Library Catalogue
The Faculty Development Center Library has over 900 books on teaching and learning. Come visit the center to browse the shelves or browse our online catalogue at LibraryThing.
Book Spotlights
Check out some of the interesting books that are available for you to borrow.
Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning
by James M. Lang
Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning
by James M. Lang
Summary:
A freshly updated edition featuring research-based teaching techniques that faculty in any discipline can easily implement.
Research into how we learn can help facilitate better student learning―if we know how to apply it. Small Teaching fills the gap in higher education literature between the primary research in cognitive theory and the classroom environment. In this book, James Lang presents a strategy for improving student learning with a series of small but powerful changes that make a big difference―many of which can be put into practice in a single class period. These are simple interventions that can be integrated into pre-existing techniques, along with clear descriptions of how to do so. Inside, you’ll find brief classroom or online learning activities, one-time interventions, and small modifications in course design or student communication. These small tweaks will bring your classroom into alignment with the latest evidence in cognitive research.
Each chapter introduces a basic concept in cognitive research that has implications for classroom teaching, explains the rationale for offering it within a specific time period in a typical class, and then provides concrete examples of how this intervention has been used or could be used by faculty in a variety of disciplines. The second edition features revised and updated content including a newly authored preface, new examples and techniques, updated research, and updated resources, addressing the following issues (among others):
- How can you make small tweaks to your teaching to bring the latest cognitive science into the classroom?
- How can you help students become good at retrieving knowledge from memory?
- How does making predictions now help us learn in the future?
- How can you build community in the classroom?
Higher education faculty and administrators, as well as K-12 teachers and teacher trainers, will love the easy-to-implement, evidence-based techniques in Small Teaching.
Reviews:
“Small Teaching is a treasure trove of information expertly laid out for busy faculty members. Given the small investment needed to implement the ideas in this book, along with the massive returns you will see in student learning, Small Teaching will easily be the best book in your teaching and learning portfolio.”
―Todd Zakrajsek, President and Conference Director, International Teaching Learning Cooperative, and author of Teaching at Its Best, 5th Edition
“The notion that amazing teaching can come as a result of making small, research-based changes seems simple, but it has the potential to empower many in higher education. James Lang has done us all a great service by providing strategies that allow us to be more efficient and effective in the classroom without overhauling our entire approach to teaching.”
— Joshua R. Eyler, Director of Faculty Development, University of Mississippi, author of How Humans Learn
“James Lang’s Small Teaching manages to distill volumes of educational research into practical strategies that can be put to use immediately, without having to remake your whole course. I expect I’ll be seeing well-thumbed copies on professors’ bookshelves for years to come.”
— David Gooblar, Associate Director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Temple University, author of The Missing Course
Previous Book Spotlights
Championing Technology Infusion in Teacher Preparation: A Framework for Supporting Future Educators by Arlene C. Borthwick, Teresa S. Foulger & Kevin J. Graziano
Summary:
Educators learning how to meaningfully integrate technology into their teaching practice will find resources and action plans to prepare them for today’s tech-infused lessons.
Advancing teacher preparation to full adoption of technology infusion is no small undertaking. Written by 20 experts in the teacher prep field, including EMU’s own Michael McVey (Teacher Education), Championing Technology Infusion in Teacher Preparation provides research- and practice-based direction for faculty, administrators, PK-12 school partners and other stakeholders who support program-wide technology infusion in teacher education programs. Such organizational change involves almost every individual and system involved in teacher preparation.
Topics addressed include:
- Defining technology infusion and integration.
- Systemic planning and readiness of college-level leadership.
- Programwide, iterative candidate experiences across courses and clinical work.
- Technology use and expectations for teachers and students in PK-12 settings.
- Instructional design in teacher preparation programs to include integration of technology in face-to-face, blended and online PK-12 teaching and learning.
- Strategies to support induction of new teachers in PK-12 settings.
