Resources

Each year since 1981, the Carnegie Foundation and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education receives and reviews over 600 nominations for their prestigious Professor of the Year award. Together with a group of higher education experts, Carnegie and CASE conduct interviews with the candidates, looking for excellence in numerous areas: impact on and involvement with students; service to students, institution, community, and profession; and a scholarly approach to teaching. Several rounds of judging narrow the field, culminating in prestigious state and national, including Canadian, Professor of the Year awards. Inspiring Teaching is a fascinating collection of essays written by recent Carnegie Professors of the Year. The book's chapters range from the pragmatic to the philosophical, offering snapshots of outstanding teachers at work in their classrooms. (From the Publisher)

Journal Issue.

Journal Issue.

With the growing importance of open and distance education around the world, this unique and comprehensive overview integrates historical, contemporary and future aspects of distance education. Packed with international case studies, the author goes beyond describing the methods, media and technicalities of learning and teaching in distance education by also dealing with the sociological and psychological implications and the cultural conditions. This work is a major contribution to our thinking on open and distance education and provides an international perspective on evaluating concepts of distance education in American, European, and Asian countries. Building on his extensive experience of research and practice, Professor Peters explores many paradigmatic models, which look at current practice and will influence future thinking. He examines the legacy of distance education and explores the impact of digitalization on its practice and theory. This book is essential reading for academics involved in open or distance learning in schools and further and higher education, as well as policy makers and students. It will inspire them to consider important theoretical aspects and current thinking on the topic. (From the Publisher)

This is the first comprehensive guide to teaching in the social sciences ever published. "Two complete works in one" provides a survey of the larger institutional context and alternative perspectives on current debates in higher education, as well as a comprehensive and practical guide to teaching. Contains original essays by leading teachers and scholars including Craig Calhoun, Teresa Sullivan, Dean Dorn, Paul Baker, Charles Tilly, Howard Aldrich, Daniel Chambliss, and Mary Romero. The accompanying Fieldguide for Teaching includes an addition 80 articles, excerpts, teaching tips, exercises, checklists, and overheads covering a complete spectrum of teaching concerns. (From the Publisher)

Written for faculty, instructors, and trainers in any distance learning environment, Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace shows how to create a virtual classroom environment that helps students excel academically, while fostering a sense of community. This practical, hands-on guide is filled with illustrative case studies, vignettes, and examples from a wide variety of successful online courses. (From the Publisher)

This publication is designed to improve college instruction at the undergraduate level. Intended to be used as a tool box, it is a concise compilation of hundreds of teaching techniques and formats, classroom activities and exercises, suggestions to enhance instructor-student rapport, guidelines for assignments and papers, and tips for teaching any material more effectively. Concise summaries of teaching options and innovations based on current research in teaching are included. The 30 chapters are grouped in five parts. Part 1, "Sound Preparations," addresses the tasks that need to be done before a semester or quarter begins. Part 2, "Good Beginnings," focuses on what to say and do on the first day of class and on how to set policies, tone, and a productive learning environment for the entire term. Part 3, "Varieties of Learning and Teaching Strategies," presents an extensive and varied menu of the most effective teaching techniques and formats available at the college level, appealing to a range of student learning styles and adaptable to any subject matter. Part 4, "Disciplinary Differences," concentrates on methods that are discipline-specific. Part 5, "Assessment/Measuring Outcomes," offers guidance on evaluating student learning and assessing teaching effectiveness. (Contains approximately 200 references.) (From the Publisher)

This book is an attempt to take an overview of reflection, both in terms of the literature, the common meaning of reflection and, in particular, in terms of its value in practical ways of improving learning and professional practice. The existence of an enormous gap in the literature between an identification of the nature of reflection and the processes of learning means that the many applications of reflection in educational and professional situations are guided by assumption or guesswork. The book begins by addressing this issue. In doing so, the authors do not attempt to pull the ideas in the literature into one precise definition. They establish boundaries that can be placed around the term to provide it with greater coherency. The book concludes with the practical use of reflection to improve learning and practice. The author considers the conditions of the learning environment which encourage reflection and presents two case studies in professional development and practice where deliberate and carefully designed exercise of reflection contributed to the greater impact of short courses and to effective decision making. The book includes practical activities and exercises which encourage learners to reflect on their learning or practice. (From the Publisher)

The aims of this publication are: - Demystify certain parts of the academic careers that typically bewilder or confuse junior faculty as well as graduate students considering such careers - Coach junior and future faculty in concrete ways so they can increase their likelihood of success in and enjoying of the profession - Spotlight and tell the truth about the special burdens and 'taxes' imposed on non-majority faculty in majority settings (the burdens and taxes are usually related to perceived differences because of the non-majority person's gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual preference, and/or social class) - Prompt senior faculty, department chairs, deans, provosts, and campus vice presidents and presidents so they better understand the stresses and confusions experienced by majority and non-majority junior faculty; and then, based on that understanding, they take pro-active steps to reduce barriers for newcomers and clue them in to implicit agendas and expectations. (From the Publisher)

This comprehensive overview of higher educational assessment features a guide to setting, marking and reviewing the coursework, assignments, tests and examinations used in higher education. In addition, the authors examine the various programs for certificates, diplomas, first degrees as well as higher degrees. The strong influence that assessment has on the way students approach their learning is also discussed. Truly international in focus, this book features authors with higher education experience in Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, England, Canada, Hong Kong, USA, and Thailand. (From the Publisher)