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Teaching College: The Ultimate Guide to Lecturing, Presenting, and Engaging Students
Your students aren’t reading.
They aren’t engaged in class.
Getting them to talk is like pulling teeth.
Whatever the situation, your reality is not meeting your expectations. Change is needed. But who’s got the time?
Or maybe you’re just starting out, and you want to get it right the first time.
If so, Teaching College: The Ultimate Guide to Lecturing, Presenting, and Engaging Students is the blueprint. Written for early career instructors, this easy-to-implement guide teaches you to:
• Think like advertisers to understand your target audience—your students
• Adopt the active learning approach of the best K-12 teachers
• Write a syllabus that gets noticed and read
• Develop lessons that stimulate deep engagement
• Create slide presentations that students can digest
• Get students to do the readings, participate more, and care about your course
Secrets like “focusing on students, not content” and building a “customer” profile of the class will change the way you teach. The author, Dr. Norman Eng, argues that much of these approaches and techniques have been effectively used in marketing and K-12 education, two industries that could greatly improve how college instructors teach.
Find out how to hack the world of college classrooms and have your course become the standard by which all other courses will be measured against. Whether you are an adjunct, a lecturer, an assistant professor, or even a graduate assistant, pedagogical success is within your grasp.
They aren’t engaged in class.
Getting them to talk is like pulling teeth.
Whatever the situation, your reality is not meeting your expectations. Change is needed. But who’s got the time?
Or maybe you’re just starting out, and you want to get it right the first time.
If so, Teaching College: The Ultimate Guide to Lecturing, Presenting, and Engaging Students is the blueprint. Written for early career instructors, this easy-to-implement guide teaches you to:
• Think like advertisers to understand your target audience—your students
• Adopt the active learning approach of the best K-12 teachers
• Write a syllabus that gets noticed and read
• Develop lessons that stimulate deep engagement
• Create slide presentations that students can digest
• Get students to do the readings, participate more, and care about your course
Secrets like “focusing on students, not content” and building a “customer” profile of the class will change the way you teach. The author, Dr. Norman Eng, argues that much of these approaches and techniques have been effectively used in marketing and K-12 education, two industries that could greatly improve how college instructors teach.
Find out how to hack the world of college classrooms and have your course become the standard by which all other courses will be measured against. Whether you are an adjunct, a lecturer, an assistant professor, or even a graduate assistant, pedagogical success is within your grasp.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2017
505 people are currently reading
304 people want to read
About the author
Norman Eng
5 books20 followersNorman Eng is a doctor of education (Ed.D.) with a background in teaching and marketing—two areas that relate to lecturing, presenting, and engaging audiences.
As a marketing executive, he worked with clients to realize their communication goals in the pharmaceutical, insurance, pet, and retail industries. Norman learned one major lesson--know your target audience--something he discusses in his book “Teaching College.”
He applied this lesson to his teaching as a public school elementary school teacher in the early- to mid-2000s, where he was nominated as one of Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teachers.
As an adjunct assistant professor for local colleges in the City University of New York system, Norman realized that much of what he gained as a marketer and as an elementary school teacher held true for college instructors: Students—whether undergraduate or graduate—need to see the value of what you are teaching to their lives.
With consistently high student and departmental evaluations in two separate colleges every semester, Dr. Eng hopes to share what he has gained so far from these three industries—marketing, K–12 education, and higher education—with the larger community of higher education instructors, whether they are graduate students, adjunct lecturers, assistant professors, or beyond.
As a marketing executive, he worked with clients to realize their communication goals in the pharmaceutical, insurance, pet, and retail industries. Norman learned one major lesson--know your target audience--something he discusses in his book “Teaching College.”
He applied this lesson to his teaching as a public school elementary school teacher in the early- to mid-2000s, where he was nominated as one of Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teachers.
As an adjunct assistant professor for local colleges in the City University of New York system, Norman realized that much of what he gained as a marketer and as an elementary school teacher held true for college instructors: Students—whether undergraduate or graduate—need to see the value of what you are teaching to their lives.
With consistently high student and departmental evaluations in two separate colleges every semester, Dr. Eng hopes to share what he has gained so far from these three industries—marketing, K–12 education, and higher education—with the larger community of higher education instructors, whether they are graduate students, adjunct lecturers, assistant professors, or beyond.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
January 6, 2020
Definitely for the new lecturer or even the veteran professor!
As an adjunct lecturer at a California university, I have read several books on best practices for teaching college students. I recently read Teaching College: The Ultimate Guide to Lecturing, Presenting, and Engaging Students by Norman Eng Ed.D. Can I just say WOW?
As colleges and universities slash budgets, they rely more on adjunct lecturers to teach courses. Like myself, many part-time adjuncts come from the field and can teach valuable best practices in many courses. But just because we know our field doesn’t mean we know how to effectively teach it. By reading this book, I guarantee you will come away with teaching techniques and classroom management skills that you can use today. Your own teaching will be refreshed and exciting again!
Major take-aways from this book:
-Use power point slides sparingly and rely on images and video rather than too many bullets and sub-bullets.
-Rewrite the course syllabus (where you can) by adding the benefits of the course. This chapter is GOLD!
-Focus on the student, not the content. Get to know the students. Ask them what they hope to get out of the course.
-In big lecture halls, get students to “turn and talk,” or get into small groups to discuss a concept, then report out.
-Keep lectures short and intersperse with discussion, group-work and hands-on activities.
-Use your own passion and experience for the subject to share with students.
The text and appendices of the book are chock-full of resources and suggested readings and materials you can use right now. I know that I will spend my off-time refreshing my slides and my syllabus.
Part 2 contains valuable classroom management ideas and thorough discussion on how to use them.
In Part 3, his fresh techniques and ideas for presenting with slides will have you scratching your head, asking yourself "Why didn’t I think of that?" It also deals with deftly handling discussions and goes into classroom management.
Part 4 describes what it takes to help students succeed.
I have recommended this short, easy to read, guide to my university’s department chair so that the other 30+ adjuncts can learn and apply these useful and relevant tips. Visit Dr. Eng on his blog, too.
As an adjunct lecturer at a California university, I have read several books on best practices for teaching college students. I recently read Teaching College: The Ultimate Guide to Lecturing, Presenting, and Engaging Students by Norman Eng Ed.D. Can I just say WOW?
As colleges and universities slash budgets, they rely more on adjunct lecturers to teach courses. Like myself, many part-time adjuncts come from the field and can teach valuable best practices in many courses. But just because we know our field doesn’t mean we know how to effectively teach it. By reading this book, I guarantee you will come away with teaching techniques and classroom management skills that you can use today. Your own teaching will be refreshed and exciting again!
Major take-aways from this book:
-Use power point slides sparingly and rely on images and video rather than too many bullets and sub-bullets.
-Rewrite the course syllabus (where you can) by adding the benefits of the course. This chapter is GOLD!
-Focus on the student, not the content. Get to know the students. Ask them what they hope to get out of the course.
-In big lecture halls, get students to “turn and talk,” or get into small groups to discuss a concept, then report out.
-Keep lectures short and intersperse with discussion, group-work and hands-on activities.
-Use your own passion and experience for the subject to share with students.
The text and appendices of the book are chock-full of resources and suggested readings and materials you can use right now. I know that I will spend my off-time refreshing my slides and my syllabus.
Part 2 contains valuable classroom management ideas and thorough discussion on how to use them.
In Part 3, his fresh techniques and ideas for presenting with slides will have you scratching your head, asking yourself "Why didn’t I think of that?" It also deals with deftly handling discussions and goes into classroom management.
Part 4 describes what it takes to help students succeed.
I have recommended this short, easy to read, guide to my university’s department chair so that the other 30+ adjuncts can learn and apply these useful and relevant tips. Visit Dr. Eng on his blog, too.
