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Scholarship July 3, 2025

Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors

The Wabash Center

Author
Nilson, Linda B.
Publisher
Anker Publishing, Bolton, MA
ISBN
1882982207
Table of Contents
Part 1 Sound preparations
Instructional support services and resources
Understanding your students
In the beginning - course design and objectives
The complete syllabus
Course coordination between faculty and ta's
Copyright guidelines for the classroom

Part 2 Good Beginnings
Your first day of class
Classroom management
Preserving academic honesty
Making the most of office hours
Motivating your students

Part 3 Varieties of learning and teaching strategies
Learning styles
Introduction to student-active teaching
Making the lecture a learning experience
Leading effective discussions
Questioning techniques for discussion and assessment
From student-active to experiential teaching formats
Cooperative learning
The case method
Writing-to-learn activities and assignments
Tools of the trade - making the most of instructional aids and technology

Part 4 Disciplinary differences
Teaching students to think and write in the disciplines
Making a foreign language come alive
Teaching mathematical problem solving
Science education - dynamic methods for fast-paced disciplines

Part 5 Assessment/Measuring outcomes
Assessing students' learning in progress
Test construction
Preparing students for tests
Grading: tests, assignments, and course performance
Evaluating and documenting teaching effectiveness

References
Index
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)