- Technology use, expectations, and professional development for teacher educators
- Models for effective candidate and program evaluation.
- Roles for government agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in nationwide collaboration for technology infusion in teacher preparation.
This book will help administrators in colleges and schools of education as well as teacher educators in preparation programs support the developmental needs of teacher candidates as they learn how to teach with technology. With action steps and getting started resources in each chapter, the book is well-adapted for small group study and planning by collaborative leadership teams in colleges and schools of education. The book is also appropriate for the study of effective organizational change in education by graduate students.
Reviews:
“A great combination of theory and practice, as well as guideposts for how leaders can create the kind of systems change that allows for technology to be integrated in teacher ed programs.”
― Lynn Gangone, President and CEO, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)
“I really enjoyed how this book discussed and elaborated on technology integration vs. technology infusion. I would love to work with a visionary program like described here, especially after what the last year of teaching through CoVid has shown not only us (teachers) but the world. This book was written and published before CoVid, but even then, I think the ideas and strategies are still relevant and important to implement.”
― Erin McDonnell-Jones, ISTE Certified Educator
Professors are from Mars, Students are from Snickers by Ronald A. Berk
Summary
Professors and students seem to come from different planets (or candy bars). Communication is frequently impeded by barriers such as age, income, and cholesterol level.
Humor can break down these barriers so that professors can better connect with their students and other audiences. It can even be used as a teaching tool to facilitate learning. Ron Berk describes and illustrates a wide variety of techniques that can be integrated systematically into instruction and professional presentations. Professors who consider yourselves “jocularly arthritic,” take note: this book is closed-captioned for the humor-impaired.
Berk’s techniques are “the product of ten years of inadequate development, testing, and research.” But why take the author’s words at face value? Consider the testimonials of those who have actually attempted these methods in their own classes and presentations.
Reviews
“Ronald Berk, a recognized authority in measurement and biostatistics, has written two books on the use of humor in teaching and professional presentations. Professors Are from Mars provides a rationale, evidence, and helpful hints for those who are interested in using humor in their presentations or materials. Humor as an Instructional Defibrillator provides much of the same information, but extends the review of scholarship dealing with the effects of humor, provides more examples, and contains a larger treatment of assessment issues, including test item construction. Anyone interested in incorporating humor into the classroom should refer to these books often.”
- Nursing Education Perspectives
"Berk provides a fairly comprehensive approach to humor, exploring its sources and the reasons for using it. Humor is not just for finding laughs, he writes, but for having fun and adding stimulation to teaching and learning. The book is light-hearted and offers many examples of wholesome, low-risk jokes, anecdotes, cartoons, 'top-ten lists,'and generous amounts of silliness. The material may be especially helpful to those whom the author describes as being 'humor challenged' or 'jocularly arthritic.'"
- NACADA Journal
How Colleges Change: Understanding, Leading, and Enacting Change by Adrianna Kezar
Summary
Joining theory and practice, How Colleges Change unmasks problematic assumptions that university leaders and change agents typically possess, and provides research-based principles for approaching change. Featuring case studies, teaching questions, change tools, and a greater focus on scaling change, this monumental new edition offers updated content and fresh insights into understanding, leading, and enacting change. Recognizing that internal and external conditions shape and frame change processes, Kezar presents an overarching practical toolkit—a framework for analyzing change, as well as a set of theoretical perspectives to apply that framework in order to custom-design a change process, no matter the organizational challenge or context. How Colleges Change is a crucial resource for aspiring and practicing campus leaders, higher education practitioners, scholars, faculty, and staff who want to become agents of change in their own institutions.
Reviews
"Leavened with uncommon wisdom, this authoritative volume draws on theory, empirical research, and examples from the field to distill lessons for navigating and purposefully responding to the challenging circumstances affecting virtually every aspect of contemporary college and university life."
