Resources
The economy uncertain, education in decline, cities under siege, crime and poverty spiraling upward, international relations roiling: we look to leaders for solutions, and when they don't deliver, we simply add their failure to our list of woes. In doing do, we do them and ourselves a grave disservice. We are indeed facing an unprecedented crisis of leadership, Ronald Heifetz avows, but it stems as much from our demands and expectations as from any leader's inability to meet them. His book gets at both of these problems, offering a practical approach to leadership for those who lead as well as those who look to them for answers. Fitting the theory and practice of leadership to our extraordinary times, the book promotes a new social contract, a revitalization of our civic life just when we most need it. Drawing on a dozen years of research among managers, officers, and politicians in the public realm and the private sector, among the nonprofits, and in teaching, Heifetz presents clear, concrete prescriptions for anyone who needs to take the lead in almost any situation, under almost any organizational conditions, no matter who is in charge, His strategy applies not only to people at the top but also to those who must lead without authority--activists as well as presidents, managers as well as workers on the front line. (From the Publisher)
A leading MIT social scientist and consultant examines five professions—engineering, architecture, management, psychotherapy, and town planning—to show how professionals really go about solving problems. (From the Publisher)
Journal Issue.
Journal Issue.
Designed as a resource for persons interested in improving the quality of teaching and student learning, this book covers aspects of the teaching-learning process that can be altered with relative ease. Practical suggestions are given in chapters focusing on concepts known to have a strong influence on student learning. The chapters include: (1) new ideas on teaching and learning in higher education; (2) exceptionally effective college teachers (identifying and interviewing them, feedback, etc.); (3) learning and evaluation (traditional and alternative uses, critical elements, subject area differences, etc.); (4) mastery learning; (5) motivation and early success (predicting college success, importance of first semester and first test, etc.); (6) time use and student involvement (John Carroll's model, Benjamin Bloom's ideas on learning rate, allocated versus engaged time, etc.); (7) student support services (faculty contact, tutorial services, computer-assisted instruction, etc.); and (8) staff development (collegial sharing, program characteristics, etc.).
Building on the insights of his highly acclaimed earlier work, The Skillful Teacher, Stephen D. Brookfield offers a very personal and accessible guide to how faculty at any level and across all disciplines can improve their teaching. Applying the principles of adult learning, Brookfield thoughtfully guides teachers through the processes of becoming critically reflective about teaching, confronting the contradictions involved in creating democratic classrooms, and using critical reflection as a tool for continuous personal and professional development. (From the Publisher)
Adult educators are increasingly faced with the task of creating and facilitating learning activities for participants from diverse backgrounds. They need to take into account the needs of both male and female learners, learners of different ethnic and racial groups, and learners from different social backgrounds in creating an inclusive adult learning environment. The developing body of literature on multicultural concerns in adult education, on feminist theory and on critical and feminist pedagogies offer some insights in this regard. This publication aims to: (1) synthesise some of the work related to inclusivity and diversity that has already been done in the field of adult education; and (2) examine aspects of the wider literature base on multicultural education and feminist theory and pedagogy that can offer insights specifically for creating inclusive adult learning environments. (From the Publisher)
Journal issue. Full text is available online.
The work of faculty is stressful, yet most stress studies focus on faculty's research rather than teaching. This study examined the experience of nine tenured professors in search of answers to these questions: What classroom interactions do faculty find stressful? Why do faculty find these activities stressful? How do faculty explain, perform, and organize classroom practices to cope with these stresses?
Wabash Center Staff Contact
Sarah Farmer, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Wabash Center
farmers@wabash.edu