Resources

"Developing Critical Thinkers" is a book practitioners and others interested in applying critical thinking principles will find extremely useful. The writing is clear, the examples are many, and the ideas are well grounded in theory and research. (From the Publisher)

Analysis, resources, and recommendations by a colloquy of 7 Asian and Asian North American professors of religious and theological studies in largely white institutions. What impact does this isolation have on their functioning as faculty, and specifically in their attempt to introduce Asian or Asian North American perspectives into their respective theological disciplines? What extra constraints or requirements are placed on their struggle to teach as effectively and faithfully as they would like? And what about the dynamics of teaching primarily white or other non-Asian students?

A uniquely comprehensive resource about instructional consultation in higher education -- At many colleges, universities, and professional schools, consultants are available to faculty who wish to assess and improve their teaching. Consultation is widely regarded as a powerful intervention for improving teaching and learning. No service provided by teaching centers has greater potential for producing deep and enduring effects on teachers and teaching. A think tank was charged with identifying the knowledge base underlying instructional consultation, examining current practices, and recommending how best practices might best be disseminated. This book is the result of the think tank's work. The book offers a thoughtful blend of research-based principles and practical advice. It speaks practically to the practitioner. (From the Publisher)

Ernest L. Boyer's Scholarship Reconsidered offers a new paradigm that recognizes the full range of scholarly activity by college and university faculty and questions the existence of a reward system that pushed faculty toward research and publication and away from teaching. (From the Publisher)

Controversies about affirmative action hires, admission policies, intercultural relations in the classroom, the role of ethnic studies departments, and changes in course curriculum all seem to swirl around the changing ethnic composition of the campus. How do we all get along? Tackling this question are authors Bowser, Auletta, and Jones, who suggest some practical strategies for dealing with questions of racism, diversity, and intercultural communication. (From the Publisher)

Bowers examines how the educational process perpetuates cultural myths that contribute to the ecological crisis, particularly how thought patterns from the past are reproduced through the metaphorical language used in the classroom. He suggests that a more ecologically sustainable ideology is being formulated by such writers as Aldo Leopold and Wendell Berry. (From the Publisher)

This book is a wake-up call for environmentalists who need to consider how current educational ideals and practices undermine efforts to create a more sustainable future. It is also a wake-up call for educators who continue to base their reform efforts on the primacy of the individual, while ignoring the fact that the individual is nested in culture, and culture is nested in (and thus dependent upon) natural ecosystems. Bowers argues that the modern way of understanding moral education, creativity, intelligence, and the role of direct experience in the learning process cannot be supported by evidence. (From the Publisher)

In the charged atmosphere of the debate on multicultural issues, higher education professionals must take action, even in the face of incomplete information and complicated arguments and counter arguments, and are often expected to set standards when many assumptions are made in deep-rooted, taken-for-granted institutional practices. This volume of New Directions for Teaching and Learning speaks in a practical way to administrators, instructors, faculty/TA developers, and support staff who work in the multicultural classroom and offers valuable information that will serve as a basis for recognizing and solving issues in diversity. This is the 49th issue of the quarterly journal New Directions for Teaching and Learning. For more information on the series, please see the Journals and Periodicals page. (From the Publisher)

Discussions surrounding collegial practices and exchanges are common, but this volume departs from the usual and focuses on serious problems facing professionals in higher education--from being "open to corrections" and paying more attention to the "ethics of higher education," to creating collegial models that counter the traditional models of "insistent individualism." Bennett looks at the basic structure of what academic professionalism in higher education is and could be. Focusing on the flaws of autonomy that weaken the academy, he develops a more "relational model," which emphasizes "togetherness," "constructive education," "roles and virtues," "hospitality," and "thoughtfulness." He defines and reviews criticism, and he covers topics such as faculty individualism, departmental separatism, generational differences, codes of ethics, collective bargaining, and the competition in the academy for funding and students. The author does not call for an "unreachable academic utopia," but rather for change toward incorporating the collegial ethic of hospitableness and thoughtfulness. Not a bad idea in a world that often seems self-absorbed and disconnected. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. (From the Publisher)

Despite the progress of the women's movement, many women still feel silenced in their families and schools. Based on in-depth interviews with 135 women, this moving and important book explains why. (From the Publisher)