Capossela, Toni-Lee. Harcourt
Brace Guide to Peer Tutoring. Ft. Worth:
Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998. The book is a useful source for peer
writing consultants. The twelve chapters offer both practical advice and
theory.
Dawe, Charles and Edward A. Doman. One to One: Resources for Conference-Centered Writing. Boston: Little Brown, 1984. This book proposes working with
writing students through one-on-one conferences. This method reduces class time
spent on explanation and analysis and creates an efficient, productive
atmosphere outside the classroom.
Lewis,
Karron G., ed. Face to Face: A Sourcebook of Individual Consultation
Techniques for
Faculty/Instructional
Developers. Stillwater, OK: New Forums
Press, 1988. A collection of articles on individual consultation as a means to
implement faculty and instructional development programs.
MacDonald, Ross. B. The Master Tutor: A Guidebook for More Effective
Tutoring. Williamsville, NY: Cambridge
Stratford, 2000. A user-friendly workbook-style approach to the basic issues of
peer tutoring--promoting independent learning, personalizing instruction,
facilitating tutee insights, providing a student perspective on learning,
and respecting individual
differences.
Murphy, Christina and Steve
Sherwood. The St. Martin's Sourcebook for Writing Tutors. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. A
book that combines essays on theory and practice. It also reviews a variety of sources
for further inquiry on tutoring practices in writing centers.
Rafoth, Ben, ed. A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One
to One. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton Cook
Publishers, 2001. Essays that help
tutors to think through issues of peer-assisted learning and to develop new
perspectives and approaches to common problems.
Dodd, Janet S., ed. The ACS
(American Chemical Society) Style Guide: A Manual for Authors
and Editors. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American
Chemical Society, 1997. This book is what it says it is: “The essential desk reference for authors, editors, and
publishers of scientific research, the ACS
Style Guide is a complete stylistic
handbook. Lively and practical,
this reference will help any chemist communicate effectively.” Some of the material is available
on-line, but only the hard copy answers all the questions that arise when
readying a manuscript for publication.
Dumond, Val. Grammar for
Grownups: A Guide to Grammar and Usage for Everyone Who
Has to Put Words on Paper
Effectively. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
Written in a chatty, pop-culture style, for those who want to learn rules of
English and have time on their hands.
Garrett-Goodyear, Joan H.,
Elizabeth W. Harries, Douglas L. Patey, and Margaret L. Shook. Writing Papers: A Handbook for
Students at Smith College. Northampton, MA: Smith College, 1980. Updated in
2002, the original handbook is still a gem. “Correct prose… is not always good prose; even a car in
perfect mechanical order won’t go unless you give it some gas.” Some high octane fuel is provided in
these pages.
Graves, Robert and Alan Hodge. The
Reader Over Your Shoulder: A Handbook for Writers of
English Prose. 2nd ed. New
York: Vintage Books, 1979 (1st. pub. 1943). According to the authors, the key
to becoming a better teacher or writer of English is not in learning the
specific rules but in learning the general principles. Their list of forty-one principles,
based on misusage gleaned from popular sources, functions like a more lavish Elements
of Style. For example, “Exclamation marks, also called ‘notes of
admiration,’ should be sparingly used. Queen Victoria used so many of them in her letters that a sentence by
her that ends with a mere full-stop seems hardly worth reading.”
Murfin,
Ross and Supryia M. Ray. The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary
Terms.
Boston,
MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1998. Also available as a reference book in the
Neilson Library, this resource provides an alphabetical, detailed listing of
most terms that appear in English literary criticism.
Plotnik, Arthur. The Elements of
Editing: A Modern Guide for Editors and Journalists. New York: MacMillan, 1984. This
guidebook covers the process writers can expect at the hands of book or journal
editors, with additional sections on the art or photographic work that might
accompany a manuscript. Much of this is dated (sections on layout, typeface and
information retrieval sources), and most publishers now supply electronic or
paper copies of their “writer’s guidelines” to clarify their preferences. Yet
the very short “Criteria for Evaluating Manuscripts” remains a timeless section
of the book.
