In our life as researchers, we very much value a deep understanding of the fundamental principles in our field of study as well as an appreciation for the latest developments in the field. Somewhat surprisingly, our teacher selves lack an equivalent appreciation for the tremendous knowledge base that underlies human learning and educational technique and technologies. To try to turn this tide around, I’m recommending several teaching-related books that I have either read or have been recommended to me.
Small teaching by James Lang (he has a number of other very good books too) – the premise of this book is that changing your course to meet best practices in pedagogy is overwhelming, but small evidence-based practices can be adopted and tried out in a few lectures even if the whole course doesn’t change. I’ve been doing that in my classes over the years, so never really had to make a major refresh, but the various small changes I made over the years have led to a much better course eventually.
What the Best College Teachers Do, by Ken Bain. I haven’t read this book but it’s recommended frequently in the education community.
Teaching at its best by Linda Nilson and Todd Zakrajsek. This is pretty much a manual on *everything* related to teaching a class. I haven’t read it fully, but it appears to be a good reference give the breadth: learning theory, developing outcomes, teaching critical thinking, educational technologies, creating a syllabus, copyright considerations, promoting inclusivity and motivation, managing group work, dealing with issues that may arise in classes (academic integrity, negative classroom interactions), teaching methods (lecturing, discussions, experiential learning, etc.), grading strategies, and more… really, it’s a lot, but all of it in one book, so a good starting point especially if you are early in your teaching career.
How humans learn, by Josh Eyler. This is a book about the evidence base related to teaching and learning. It’s not so much about teaching strategies themselves, but the principles that can inform how you teach. I tell students in my classes tidbits from this book in hopes that they will take some ownership of their own learning. (this is in part because one of my teaching evaluations said “the professor didn’t motivate me, that’s why I did poorly in the class” – that led to quite a bit of introspection…).
Inclusive teaching by Kelly Hogan and Viji Sathy. This is perhaps more useful as you advance in your career, but it has some nice ideas on how you can meet students where they are. What’s also nice is that the authors are STEM faculty and teach large classes. Too often the teaching literature has advice from humanities faculty at liberal arts colleges where they get to teach 10-15 students per class – clearly teaching strategies are very different in such a context than in 100+ student classes.
If you start with any one, I would start with the first book – it’s pretty short, approachable, and gives you tools you can try out without any major preparation/planning.
Mihai Pop 