—George D. Kuh, Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus of Higher Education, Indiana University, USA
"Adrianna Kezar has captured the reality of what it means for higher education to adapt to the needs of a world in which even the nature of change itself is changing. How Colleges Change guides us gracefully through the uncertain landscape that we face as we set out to help our campuses respond to the needs and interests of our students and our society today."
—Judith Ramaley, President Emerita and Distinguished Professor of Public Service, Portland State University, and President Emerita of Winona State University, USA
What Great Teachers Do Differently by Todd Whitaker
Summary
What are the beliefs and behaviors that set great teachers apart? In this internationally-renowned bestseller, Todd Whitaker reveals 19 keys to becoming more effective in the classroom.
This essential third edition features new sections on why it’s about more than relationships, how to focus on a consistent, engaging learning environment, and the importance of choosing the right mode―business, parent, child―to improve your classroom management.
Perfect for educators at any level of experience, for independent reading or for schoolwide book studies, this practical book will leave you feeling inspired and ready to do the things that matter most for the people who matter most―your students.
Reviews
"The book is full of salient reminders for all teachers, regardless of the number of years spent in the profession. … Whitaker deserves commendation for his ability to weave his professional knowledge and personal experiences together to create an individualized book full of opportunities for reflective thinking about things that matter most."
—S. Mia Obiwo and Diane Truscott, Teachers College Record, February 16, 2021, https://www.tcrecord.org
"What Great Teachers Do Differently will challenge your thinking; give you the impetus to become an even better teacher; might reaffirm your teaching philosophy and methodology; inspire you. Most of all, it will remind you that 'Every teacher makes an impact. Great teachers make a difference.' (p.126) Be that teacher!"
—Linda Biondi, MiddleWeb Review, February 18, 2021, https://www.middleweb.com/44638/nineteen-things-great-teachers-do-differently
Co-Creating Equitable Teaching and Learning by Alison Cook-Sather
Summary:
Alison Cook-Sather, a pioneer of this co-creative approach, draws on more than twenty years of experience developing student–teacher partnerships in higher education to offer a wise and generous work that speaks to both students and educators. As her research underscores, a co-creative learning environment, in which relationships and communication between students and teachers are prioritized, benefits the educational experience on many levels.
Cook-Sather demonstrates how pedagogical partnerships give students the tools to advocate for their own learning while giving educators the feedback they need to improve classroom experiences. She shows how the co-creative model helps to bring about inclusive spaces and equitable teaching practices that better foster student success, especially among underrepresented and minority student populations.
Offering actionable guidance, Cook-Sather advocates enacting the following four principles to structure student voice into higher education: embracing a commitment to equity and justice; providing structure rather than prescriptions for engagement; making rather than taking up space; and developing a partnership mindset. She grounds these principles in examples of practices drawn from an undergraduate education course; a faculty development program; and cross-disciplinary, cross-constituency institutional dialogues.
This work calls for readers to reimagine the higher education structure and to cultivate an environment in which all stakeholders can work together to advance inclusivity, accessibility, and equity. As the author argues, co-creation can be a catalyst for change throughout the system.
Reviews:
“To move the needle in higher education towards more equitable learning environments, we need to use strategies that demonstrate impact. Co-Creating Equitable Teaching and Learning highlights the critical importance of integrating student voices, a powerful approach that can lead to transformation at the course through the institutional level.”
— Tracie Marcella Addy, Associate Dean of Teaching & Learning, Lafayette College
“Cook-Sather’s research has been both radically innovative and universally accessible. This new work offers a compelling argument for engaging practices of co-creation to implement a practice of equity and justice in higher education. It is essential reading for instructors, institutional leaders, and staff, as well as students.”
— Steven S. Volk, Co-director, Consortium for Teaching and Learning, Great Lakes Colleges Association
“This book is a must-read for educators ready for the next big step in their teaching and curriculum design.”