Shertzer, Margaret. The Elements
of Grammar. New York: Collier/MacMillan,
1986. Designed as a companion to The Elements of Style, this reference is useful if the table of contents
or index is followed closely when hunting for answers to specific questions
(the information is not had as quickly as in the original text). The last section contains a very useful
list of “words often confused” and another list of definitions for “Foreign
Words & Phrases” (Latin and French).
Smith College. English 11
Handbook, 1957-1958. Northampton, MA:
Kraushar Press, 1958 (1st pub. 1943). Though
two-thirds of the handbook is now dated (the sections on libraries and
references books), the brief ”Style“ section has some fascinating notes on, for
example, the indiscriminate use of the word “so.” As “an intensive without the that clause [it] gives an effect of ‘schoolgirl gush’ and
is called in derision the ‘feminine demonstrative.’”
Smith College. English 11
Handbook and Drew, Elizabeth, Poetic Patterns: A Note on
Versification 1959-60. Northampton, MA: Kraushar Press, 1956 (1st pub. 1943). Two
volumes in one—the handbook (as described above) and a brief section on rhythm
and rhyme, similar to the supplemental material at the back of a Norton
Anthology.
Strunk, William and E. B. White. The
Elements of Style. 3rd ed. New
York: MacMillan, 1979 (1st pub. 1959). Still the most
pleasurable handbook to pick up when wanting simplified rules governing grammar
and style. Though a few rules are
outdated (possessive plural for words ending in –s or use of commas in lists of three or more words or
phrases), the rewards abound when pursuing reminders about why not “to affect a
breezy manner” or “break sentences in two.” Where else can one find such gems as the succinct
explanation for “nauseous” versus “nauseated,” guaranteeing that one will never
confuse the two again?
Angelo, Thomas A., ed. Classroom
Research: Early Lessons from Success. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991. Inspiring,
comprehensive, and useful, this volume is of particular interest to those
instructors who consider themselves or aspire to be classroom researchers. In
the first chapter, the editor clearly defines and describes classroom research
and classroom assessment. Later chapters are “a gathering of teachers’ stories
that are also teaching stories, narratives that distill hundreds of hours of
experience into a few pages.” Much can be learned about classroom research from
these early lessons of success.
Angelo,
Thomas A. and K. Patricia Cross. Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook
for College Teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
1993. This handbook is designed to help college faculty develop a better
understanding of the learning process in their own classrooms and assess the
impact of their teaching. It includes the Teaching Goals Inventory for
identifying and clarifying instructional goals and a broad variety of assessment
techniques.
Banta, Trudy W., Jon P. Lund, Karen
E. Black and Frances Oblander. Assessment in Practice: Putting Principles to
Work on College Campuses. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1996. The book assembles current best practices and principles in assessment
that can be incorporated in a variety of settings, whether at the
institutional, program or departmental level. Classroom assessment topics
include math, foreign languages and technology.
Cooper, Charles and Lee Odell, ed. Evaluating
Writing: The Role of Teacher’s Knowledge about Text, Learning, and Culture. Urbana
Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1999. This volume of essays
focuses on response, evaluation, and assessment; describes students’ writing;
connects teaching and evaluation; and examines assumptions and practices. The book is organized into four
sections: “Describing Texts,” Assessing Writing-to-Learn in Four Disciplines,”
“Supporting the Writing of Dual Language Students,” and “Issues in Assessment.”
Cross, K. Patricia and Mimi Harris Steadman. Classroom
Research: Implementing the
Scholarship of Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996. Intended for
faculty discussion groups and workshops, the authors use a case study approach
to provoke reflection upon and analysis of the common learning issues that
students experience. The authors
also discuss ways faculty can obtain knowledge from research and literature as
well as from their own students to facilitate a better learning environment.
Ede, Lisa, ed. On Writing Research:
The Braddock Essays, 1975 – 1998. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999. Intended primarily
for dedicated composition teachers, this collection presents central texts from
discourse theory. Among the essays
included in the book are Richard Braddock’s “The Frequency and Placement of
Topic Sentences in Expository Prose,” Glenn Matott’s “In Search of a
Philosophical Context for Teaching Composition,” and Ellen Cushman’s “The
Rhetorician as an Agent of Social Change.” For scholars in the field.
Walvoord,
Barbara E. and Virginia Johnson Anderson. Effective Grading: A Tool for
Learning and Assessment. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1998. This book enables faculty to go beyond using grades as
isolated data and help to make the grading process more fair, time-efficient
and conducive to learning. The book is tailored to specific needs of faculty
seeking to make grading a valuable part of student learning and motivation.
Wolcott, Willa, and Sue M. Legg. An
Overview of Writing Assessment: Theory, Research and Practice. Ft. Worth, Texas: National Council of Teachers of
English, 1998. A great resource for teachers looking for effective, practical
options grounded in a broad understanding of assessment theory and research.
The authors situate their analysis of recent developments in writing assessment
within the context of the assessment field as a whole. It reviews strengths and
weaknesses of the major types of writing assessment, both for large-scale
evaluations and for the individual classroom.
White, Edward M. Assigning,
Responding, Evaluating: A Writing Teacher’s Guide. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s, 1999. White is a respected authority on
writing assessment. This book is directed to writing program professionals, and
much of it focuses on issues such as placement, diagnostic testing, and exit
and proficiency assessments. (See also Writing Across the Curriculum)
Bain, Ken. What the Best College
Teachers Do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 2004. The result of 15 years of
research of almost 100 teachers in diverse colleges and universities as well as
disciplines, this book clearly delineates the characteristics of a successful
teacher. An added bonus in this book is its generous sampling of stories from
teachers and their students on effective teaching and learning.
Barnes, Louis B., C. Roland
Christensen and Abby J. Hansen. Teaching and the
Case Method. Boston: Harvard
Business School Press, 1994 (1st pub. 1975). The author proposes
"discussion teaching" as a method to focus educational objectives on
qualities of mind and person, a way to encourage students to apply general
concepts and knowledge to specific situations. This is a method for putting
students in an active learning mode and challenging them to accept responsibility
for their own learning.
Bean, John. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating
Writing, Critical Thinking,
and Active Learning in the
Classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
2001. As the publishers note, “[T]he book presents a wide variety of strategies
for stimulating active learning and for coaching writing and critical thinking,
offering teachers concrete advice on how to design courses, structure
assignments, use class time, critique student performance, and model critical
thinking themselves.” Of
particular note are Bean’s tips for teaching writing in large classes,
especially ways for instructors to handle their paper grading load.
Belenky, Mary Field, Blythe
McVicker Clinchy, Nancy Rule Goldberger and Jill Mattuck Tarule. Women's
Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice and Mind. New York: Basic Books, 1986. Part I examines silence
and varieties of knowledge (received, subjective, procedural and constructed).
Part II looks at the context of women's ways of knowledge in families and
schools. Throughout is the basic assumption that self-concept is intimately
linked to ways of knowing. The book is based on extensive interviews with 135
women.
Bizzell, Patricia, Bruce Herzberg,
and Nedra Reynolds. The Bibliography for Teachers of Writing. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s, 2000. This book-length
annotated bibliography, which is updated every 4-5 years, introduces a wide
range of scholarship in the field of composition and rhetoric. When first
compiled in 1984, it was a considerably slimmer volume, but the fifth edition
contains 602 entries grouped under five major headings (“Resources,” “History
and Theory,” “Composing Processes,” “Curriculum Development,” and “Writing
Programs”) and thirty subheadings.
Brufee, Kenneth A. A Short
Course in Writing. Boston: Little Brown and
Company, 1985. Designed for collaborative learning, this composition textbook
is divided into five parts. Parts One and Two contain essay exercises that
introduce the basic elements of argumentative-explanatory writing. Part Three
discusses introductions, thesis formation, paragraph development, unity and
coherence, style, and essay exams. Parts Four and Five introduce more
sophisticated composition issues such as the role of relevance and researching
a topic. The appendices include exercises designed to acquaint students with
the rhetorical modes that feature most prominently in academic writing;
supplementary sample essays; advice for teachers, particularly those new to the
teaching of writing; and a section on training peer tutors, another form of
collaborative learning.
Christensen,
C. Roland, David A. Garvin and Ann Sweet, eds. Education for Judgment: the
Artistry of Discussion Leadership. Boston:
Harvard Business School Press, 1991. A practical guide to facilitating discussion,
which includes topics such as getting students to talk to each other,
evaluating participation, creating a sense of accomplishment and introducing
ethics into the discussion.
Connors, Robert, and Cheryl Glenn. The
New St Martin’s Guide to Teaching Writing.
Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s, 1999. This book assists teachers who are new to
the teaching of writing. The book is informed by a three-part thesis: that
writing is teachable; that students learn to write from actual trial and error
practice as opposed to the study of rules or lectures about writing; and that
certain theories and methods about how students learn to write are more
suitable for the classroom than others. The book is divided into three
sections: “Practical Issues in Teaching Writing,” “Theoretical Issues in
Teaching Writing” and “An Anthology of Essays.”
Conway,
Jill Kerr and Susan C. Bourque, eds. The Politics of Women's Education:
Perspectives from Asia, Africa and Latin America. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1995. This
collection of essays analyzes efforts in developing nations to improve the
status of women through education. It is a challenging examination of the relevance of current educational
models and approaches and assumptions underlying both development and pedagogy.
Crosswhite, James. The Rhetoric
of Reason: Writing and the Attraction of Argument. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press,
1996. Crosswhite argues that “written reasoning” (i.e., traditional rhetoric)
belongs at the core of higher education. The book leans heavily toward theory
and is informed by a thorough knowledge of classical rhetoric. Crosswhite
analyzes “the contemporary philosophical situation” through discussions of
philosophers such as Heidegger and Derrida, offers new interpretations of Plato
and Aristotle, and summarizes concepts of dialogue from Hegel to Gadamer. This
book may be of considerable value to those who wish to reintroduce classical
rhetoric to the classroom, but less useful for anyone looking for practical
tips on the teaching of writing.
Davis, Barbara Gross. Tools for
Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.
In her self-described reference book, Gross provides 49 innovative “teaching
tools” to help new and seasoned faculty members improve and revitalize their
classroom teaching. Included
in each tool, addressing a range of issues from planning a course to assigning
final grades, are a brief introduction, a set of general strategies, practical
suggestions from other teachers, and related literature.
Eble,
Kenneth. The Craft of Teaching. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1988 (1st pub. 1976). A re-issue of Eble's
classic on college teaching, this book is a fount of inspiration and insight on
a broad array of issues—from the learning process itself to the practical
details of texts, tests, and grading.
Ede, Lisa. Work in Progress: A
Guide to Writing and Revision. New York:
St. Martin's Press, 1998. The first two sections offer
a thorough guide to the writing process and practical strategies for invention
and revision. Part three provides an examination of the
reading/writing/critical thinking connection.
Elbow, Peter. Embracing
Contraries: Explorations in Learning and Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986. In this
collection of twelve essays, Elbow, author of widely acclaimed and original
theories on the writing process, explores the nature of learning and teaching.
Elbow asserts that learning and teaching are comprised of a “rich messiness of
paradox and contradiction.” He also suggests a comprehensive philosophy of education.
A provocative and engaging meditation.
Feldman, Kenneth A. and Michael B.
Paulsen, eds. Teaching and Learning in the College
Classroom. Needham Heights, MA: Ginn Press, 1994. An extensive
collection of essays that begins with a historical overview of college-level
education in the United States and proceeds through learning theory, models of
teaching styles, classroom strategies, student-teacher interactions, and
assessment of learning outcomes. The book concludes with essays on improving
teaching and learning. A comprehensive volume.
Flower, Linda, Problem Solving
Strategies for Writing. 3rd ed.
New York: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich,
1989. This book is “about how to write: how to say what you mean and how to
deal with your reader.” This edition is a bit dated at this point but is
informed by all the major tenets of composition and rhetoric scholarship over
the past 20 years: the concept of discourse communities, writing as a process,
the case for revision, the role of invention, the importance of thesis, the
needs of audience, the distinction between reader-based and writer-based prose,
and editing for style.
Fulwiler, Toby. The Working
Writer. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice
Hall, 1995. This textbook, which includes abundant samples of student writing
in every chapter, treats research as central part of the composition process,
places strong emphasis on revision, and features collaborative and expressive
assignments. Instructors who require students to keep journals, who work
collaboratively, and who think of writing as rewriting should find it useful;
so too should instructors who make student writing the central text of the
course and assess student writing in portfolios.
