use next semester on my journey to becoming more inclusive and engaging in my teaching.
March 16, 2024
Some things I will use | Others less applicable | Since I’m not a prof
July 28, 2024
I wrote a whole report on this book!
August 8, 2024
A must-read for any college instructor.
November 5, 2022
This book is an excellent resource for university professors. Davidson and Katopodis combine the newest research on classroom methodologies, neuroscience, and development with their own personal experiences to present tried-and-true strategies for any class. That being said, this book provides a lot of applicable methods for any professor (young and old). I would truly recommend this book to anyone who wants to spruce up their classroom and make it more engaging!
May 29, 2024
So many books out there that just cover one chapter out of this book in more detail. This book covers a lot of ground, with great suggestions.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews