Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning

by James M. Lang

The field of teaching and learning in higher education has been growing exponentially in recent years, with many dozens of new books appearing every year. Keep your eye on the higher education catalogues of Jossey-Bass, Harvard University Press, the University of Chicago Press, and Stylus for major new titles in the field. What the Best College Teachers Do (Bain, 2004). Ken Bain's elegantly written analysis of highly effective college teachers remains for me the first book that all college teachers, new and experienced, should read at some point during their careers. Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning (Brown, Roedger, and McDaniel, 2014). The most authoritative, expertly researched, and well-written book available on how people learn and what it means for us as teachers (and learners). How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching (Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, and Norman, 2010). The title says it all. Aimed at college and university instructors, a clear and well-researched overview of what college teachers should know about topics like motivation, feedback, and student intellectual development. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (Dweck, 2006). If you were interested in the research presented in Chapter 8 on the growth mind-set, this is the book for you. This is Dweck's overview of the role mind-set plays in shaping many aspects of our lives. Why Don't Students Like School (Willingham, 2008). Although Willingham's book articula...