Hall, Donald. Writing Well. 5th ed. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1985. Poet and essayist Donald Hall teaches the art of
communicating with a variety of audiences. Written for high school, college and
university students, this classic text contains invaluable advice for students
wanting to improve the way they use words, sentences, paragraphs, grammar and
punctuation in their writing.
Halpern, Diana F. Changing
College Classrooms: New Teaching and Learning Strategies for
an Increasingly Complex World. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994. This book offers a
number of instructional strategies for fostering creative, critical,
technological, and problem-solving skills in students. The authors also focus
on creating multicultural awareness among students. Finally, the book includes helpful guidelines for assessing
the effectiveness of instruction.
Light, Richard J. Making the
Most of College: Students Speak their Minds. Cambridge
MA: Harvard University Press, 2001.This
book reports the findings of a research project organized by Richard J. Light,
professor of statistics at Harvard's Graduate School of Education and the
Kennedy School of Government. For a decade, he interviewed Harvard students, in
effect asking, “What has worked best for you educationally at college?"
Light’s book is aimed not only at educating students but also at convincing
those professors and administrators whose views and practices still need to
change if undergraduate education is to continue to improve.
Lowman, Joseph. Mastering the
Techniques of Teaching. 2nd ed.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995. As the author acknowledges,
few college teachers receive training in educating students: “The primary
intent of this book is to help instructors improve their ability to use the
traditional skills of lecturing and leading discussions . . . in ways that are
both engaging and reflective of instructors’ personal styles.” A thoughtful,
engaging book.
Magnan, Robert, ed. 147
Practical Tips for Teaching Professors.
Madison, WI: AtwoodPublishing, 1990. This book
provides 147 straightforward suggestions, as well as some commentaries, from
seasoned professors in various disciplines on how to teach better. Working from the premise that teaching
styles vary according to individual personalities, the book encourages professors
to experiment and personalize its suggestions in order to make the most out of
classroom time and student interaction.
McGynn, Angela Provitera. Successful
Beginnings for College Teaching: Engaging Your
Students from the First Day. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing, 2001.The author
asserts that the first days of each new course are critical. She presents tools
and strategies to create a welcoming classroom atmosphere, to motivate
students, and to keep them involved from a semester’s start to its finish. The
author also addresses ways that instructors can deal with student incivility
and thus create an inclusive environment.
McKeachie, Wilbert J. Teaching
Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and
University Teachers. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1994. A
great resource for new faculty members and teaching or graduate assistants who
are just entering the classroom. Its author systematically organizes the book
into succinct chapters that address the most immediate concerns of the
beginning teacher, such as preparing a course, meeting the class, and
confronting cheating. Each chapter outlines a specific teaching tip, and most
chapters also include relevant theory and research.
Pascarella, Ernest T. and Patrick
T. Terenzini. How College Affects Students. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991. A comprehensive resource, a distillation of decades
of research and analysis of the lives of over 2600 students, the book examines
how students change and benefit from attendance at college. Included among the
developmental areas examined are verbal, quantitative, cognitive, and
intellectual; the development of morals and values; and the dynamics of
identity formation.
Paul, Richard and Linda Elder. How
to Improve Student Learning: 30 Practical Ideas. Dillon Beach, CA: Foundation for Critical
Thinking, 2003. In this concise guide, the authors present 30 teaching
strategies based on two major premises: to learn a subject, students must
clearly understand the thinking that defines the subject; to facilitate such
learning, instructors must “create activities and assignments that require
students to think actively within the concepts and principles of the
subject.” Three well-defined and
thoughtful sections—recommended design features, orientation of the first days
of classes, and daily emphases—provide a solid foundation for helping
instructors restructure their classroom teaching so that students can take
ownership of their learning.
Perry, William G., Jr. Forms of
Intellectual and Ethical Development in the College Years: A
Scheme. New York: Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, 1970.
Perry's analysis of yearly interviews with students reveals the intellectual
stages through which students pass during their undergraduate years. Students,
in Perry's view, progress from dualism through stages of multiplicity, to
relativism. His scheme of development has influenced more than three decades of
curriculum design, classroom teaching, and advising.