—Carol A. Hurney, Associate Provost, Faculty Development & Diversity, Colby College
The Neurodiverse Classroom: A Teacher’s Guide to Individual Learning Needs and How to Meet Them by Victoria Honeybourne
Summary
With specific learning difficulties more prevalent than ever in mainstream schools, this is the essential guide for teachers wishing to create inclusive and successful learning environments in diverse classrooms. Focusing on promoting acceptance and self-esteem of each child rather than on labeling their difficulties, it shows how to make good use of simple resources and meet a wide range of needs, including children with ADHD, autism, OCD, dyslexia and special speech and language needs.
The practical advice and strategies in this book enable schools to become more accepting places for all pupils, and embrace neurodiversity as the new 'normal' in education today.
Reviews"Victoria Honeybourne has written an innovative book which presents new ways of approaching individual needs and inclusion in schools. It is a thought-provoking book emphasizing the benefits of embracing neurodiversity and celebrating difference. Victoria clearly describes how to implement a whole school approach to promote positive attitudes to neurodiversity, and provides practitioners with a wealth of easy-to-use resources and strategies. This book will help practitioners who are struggling to cope with the wide range of needs presented by the pupils in their class and enable them to learn and thrive.
—Joy Beaney
"A refreshing new approach to neurodiversity within the classroom. Victoria Honeybourne supports the notion of teaching all students as individuals and not categorizing them by the 'labels' that some have for their learning difficulties. All students have strengths and weaknesses and there is no one 'correct' way of teaching for all. The book gives useful ideas, advice and checklists and is a stimulating and thought-provoking resource for all involved in education."
—Dr. Diana Hudson
"Victoria Honeybourne's The Neurodiverse Classroom is a groundbreaking book. This book will have an impact on the reframing of classroom practice and creating successful and fully inclusive schools - moving from the rhetoric to the reality.
"Clearly organized and well-written, this is a superb book for all educators. The term 'neurodiversity' is clearly explained and Honeybourne, using her personal and vast professional experience, provides practical arguments as to why a paradigm shift in inclusion is needed. As she indicates, 'neurodiversity' should be accepted and celebrated. This is a positive book with a persuasive message. It will, and certainly should, become a popular book for those entering the profession and for experienced practitioners. There are many practical strategies contained within comprehensive coverage of the challenges experienced by children with learning differences and how these can be overcome. An exciting, thought-provoking and practical book."
—Dr. Gavin Reid
Pedagogical Partnerships: A How-To Guide for Faculty, Students, and Academic Developers in Higher Education by Alison Cook-Sather, Melanie Mahti, and Anita Ntem
Summary
Pedagogical Partnerships and its accompanying resources provide step-by-step guidance to support the conceptualization, development, launch, and sustainability of pedagogical partnership programs in the classroom and curriculum. This definitive guide is written for faculty, students, and academic developers who are looking to use pedagogical partnerships to increase engaged learning, create more equitable and inclusive educational experiences, and reframe the traditionally hierarchical structure of teacher-student relationships. Filled with practical advice, Pedagogical Partnerships provides extensive materials so that readers don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but rather can adapt time-tested and research-informed strategies and techniques to their own unique contexts and goals.
Reviews
“We see this book not only as a valuable window into the day-to-day functioning and processes of one highly successful partnership program, but also as a call to develop a wide range of partnership practices that respond to and work within diverse institutional and cultural contexts.”
—Beth Marquis, Mick Healey, and Kelly E. Matthews
“This is one of the most valuable books I have read over the past two years. I first read it before the Covid outbreak and appreciated the really wonderful insights and reflections from the authors, who take advantage of their different positions and experiences with pedagogical partnership programs. I also really value the style of writing answering specific questions and I continually felt like when new questions arose they would always be addressed in the coming pages. The writing as answering questions is mixing with really detailed and insightful quotations from a wide range of participants in these programs, particularly students. They make it clear that a partnership-based approach to education has the potential for profound and long-lasting impacts.”
—Dan Guberman, Center for Instructional Excellence, Purdue University