March 20, 2021
As both elementary school teacher and college teacher, I find almost all really familiar, but it is nevertheless usefull, and it's good to have it in one place
January 27, 2017
TEACHING COLLEGE: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO LECTURING, PRESENTING, AND ENGAGING STUDENTS by Norman Eng, is a must-read book for teachers and laypersons interested in education. This author’s student-centered approach, based on years of experience in the teaching field, and his former training as a marketer, augments his ability to successfully teach students based on customer satisfaction principles. He states that teachers need to understand their students in order to create psychologically safe learning atmospheres. Eng shares practical strategies for building student connections and mutual trust in the classroom.
Eng discloses his research proving that a psychologically safe classroom is imperative for improving student outcomes. Documented studies of class environments where students reported feeling safe reveal higher reading levels, more classroom participation, increased work levels, and the development of leadership skills.
Most importantly, Eng explains why active styles of teaching and learning heighten students’ performance. Most students have limited time spans in which to absorb lecture-based material. After they tire of listening, students become easily distracted.
By varying classroom activities, students remain focused and engaged. Eng suggests activities such as: discuss and predict, peer group activities, class presentations, open-ended questions and answers, sharing antidotes related to the text, power point slides, guest visitors, peer-editing, and group jigsaw learning, to increase students’ interest..
Eng shares other teaching strategies: how to write a friendly syllabus, how to structure rules for a positive classroom, how to encourage shy learners, how to write engaging lesson plans, how to make interesting power point slideshows, how to assess students’ readiness levels, how to include second- language learners, how to give corrective feedback to students, and how to assess students’ levels of learning in the classroom.
The strategies, research, and practical demonstrations in Eng’s book are fast-paced and interesting. He includes visuals such as charts, symbols, access to videos, and online/offline teaching support sites.
TEACHING COLLEGE: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO LECTURING, PRESENTING, AND ENGAGING STUDENTS applies to K-12 as well as college level instruction. This book is a treasure chest for teachers, whether they are student teachers, third grade teachers or college professors. Eng’s book should be required reading in education classes and professional development courses.
May 14, 2021
I think this is a solid Pedagogy 101 book. It's well written and the voice is mostly approachable. The book was an easy read and didn't feel like a chore, which some books of this nature can feel like. The author was a little snarky at points, which I didn't find particularly off putting. Though, some may.
I don't feel like I learned too much from this book, one or two interesting nuggets. But, I don't think I'm really the key demographic for the book. If you're just starting out as a professor, this will probably save you some grief.
I don't feel like I learned too much from this book, one or two interesting nuggets. But, I don't think I'm really the key demographic for the book. If you're just starting out as a professor, this will probably save you some grief.
February 11, 2017
Clear and practical advice - some sections make it extremely easy to see how I would implement the advice, other sections less relevant. However, it is written in an engaging style and I quite enjoyed reading it through. Thank you.
April 28, 2018
Wonderful read
There was a lot of great information in the book. Some of it I use now and some things I will try in the future. I have been teaching off and on for about 20 years, and have learned you are never done Learning. As a teach, you are always a student.
There was a lot of great information in the book. Some of it I use now and some things I will try in the future. I have been teaching off and on for about 20 years, and have learned you are never done Learning. As a teach, you are always a student.
July 25, 2018
No time to write a proper review right now. I'm too busy re-writing my syllabus and updating lesson plans to incorporate the suggestions in this terrific book.
August 25, 2017
Teaching College outlines the basics for teaching in tertiary education. It covers almost every element of teaching from lesson planning, to designing assessments, to responding to the diversity of students needs. It was a really easy read with lots of a case studies and "take-aways" to implement immediately.
Most of the material covered was very basic. I've had some very limited training for teaching in tertiary education, and most of what Eng covered I've already come across. However, as my current job doesn't offer any training courses, this book stood in for what I could have refreshed in a summer workshop or two. Some of the messages in the book are ones that need to be said again and again. For example, like many lecturers, I am in love with my subject, so I have to constantly remind myself to plan my lessons with my students NOT my subject in mind. As the book covers a lot very quickly, it also helps bring things together. In a few pages the reader moves from how best to use powerpoint, to how to plan a lesson, to how to elicit student responses, and to how to mark assignments. As a result, it's possible to hold all of these aspects of teaching in your mind at once, meaning that you can think about how they all work together.