Prichard, Keith W. and R. McLaran
Sawyer, eds. Handbook of College Teaching: Theory and
Applications. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994. This
practical, systematic handbook presents many essays on undergraduate college
teaching from some of the best teacher-instructors in academia. Topics
addressed include the psychology of learning, methods of teaching, teaching-learning
theories for specific disciplines, common problems for undergraduate
instructors, and classroom procedures and policies. A joy to read!
Ramsden, Paul. Learning to Teach
in Higher Education. London: Routledge,
1992. The author is Australian and the book is intended for lecturers teaching
undergraduates in higher education based on a UK model. Ramsden asserts that
“the purpose of education in teaching is the self development of the teacher.”
The book uses case studies and learning theory to demonstrate that effective
teaching occurs when educators listen to students and change how they think
about teaching.
Rose, Mike and Malcolm Kiniry. Critical Strategies for Academic Thinking and Writing. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford Books, 1998. This
is a text book intended for an interdisciplinary writing class. The authors
provide readings from many subjects and fields and thoughtful discussions on
appropriate rhetorical models students can use in crafting essay responses.
Shaughnessy, Mina P. Errors and
Expectations: A Guide for the Teacher of Basic Writing. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.
Shaughnessy’s “book has had enormous influence on the study of basic writing,
not primarily for its ideas on classroom practice, but for its way of
understanding the writing that basic writers produce,” according to The
Bedford Bibliography for Teachers of Writing (2003). First,
Shaughnessy catalogs basic errors in punctuation, syntax, and spelling, then
demonstrates the basic writer’s unfamiliarity with the essential grammatical
and argumentative principles that inform academic writing. In order to teach
academic writing, she argues, teachers must discuss those core principles.
Tate, Gary, and Edward P.J. Corbet. The Writing Teacher’s Sourceboo. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Teachers of college writing are
the primary audience for this anthology. First published in 1981, subsequent
editions have been revised and updated to include leading authors from the
field of rhetoric and composition, including Bob Connors, Walter Ong, James
Berlin, Janet Emig, Linda Flower, Nancy Sommers, Wayne Booth, Lisa Ede, Andrea
Lunsford, W. Ross Winterowd, Peter Elbow, Donald M. Murray, Toby Fulwiler, Ed
White, Mina Shaughnessy, and David Bartholomae.
Timpson, William M., and Paul
Bendel-Simso. Concepts and Choices for Teaching: Meeting the Challenges in
Higher Education. Madison, WI: Magna
Publications, 1996. This volume guides
teachers on a self-exploratory journey of theoretical concepts and practical
choices to improve pedagogy. The premise of the book is that effective teaching
involves an identifiable set of skills and these skills can be learned and
developed. Some ”experienced“ faculty may find the style, approach
and content too fundamental, yet others can benefit from its multiple
strategies that span the dynamics of the entire teaching cycle, from preparing
to teach to self-assessment.
Weimer, Maryellen Gleason, ed. Teaching
Large Classes Well. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1987. Acknowledging the challenges
of teaching large classes as well as the lack of literature on the topic, this
volume of essays provides pages of practical advice to faculty who are first
encountering this teaching situation or those who are looking to re-evaluate
their approach when teaching to “the masses.” Topics include communication
strategies for lectures, the keys to successful instruction in large
classrooms, and giving and acquiring student feedback in large classes.
Weimer, Maryellen and Rose Ann
Neff, eds. Teaching College: Collected Readings for the New
Instructor. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing, 1998. This
collection of essays, written by experienced and committed educators, offers
inspiration, insights, and instruction to new college instructors. It
generously acknowledges that these instructors may need additional training and
mentoring to face the unique challenges presented when teaching in higher
education.
Weimer, Maryellen, Joan L. Parrett,
and Mary-Margaret Kerns. How Am I Teaching? Forms
and Activities for Acquiring
Instructional Input. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing, 2002.
The authors provide forms that instructors can use to assess their own teaching
performance, teaching environment and classroom materials. The forms vary: some are to be filled
out by students, by colleagues and by the instructors themselves. A useful collection for any instructor
seeking detailed feedback on his or her teaching abilities.
