Resources

Click Here for Book Review The higher education landscape is rapidly evolving due to changes in the student population (millenials, increasing diversity, changing work habits), technology (the rise in the use of social media) and learning spaces (the increase in physical and virtual social learning spaces). Allan presents the first book to bring together recent developments in both theory and practice, covering a wide range of tools and techniques which will suit students in different contexts, from large groups of 500+ to very small classes of research students. Making extensive use of case studies, examples, checklists, and tables, this practical book contains: - an analysis of the current higher education landscape, the changes that are occurring and the diverse nature of student populations; - an exploration of new theories of digital literacy including case studies demonstrating how library and information workers have applied these models in practice; - a demonstration of the many different ways in which academic library and information services are working in support of student employability; - a theoretical overview of different approaches to teaching and learning including Kolb's learning cycle, Laurillard's conversational framework for university teaching, Entwistle's teaching for understanding at university, Land and Meyer's threshold concepts and the Higher Education Academy's work on flexible pedagogies; - practical guidance on designing, developing and evaluating courses and other learning and teaching events in different situations including face-to-face, flipped classroom, blended learning, and online learning; and an exploration of approaches to personal and professional development including 90+ approaches to workplace learning; accredited courses; short courses, conferences and workshops; - networking through professional organizations; and developing online networks. This book will be essential reading for different groups working in colleges and universities including library and information workers, staff developers, educational technologists, educational development project workers, educational change agents and students of library and information science who are planning their careers in higher education institutions. (From the Publisher)

Click Here for Book Review Abstract: What makes a good college teacher? This book provides an evidence- based answer to that question by presenting a set of "model teaching characteristics" that define what makes a good college teacher. Based on six fundamental areas of teaching competency known as Model Teaching Characteristics outlined by The Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP), this book describes how college faculty from all disciplines and at all levels of experience can use these characteristics to evaluate, guide, and improve their teaching. Evidence based research supports the inclusion of each characteristic, each of which is illustrated through example, to help readers master the skills. Readers learn to evaluate their teaching abilities by providing guidance on what to document and how to accumulate and organize the evidence. Two introductory chapters outline the model teaching characteristics followed by six chapters, each devoted to one of the characteristics: training, instructional methods, course content, assessment, syllabus construction, and student evaluations. (From the Publisher)

Click Here for Book Review This book has been written and organized to prepare critically reflective teachers to take their place in society and to do that with the knowledge, personal framework and tools to be successful. The reader will begin with an exploration of the role of higher education—it’s history and development—in influencing society. He will examine how being critically reflective can serve as a fundamental principle to guide our professional journey. She will start drawing the under-painting of a self-portrait of our identities to see what anchors us to our unique qualities that set us apart as individuals and will help inform our professional decisions and life-path. Out of the heightened awareness of our identities and experience we’ll initiate crafting a framework by which we think and are guided in our teaching practice. Readers will engage in exercises to flesh out this framework by unpacking our learning experiences and articulating what was previously implicit: our personal theories of teaching and learning. Readers will experiment with ways in which we become more conscious of how our thinking and feelings inform our actions and how this increased consciousness can guide us in creating powerful and compelling learning experiences for our students. We’ll look at the changing population of diverse higher education students and how we can build community with them by using our sense of identity as a bridge. Readers will learn to revise artifacts from our academic experiences to serve as benchmarks of our professional development and the major skill areas of teaching: preparing to teach, successfully executing our teaching plans in and out of the classroom to encourage deep and lasting learning in our students, effectively assessing their learning as an authentic process and how to document all these efforts throughout our careers for our own development and in preparation for when we are evaluated by others. I look forward to our collaborative journey together. (From the Publisher)

Click Here for Book Review Abstract: Employ cognitive theory in the classroom every day Research into how we learn has opened the door for utilizing cognitive theory to facilitate better student learning. But that's easier said than done. Many books about cognitive theory introduce radical but impractical theories, failing to make the connection to the classroom. In Small Teaching, James Lang presents a strategy for improving student learning with a series of modest but powerful changes that make a big difference—many of which can be put into practice in a single class period. These strategies are designed to bridge the chasm between primary research and the classroom environment in a way that can be implemented by any faculty in any discipline, and even integrated into pre-existing teaching techniques. Learn, for example: - How does one become good at retrieving knowledge from memory? - How does making predictions now help us learn in the future? - How do instructors instill fixed or growth mindsets in their students? Each chapter introduces a basic concept in cognitive theory, explains when and how it should be employed, and provides firm examples of how the intervention has been or could be used in a variety of disciplines. Small teaching techniques include brief classroom or online learning activities, one-time interventions, and small modifications in course design or communication with students. (From the Publisher)

Click Here for Book Review Abstract: A Toolkit for College Professors is designed to give new and established faculty members the skills they need in order to do their jobs more effectively. Combining case studies, scenarios, practical advice, and problem-solving activities, this book offers college professors a valuable resource for excelling in the classroom, lab, studio, library, and beyond. From teaching effectively to promoting student success, facilitating collegiality with their peers, conducting research, applying for tenure and promotion, and many other areas relevant to academic life today, A Toolkit for College Professors helps faculty members achieve their goals and avoid common pitfalls along the way. (From the Publisher)

Click Here for Book Review Abstract: Higher educations professionals face a myriad of competing demands on their time. Many of these pressures exist apart from teaching and outside the classroom altogether. Career requirements can seem to be never ending, and if they are not carefully managed and balanced, they can overrun even the most committed scholar’s resolve. The latest book in Atwood’s 147 Tips series, 147 Practical Tips for Emerging Scholars presents readers with a much-needed guide to the varied ins and outs of a career in higher education. Advocating detailed planning and clear priorities, the authors have crafted a thorough and accessible book to simplify and de-stress the navigation of a scholar’s world. Their pragmatic and detailed tips offer advice on crucial topics including: - Writing grants - Research - Working with technology - Collaboration - Mentoring The authors write: 147 Practical Tips for Emerging Scholars assists you in developing your successful professional journey as a scholar by delivering proven and succinct guidance.... You can use this book as a ready reference that you can turn to again and again for solid direction, clarity, and encouragement. This essential volume offers fresh and enriching insights, and will prove an indispensable tool for higher education professionals - new and veteran alike. (From the Publisher)

Help! My College Students Can’t Read: Teaching Vital Reading Strategies in the Content Areas is designed as a resource guide for content area instructors who have no specific training in the field of literacy but want to help the struggling readers in their classrooms. This book provides simple, step-by-step ideas for introducing and embedding reading strategies within all content areas without sacrificing a lot of valuable class time. This easy-to-use resource will equip instructors to not only help their students be stronger readers in general, but to be stronger readers of content-area academic texts. (From the Publisher)

Click Here for Book Review Abstract: The authors created this manual particularly for beginning instructors at the post-secondary level who have never had formal teacher training. They not only present the essentials of effective instruction that incorporates technology, but in doing so, review key principles and practices that have been shown to enhance students’ motivation to learn. The manual is a distillation of core information derived from both the authors’ own professional experience and the body of literature on teaching effectiveness, learning motivation, and the infusion of technology in post-secondary settings. They draw on their respective educational and research backgrounds that range from the elementary through to the college and university levels. (From the Publisher)