The Tomorrow’s Professor e-Newletter often has interesting and useful posts. Sponsored by the Stanford University Center for Teaching and Learning, Tomorrow’s Professor is edited by Richard M. Reis, Ph.D., a consulting professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford (see more in this Innovative Instructor post from last year). Recently Reis shared a bibliography compiled by L. Dee Fink, Ph.D., a national and international consultant in higher education, a former president of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education, and a former director of the Instructional Development Program at the University of Oklahoma.
The list is comprised of books that have introduced major ideas in college teaching from 1990 to 2013. Fink says, “The point of this list is to illustrate that the scholars of teaching and learning are continuing to generate powerful new ideas year after year, thereby creating the possibility of enhancing the capabilities of college teachers everywhere – IF faculty members can learn about these ideas and incorporate them into their teaching.”
The ideas are show in two ways. First is by theme and sub-theme. The four themes are: General Perspectives on Teaching & Learning, Basic Tasks of Teaching, Dealing with Specific Teaching/Learning Situations, and Getting Better at Teaching. Under each of the themes are sub-themes with links (within the document) to annotated source listings arranged chronologically, which make up the second way in which the ideas are displayed.
For example, in the category Getting Better At Teaching, you will find Learning About Teaching & Learning with a link to Learning Communities. Clicking on the link takes you to 1998: “Learning communities, whether of students or of faculty, can lead to powerful forms of dialogue and growth. Source: Shapiro, N. & Levine, J. Creating Learning Communities. Jossey-Bass.
Browsing the chronological listings will also be fruitful. And if your spring break is coming up, maybe you will actually have a little time to read.
Macie Hall, Senior Instructional Designer, Center for Educational Resources
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