Discussion in the College Classroom

PRAISE FOR DISCUSSION IN THE COLLEGE CLASSROOM It is time for us to move beyond experientially-derived how-to-teach books. They were fine when what we had was mostly the wisdom of practice. Our pedagogical knowledge now rests on a firmer foundation. We do learn from experience, but we can learn more from systematic inquiry and analysis, especially when it come from someone who's done the research, been in the classroom, and writes with the caring commitment of a trusted colleague. Welcome to Jay Howard's Discussion in the College Classroom. -From the foreword by Maryellen Weimer, teaching and learning scholar, author, and editor of The Teaching Professor newsletter This is an innovative and very effective book. It should be in every faculty member's library. At its core, it applies key ideas on behavioral norms to develop ore effective ways to engage students in deeper learning through more effective discussions. It allowed me, and will allow others, to see important ways to improve our discussions and, importantly, to see ways to develop new applications of the fundamental principles presented. It is also a very well-designed set of lessons for helping faculty learn to use these ideas.... The ideas throughout are based on some of the best research on college-level teaching and learning. -Craig E. Nelson, professor emeritus, Indiana University, and president emeritus of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Howard does college faculty an enormous service through this expert and comprehensive analysis of effective classroom discussion. His insightful and balanced guidance moves us away from isolated self-assessment of our teaching and toward empirically-informed prescriptions that foster deep student learning. -Diane L. Pike, professor of sociology, Augsburg College