Resources

This book looks specifically at the problems of teaching students in higher education taking courses outside their main area of interest. This book brings together an international collection of case studies from North America, Australia, New Zealand and the UK in which practicing university teachers describe strategies which they have adopted to inspire their students. Each case study is presented in a way which enables the transfer of the key ideas to other teachers, regardless of their subject discipline. The editors provide an introduction to the book and review the key lessons to be learnt from the case studies. (From the Publisher)

With an ever increasing emphasis on continuing professional development, in-service training, plus widening participation in further and higher education, the importance of group learning has never been higher. Collaborative and co-operative learning is a crucial method for helping people get the most out learning, and because it offers the possibility to teach higher numbers, or diverse groups of people successfully, it has become an important technique for educators and trainers to call upon. Using the well-known, tried and tested 500 Tips format, this book provides practical, user friendly, easy-to-use advice and support which will enhance learning and training. (From the Publisher)

In 1978, Jack Mezirow introduced the concept of transformative learning in his groundbreaking study of women who returned to community college to continue their education. As their understanding of personal, cultural, and social histories grew, so did the students' ability to modify their assumptions and expectations of learning. Since that time, transformative learning has inspired a significant body of research and theory. This volume continues the work begun over twenty years ago—revealing the impact of transformative learning on the theory and practice of adult education Fifteen of the field's top scholars and practitioners join Jack Mezirow in these pages. Together, they review the core principles of transformation theory, analyze the process of transformative learning, describe different types of learning and learners, suggest key conditions for socially responsible learning, explore group and organizational learning, and present revelations from the latest research. They also share real-world examples drawn from their own experiences as educators and assess the evolution of transformative learning in practice and philosophy. Learning as Transformation presents an intimate portrait of a powerful learning concept and invites educators, researchers, and scholars to consider the implications of transformative learning in their own professional work. (From the Publisher)

In The University Gets Religion: Religious Studies in American Higher Education, historian D. G. Hart examines the rise of religion to its current place as one of the largest academic disciplines in contemporary higher education. Protestant ministers and faculty were especially influential in arguing for the importance of religion to a truly "liberal" education, staffing departments and designing curricula to reflect their own Protestant assumptions about the value of religion not just for higher education but for American culture in general. Though many educators originally found religion too sectarian and unscientific for colleges and universities, religious studies nevertheless emerged after World War II as a crucial element of a liberal education. But the success of mainstream Protestantism in fostering the academic study of religion has become the field's greatest burden. Over the last twenty-five years, religion scholars have distanced themselves from traditional Protestant orientations while looking for topics better suited to America's cultural diversity. As a result, religion is in the awkward position of being one of the largest scholarly disciplines while simultaneously lacking a solid academic justification. It may be time, Hart argues, for academics to stop trying to secure a religion-friendly university. The first sustained history of the academic study of religion at American universities, The University Gets Religion: Religious Studies in American Higher Education is a timely book that explores the present-day implications of religious studies' Protestant past. (From the Publisher)

When you think about legal issues and field education, how do you feel? What thoughts come to mind when you think of culture in this context? What stories and teachings from our faith tradition can inform the interface between legal issues and field education? (From the Publisher)