There were a few parts of this book that I disagreed with. An earlier quotation saying that teachers are "sellers of ideas," got me annoyed right at the beginning, but fortunately the book moved away from this propagandist approach to education. The book is very American, so at times I found it hard to relate what I was reading to both my own British education and to my current role as a lecturer in China. Likewise, the case studies were all taken from Eng's experience of teaching teacher training, so it remains to be seen whether his approaches work in the English literature classroom.
My initial teacher training looked particularly at working with students with a range of difficulties. I myself suffered with depression and anxiety as a student and I am very glad that I didn't have to study in the interactive way I've been taught to teach. I'm still working through my thoughts on this, but I wonder if academic subjects should be a little less interactive as people who struggle with human interaction are more likely to choose them, whereas students who study teaching, for example, are probably more likely to be willing and able to engage in a fuller range of interactive experiences. Likewise, one of the professors at my university once said, "no-one goes into academia because they're good with people." Eng's advice relies heavily on getting to know your students, and he suggests arriving to the classroom early to chat to them. I wonder how many lecturers, myself included, would find this almost insurmountably difficult. Again, I need to reflect on this until I have answers.
Overall, this is a very helpful book. None of what Eng says is particularly groundbreaking, but it's not supposed to be. It's meant to be a simple overview and that is exactly what it is.
Most of the material covered was very basic. I've had some very limited training for teaching in tertiary education, and most of what Eng covered I've already come across. However, as my current job doesn't offer any training courses, this book stood in for what I could have refreshed in a summer workshop or two. Some of the messages in the book are ones that need to be said again and again. For example, like many lecturers, I am in love with my subject, so I have to constantly remind myself to plan my lessons with my students NOT my subject in mind. As the book covers a lot very quickly, it also helps bring things together. In a few pages the reader moves from how best to use powerpoint, to how to plan a lesson, to how to elicit student responses, and to how to mark assignments. As a result, it's possible to hold all of these aspects of teaching in your mind at once, meaning that you can think about how they all work together.
There were a few parts of this book that I disagreed with. An earlier quotation saying that teachers are "sellers of ideas," got me annoyed right at the beginning, but fortunately the book moved away from this propagandist approach to education. The book is very American, so at times I found it hard to relate what I was reading to both my own British education and to my current role as a lecturer in China. Likewise, the case studies were all taken from Eng's experience of teaching teacher training, so it remains to be seen whether his approaches work in the English literature classroom.
My initial teacher training looked particularly at working with students with a range of difficulties. I myself suffered with depression and anxiety as a student and I am very glad that I didn't have to study in the interactive way I've been taught to teach. I'm still working through my thoughts on this, but I wonder if academic subjects should be a little less interactive as people who struggle with human interaction are more likely to choose them, whereas students who study teaching, for example, are probably more likely to be willing and able to engage in a fuller range of interactive experiences. Likewise, one of the professors at my university once said, "no-one goes into academia because they're good with people." Eng's advice relies heavily on getting to know your students, and he suggests arriving to the classroom early to chat to them. I wonder how many lecturers, myself included, would find this almost insurmountably difficult. Again, I need to reflect on this until I have answers.
Overall, this is a very helpful book. None of what Eng says is particularly groundbreaking, but it's not supposed to be. It's meant to be a simple overview and that is exactly what it is.
October 25, 2020
A good if not great guide to teaching college students. Essentially, Eng applies elements of marketing to tertiary pedagogy and comes up with a lot of little tips for college teachers. Few of the tips that I found helpful were well developed. He does write a fair amount about application, but I found the applications much less helpful than the tips.