Brookfield, Stephen. Becoming a
Critically Reflective Teacher. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995. Brookfield offers a very personal guide to how
instructors at all levels can improve their teaching. He recommends that
teachers reframe their teaching by viewing their praxis through four lenses:
their autobiographies as teachers and learners, their students’ eyes, their
colleagues’ perceptions, and pedagogical theory. He makes a moderately
compelling case for the literature of educational research.
Highet,
Gilbert. The Art of Teaching. New York:
Vintage, 1977 (1st pub. 1950). A classic meditation on the role of
the teacher and methods of teaching. It also includes sections on great
teachers and pupils and on teaching in everyday life. The underlying principle
is to put heart into the work.
Kernan, Alvin. In Plato’s Cave. New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 1999. In
recalling his life as a student, professor, and administrator, Kernan offers an
insider's view of how American colleges and universities in the second half of
the twentieth century have been transformed in radical ways. He discusses the
struggle for equality of opportunity for women and minorities; the questioning
of administrative and intellectual authority; the appearance of deconstructive
theory; the shift from printed to electronic information; the politicization of
the classroom; and more. His account is humorous and thought-provoking.
Palmer, Parker J. The Courage to
Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998.
Palmer draws upon his own experiences as an educator to develop his theories of
ethical teaching. He asks teachers to set aside the idea that “technique” is
sufficient to reform education; good teaching comes from the identity and
integrity of the teacher, he claims. Readers who are comfortable with language
drawn from spiritual traditions might be most comfortable with this book.
Schoenfeld, Clay A. and Robert
Magnan, eds. Mentor in a Manual: Climbing the Academic Ladder to Tenure. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing, 1994. An invaluable
resource for any junior faculty member seeking tenure. In 12 clearly written
and often witty chapters on institutional expectations, the political landscape
of academia, and the research paradigm, among other topics, the book
accomplishes its stated mission—answering the question of how an assistant
professor earns tenure.
Sorcinelli, Mary Deane and Ann E.
Austin, eds. Developing New and Junior Faculty San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992. This
volume offers practical advice on how to foster the career development of new
and junior faculty. The authors focus on three themes: available research on
new and junior faculty; programs and strategies to support faculty development;
and organizational factors that influence the strategies and experiences of new
and junior faculty. Professors, deans, administrators, and graduate students
will gain valuable insights on how to create an encouraging, stimulating
environment for the newest additions to their ranks.
Svinicki, Marilland and Robert J.,
Menges, eds. Honoring Exemplary Teaching.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992. How do colleges
and universities recognize their exemplary teachers? Who should choose these exemplary teachers and by what
means? What are the pitfalls of
such awards programs? These are just some of the questions this volume of
essays seeks to answer. Divided
into four full and comprehensive chapters, it describes different award
programs in different settings, reviews relevant research and offers guidelines
for implementing effective programs.
Tomkins, Jane. A Life in School: What the Teacher
Learned. Reading, MA: Perseus Books, 1996.
Tomkins, now a professor of English at Duke University, traces the evolution of
her convictions about education from her own school days to her time in the
trenches as a public school teacher.
Bowen, Mary Elizabeth, and Joseph
A. Mazzeo, eds. Writing about Science. New
York,London: Oxford University Press,
1979. This anthology is one of the first to acknowledge that science students
are best served by reading and writing about scientific texts. The editors have
compiled essays by eminent scientists such as Michael Faraday, Charles Darwin,
James Watson and Francis Crick, and Richard P. Feynman. The book distinguishes
between writing for a popular audience and a professional one. The entry by
Watson and Crick on DNA best exemplifies the writing that scientists do for
their colleagues. This book includes a “Rhetorical Table of Contents.”
Bullock, Richard. The St.
Martin’s Manual for Writing in the Disciplines: A Guide for Faculty.
New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994.
This manual is a practical guide for faculty who want to integrate writing into
courses across the curriculum. It provides suggested assignments and
activities, tips on informal and formal writing, advice on responding to
writing, and guidance as to what to expect from the writing that faculty
assign. At 76 pages, this booklet offers the advantage of great brevity.
Fulwiler, Toby, and Art Young, eds. Programs that Work: Models and Methods for Writing
Across the Curriculum. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers, 1990. The
editors asked faculty members in colleges and universities to address the
mission of their institution; the development, funding, and organization of
their WAC program; and significant problems. The book includes an annotated bibliography of the
literature on writing across the curriculum.
Herrington, Anne, and Charles
Moran, eds. Writing, Teaching, and Learning in the Disciplines. New York: Modern Language
Association, 1992. This volume, the first in the MLA Research and
Scholarship in Composition series, examines the history, theoretical
coherence, and pedagogical practices of Writing across the Curriculum in the
United States and Great Britain. Among the issues addressed are the relation
between learning and language, the problem of writing-assessment differences in
discipline-specific writing, the motives and strategies for using writing in
teaching, and the future of WAC.
Howard, Rebecca Moore, and Sandra
Jamieson. The Bedford Guide to Teaching Writing in the
Disciplines: an Instructor’s
Desk Reference. Boston, New York:
Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1995. A reference work that offers practical, concrete
suggestions on how to incorporate writing into a course plan; how to
prepare a syllabus; how to teach the writing process, advanced reading skills,
and style, grammar, and punctuation; how to design writing assignments,
including research papers with data; how to design and evaluate essay exams,
collaborative writing, and journals; and how to grade student writing. The book
provides numerous bibliographies that include pedagogical articles and studies
of rhetoric in various disciplines.
McMillan, Victoria. Writing
Papers in the Biological Sciences. Boston:
Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1997. McMillan provides sound, reliable information for
students who are writing papers in the biological sciences, and gives
particularly good advice and instruction about the writing of lab reports.
Penrose, Ann M., and Steven B.
Katz. Writing in the Sciences: Exploring Conventions of
Scientific Discourse. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. This book is a
technical writing text designed for students in the sciences. The authors
discuss major genres of science writing, such as research reports, grant
proposals, conference presentations, and literature reviews. Comparisons among disciplines provide
the opportunity to identify common conventions in science and investigate
variation across fields.
Rampolla, Mary Lynn. A Pocket
Guide to Writing in History. 2nd ed. Boston, New York:Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1998. This
concise, easy-to-use primer explicates writing conventions in history from the
survey level to the senior seminar level and provides models of each step of
the research and writing process. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History features advice on working with primary and
secondary sources, including Internet sources. Appendices point students toward
places to start their research.
The Sociology Writing Group. A
Guide to Writing Sociology
Papers. 4th ed. Eds. Judith
Richlin-Klonsky and Ellen Strenski. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. Written
in clear, conversational prose, this book discusses how to write various types
of sociology papers, including textual analysis, ethnographic research,
and quantitative research papers. Employing writing samples, this guide makes
the case that thinking and writing are inextricably linked and that writing,
therefore, exercises the sociological imagination.
Sorcinelli, Mary Deane, and Peter
Elbow, eds. Writing to Learn: Strategies for Assigning and
Responding to Writing across the
Disciplines. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
1997. This volume, the 69th issue of New Directions for Teaching and
Learning, provides instructors who teach
writing with an array of strategies, including class letters, study questions,
class notes, triple-entry note taking, free writing, journals and logs, and
major writing projects. Focusing primarily on the best ways to give feedback
about written work, the authors present chapters on research, theory and
practice.
Walvoord, Barbara E., Linda
Lawrence Hunt, H. Fil Dowling Jr., and Joan D. MacMahon. In
The Long Run: A Study of Faculty
in Three Writing-Across-the-Curriculum Programs. Urbana, IL: National
Council of Teachers of English, 1997. Drawing upon faculty voices, classroom
observations, student evaluations, and course documents, this book offers
insight into the impact of WAC programs upon teaching philosophy. In
the Long Run reports upon the feasibility
of such programs, how they help to create community in the classroom and
enhance learning, and whether WAC strategies fit the priorities and teaching
styles of the more than 700 faculty consulted for this study.
White, Edward M. Assigning,
Responding, Evaluating: A Writing Teacher’s Guide. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s, 1999. (See also Research &
Assessment). Several chapters offer sound advice applicable to the
teaching of writing across the disciplines: Chapter 1 on “Writing Assignments
and Essay Topics,” Chapter 2 on “Helping Students Do Well on Essay Tests,” and
Chapter 6 on “Responding to and Grading Student Writing.”