One of his main points is that you, as a teacher, need to think much more from the student perspective rather than your own perspective. Marketers never ask "How does this commercial make me feel?" Rather, they always think about the customer's perspective. I have seen too many college teachers cannot pull their heads out of their asses and think about things, not from their perspective, but from the student's perspective.
He also has this annoying habit of suggesting that his advice is more relevant for those teaching the social sciences or hard sciences, but that is just his disciplinary bias. The tips he gives could be adapted equally well to humanities, social sciences or hard sciences.
One of his main points is that you, as a teacher, need to think much more from the student perspective rather than your own perspective. Marketers never ask "How does this commercial make me feel?" Rather, they always think about the customer's perspective. I have seen too many college teachers cannot pull their heads out of their asses and think about things, not from their perspective, but from the student's perspective.
He also has this annoying habit of suggesting that his advice is more relevant for those teaching the social sciences or hard sciences, but that is just his disciplinary bias. The tips he gives could be adapted equally well to humanities, social sciences or hard sciences.
March 27, 2022
Had I not spent well over a decade working in a K-12 setting, I think this book would’ve been very helpful. I learned far more about teaching when I initially left Higher Ed, but having come back to it, I guess I was expecting deeper insights. This is a book for people who have been primarily focused on their content in a masters or doctorate degree while possibly teaching as a graduate student. My journey has been rather reversed, and so nothing was new to me in this book. However, there were some excellent reminders here, which I appreciated. I wish that the same instructor would write a book on post pandemic learning and current student mentalities/attitudes, which is a whole other beast.
October 30, 2020
I think this is an excellent book for new instructors. I wish I had had something like this to guide me when I became a graduate student instructor.
But I don't think it will be very helpful for seasoned professors. I didn't find much new here, and I don't think Eng has a very good understanding of the humanities; for example, he describes them as learning for learning's sake rather than via their practical value. I am also dubious about some of his assertions (like don't insist on following directions), but on the whole I think this is a solid how-to book on classroom management for the newbie.
But I don't think it will be very helpful for seasoned professors. I didn't find much new here, and I don't think Eng has a very good understanding of the humanities; for example, he describes them as learning for learning's sake rather than via their practical value. I am also dubious about some of his assertions (like don't insist on following directions), but on the whole I think this is a solid how-to book on classroom management for the newbie.
March 17, 2021
It was a good, practical book on teaching in a university or k12 setting by an experienced teacher in the psychological sciences. I like that the author was balanced on different aspects of teaching and combining skills from marketing, such as client orientation seeing the students as clients for his service. Also he is aware of new tracing methofs such as Mazur's peer review and Deck's growth mindset. The reader gets the essential knowledge, without overfocusing on any one of these aspects. A must read for teachers in classical teaching settings who want to improve and broaden their repertoire. Also practical tips and material, templates are provided with this book.
January 26, 2019
I listened to this audiobook 2 weeks ago and am on a mission to become super awesome teacher. I knew I had some it down by student reactions, but the detailed and step-by-step strategies discussed were greatly welcomed and have challenged me to rethink and reengineer my class set-up, classroom management, curriculum, and curriculum implementation. I appreciate the fuel, green light, and course with obstacles map.
October 3, 2019
If you want to be more effective in the college classroom
After more than a decade of teaching, I remain on the lookout for ways to stay fresh and effective. Dr. Eng's books are all valuable, and this is no exception. This one is full of clear, solid ideas about how to engage and connect with students. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about excellence in teaching.
After more than a decade of teaching, I remain on the lookout for ways to stay fresh and effective. Dr. Eng's books are all valuable, and this is no exception. This one is full of clear, solid ideas about how to engage and connect with students. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about excellence in teaching.
December 5, 2019
Meh. Norman Eng has some good (and maybe even great!) ideas, but I disliked the tone of this book and, to be fair, as someone with a fair amount of experience teaching college, may not be its target audience. We chose this one for our most recent Faculty Learning Community selection, and I did really appreciate hearing from my colleagues about how some of the techniques and suggestions he discusses worked for them.
November 29, 2022
3.5 stars
Quick read. Mostly useful for discussion-based classes. At times felt a little unrealistic, especially if you are teaching required courses that aren’t part of a major. I’d love to do everything he recommends but the added labor would be ridiculous if you are teaching more than one or two classes at a time. There are plenty of good takeaways that I have implemented (and plan to implement) in my classes, though.
I appreciated the free audiobook that comes with the text.
Quick read. Mostly useful for discussion-based classes. At times felt a little unrealistic, especially if you are teaching required courses that aren’t part of a major. I’d love to do everything he recommends but the added labor would be ridiculous if you are teaching more than one or two classes at a time. There are plenty of good takeaways that I have implemented (and plan to implement) in my classes, though.
I appreciated the free audiobook that comes with the text.
May 24, 2023
Excelente y muy práctico libro sobre enseñanza a estudiantes universitario. Lo recomiendo a cualquier profesor, no sólo a alguien que da clases a ese nivel. Al principio no esperaba mucho, pero afortunadamente el autor tiene experiencia en las mismas áreas que yo: ingeniería y ciencias sociales. Por lo tanto, resultó altamente útil. Menciona un poco de teoría de la educación, pero no demasiado, el enfoque es casi 100% práctico.
January 13, 2020
Loved this book! Dr. Eng even promptly emailed me after I reached out to him regarding the resources that come with the book. I think this book would be even better if more practical application tips and scenarios were offered. I wish there was more depth on teaching college students from different cultural backgrounds as well... other than that a good read!
February 2, 2021
I ordered it for myself for Christmas. A good basic primer for College teachers. Especially well done were the chapters on an effective syllabus, and classroom management. A lot of the things he suggests I already implement, but it is always nice to have "official" language around why they work. Recommend for newbies - also a lot of great resources in the back
April 22, 2021
A lot of good advice for new college professors, or old college professors who are wanting tore-evaluate how they are teaching. Norman Eng essentially is applying marketing techniques to teaching college students. It's done wonders for my preparation. He also provides access to some pre-built syllabus and planning resources on his website that you can access through a code in the book.
March 23, 2019
If you're teaching college, this is a great read. Eng provides ideas and resources that are mostly easy to incorporate into classes. The book includes sample forms and websites for additional resources.
May 11, 2019
So helpful!
As a college educator, there were no lessons on how to actually teach. I just relied on my subject area expertise. This tells you how to reach your students and I can't wait to try it out!
As a college educator, there were no lessons on how to actually teach. I just relied on my subject area expertise. This tells you how to reach your students and I can't wait to try it out!
June 19, 2019
A fantastic resource for anyone teaching in higher ed. Much of this is based off of off the K-12 teaching world, but he gives advice on how that looks in higher ed. Good examples and references. I can’t recommend this enough!
November 17, 2019
everything you need to know to connect with students and inspire learning.
If you are a teacher of college students or adult learners, this is a must-read. It is accessible, concise, and full of evidence-based strategies.
If you are a teacher of college students or adult learners, this is a must-read. It is accessible, concise, and full of evidence-based strategies.
December 16, 2020
I can’t remember the last time I read an entire professional development book until now. It’s a nice refresher—and heck, I learned some new stuff and was reminded of some old stuff. I am already looking forward to next semester!
July 27, 2021
This book was really informative and inspired many ideas to help me teach. The only downside for me was that there were a lot of examples that I had trouble translating to a STEM course context. The basics were still very useful like I said previously.
June 3, 2018
Pretty informative and useful.
July 19, 2018
I would say it’s the *ultimate* guide, but I did pick up several helpful ideas.
August 15, 2018
Must read for anyone serious about teaching others, be it in a formal or informal setting. Great book!
December 7, 2018
Useful teaching guide
Many useful tips and strategies that I can implement in my classroom right away. I would recommend this book for new and seasoned teachers alike.
Many useful tips and strategies that I can implement in my classroom right away. I would recommend this book for new and seasoned teachers alike.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews