Page Contents
Basic Guides
As basic guides to teaching and learning in higher education, CTL recommends these two books.
A Guide to Teaching & Learning Practices (4th Edition). Instructional Development Services, Florida State University. Free to SDSU Faculty (download as PDF file) or attend any CTL event for a printed copy.
Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors (2nd Edition) by Linda B. Nilson. Anker Publishing.
CTL Library
The CTL Library Collection is Located in the lounge of the Faculty-Staff Club where you can review and check out books. You can also purchase books from the CTL Collection in the Education Section of the SDSU Bookstore.
Below you can browse through a selection of the books available and read a brief description.
Cooperative, Active Learning, Inquiry, Problem Based
Some articles in this volume include "Are assessors professional? Student assessment and the professionalism of academics" and "Encouraging students to reflect as part of the assignment process: student responses and tutor feedback."
Some articles in this volume include "Reaffirming a proud tradition: universities and lifelong learning" and "Program specification and its role in promoting an outcomes model of learning."
Some articles in this volume include "Course cultures and learning organizations" and "Integrating teaching and research through development for students and staff."
Some articles in this volume include: "Technology-based interactive learning: designing an international student research project" and "Curriculum methodology: a case study in large-scale curriculum development."
Provides the kind of theory and practice essential for elementary and secondary level teachers, teacher educators, staff developers, or anyone who wishes to know more about two of education's most promising innovations.
"Breakthrough research on knowledge transfer reveals five proven methods for making knowledge sharing a reality."
"This ambitious text is the first of its kind to summarize the theory, research, and practice related to pedagogical content knowledge."
"Provides teachers and teacher trainers with the theoretical rationale and practical strategies for creating successful group activities for students from diverse language backgrounds."
Describes "how college faculty can use cooperative learning to increase student achievement, create positive relationships among students, and promote healthy student psychological adjustment to college."
"The Journal of Cooperation & Collaboration in College Teaching is published quarterly to exchange both practical and theoretical information regarding the planning, design, implementation, and assessment of practices and programs that enhance college teaching and learning through cooperation and collaboration."
"Shows educators how to make cooperative learning strategies work in their classrooms . . . offers new information on multiple intelligences theory, cultural and ethnic diversity, conflict resolution, [and] computer technology in inclusive classrooms."
This book is intended to provide readers with a practical understanding of what makes cooperative learning work, and gives practical guides to the use of researched forms of cooperative learning.
Curriculum & Course Evaluation
"Helps educators rapidly come to terms with how best to deliver particular courses, . . . will show you how to translate your ideas into practical techniques."
"Packed with tips that will make course evaluation easier and more effective."
"Helps educators rapidly come to terms with exactly what they need to do when planning a new course (or when giving a current course a well needed overhaul)."
"Helps educators rapidly come to terms with how to assess which delivery methods are most appropriate for particular courses."
"Offers a compendium of the best ideas, analyses, and practices relating to the undergraduate curriculum as described by leading figures in the field."
Faculty Scholarship
The purpose of this publication is to "demonstrate how portfolio use depends on context and purpose, and we've selected examples that make that point."
This volume "makes available to the public peer-reviewed, scholarly research supported in whole or in part by the Office of Education Research and Improvement (OERI) through its educational research and development programs."
"Outlines 47 research techniques and resources. Some are traditional, but many are new, for example problem surveys, discourse evaluation, episode analysis, quadrangulation and critical trailing."
"Practical guide for scholars and other professionals to the ins and outs of the academic and professional book publishing world."
[Shows you] "how to maximize the chances that your work will eventually be accepted in a respectable journal, and how to learn about and select from the many available journal choices."
"This brief, practical guide demystifies the tenure process and gives concrete advice to graduate students and junior faculty on how to strategize to maximize your chances of hearing those golden words 'you got it.'"
Grading/Evaluation/Student Assessment
The authors "provide a practical handbook to help college faculty" and teachers in other settings" develop a better understanding of the learning process in their own classroom and assess the impact of their teaching upon it."
"An invaluable dip-in aid for hard-pressed lectures and teachers in further and higher education."
Dr. William Glasser "claims that we must stop settling for minimal goals such as reducing dropouts and discipline problems and start convincing students to work hard because there is quality both in what they are asked to do and how they are asked to do it."
"Designed to provide university teachers with an overview of the many approaches to setting, marking and reviewing coursework, assignments, tests and examinations."
"Encourages faculty to understand the potential benefits they can reap from appropriate and careful testing and grading practices, and the role of testing in promoting quality teaching."
An anthology "meant to focus our attention on the weak relationship of writing research and theory to writing instruction."
"The advice offered is based on experience in assigning essays, grading them, and finally explaining to individual students successful techniques that may be used to take and pass essay exams."
"Enables faculty to go beyond using grades as isolated artifacts and helps them make classroom grading processes more fair, time-efficient, and conductive to learning."
The Learner: Motivation / Learning Styles
"Introduces learning contracts to those considering using them on their courses. Equally, teachers familiar with learning contracts should find the models helpful in developing further ways to employ this versatile approach to organizing learning.
This is a book that "preserves the energizing effect of a successful workshop, a work that should send its readers back into the classroom with a sense of exciting new possibilities."
This book focuses on: "study and learning techniques crucial to lifelong success, critical thinking for making decisions, writing and other skills that can be improved consistently, and cooperative learning for healthier teamwork."
"Much more than just a how-to-succeed-in-college book, Living and Learning shows you that learning is an active, life-long activity?one that adds zest, meaning, and direction using the world as the classroom."
"Explores in detail the issues and approaches to inspiring and motivating students on required courses."
Teaches one how to learn by covering motivation, time management, learning principals, text and lecture learning, test review, test taking, and test anxiety.
"A tool to help those who want to learn to concentrate better" whether at committee meetings, in relationships, or while reading a textbook."
"Explores the widespread issues involved in the study on individual learner differences in a variety of settings."
The Multi-Cultural Classroom
"Suggest some teaching strategies for dealing with questions of racism, diversity, and intercultural communication."
"A powerful and sophisticated reminder that words can indeed do as much damage as sticks and stones, The Skin That We Speak takes the discussion of language in the classroom beyond the highly charged war of idioms" in which "English only" really means standard English only" and presents today's teachers with a thoughtful exploration of the many "Englishes" we speak and the layers of politics, power, and identity that those differ to carry."
Feagin, J. R., & Imani, N. (1996). The agony of education. New York: Routledge.
"The Agony of Education captures the painful dilemmas and ugly realities African Americans must face about college education in contemporary society and defends the need for a more vigorous form of multicultural education on college campuses."
"This is the first book devoted specifically to retention of African Americans in higher education, and is unique in addressing the distinct but inter-related concerns of all three affected constituencies: students, faculty and administrators."
The authors "suggest a set of classroom strategies, curriculum reforms, assessment tools, and mentoring relationships that work for all students, regardless of their cultural background."
"Provides both the conceptual framework for culturally responsiveness teaching and useful instructional strategies that promote a community-centered approach to teaching and learning."
Sociology and Education
This book "tackles head-on the non-linearity and chaotic nature of the forces of change at all levels of society."
Covers "an extremely wide range of topics written by a diverse assemblage of authors who are virtual 'Who's Who' of contemporary American higher education."
Teaching Practice
This book is a "two-dimensional framework, focusing on knowledge, steps, and cognitive processes, that define what students are expected to learn in school."
"Presents a wide variety of strategies for stimulating active learning and for coaching writing and critical thinking, offering teachers concrete advice on how to design courses, structure assignments, use class time, critique student performance, and model critical thinking."
This book is "simply a collection of practical tips drawn from the real-life experiences of some outstanding college teachers across the disciplines."
"A unique and essential guide to the start of a successful academic career."
"Places teachers at the center of the educational process as it tackles an area currently receiving much debate in the literature on school improvement: the empowerment and revitalization of teachers."
This book shows what it means to teach, learn, and grow including general themes that appear over and over again.
James Davis argues that post secondary instructors have to improve their performance in the classroom not only by better understanding how teachers teach, but also how learners learn."
This book "has been designed to help both novice and experienced teachers reflect deeply on what teaching is and should be."
"An impressive compendium of theoretical dimensions and self-analytic scales and exercises that college teachers can use to evaluate the philosophies, personality preferences, and thinking patterns that underlie their teaching."
A rich compendium of classroom-tested strategies and suggestions designed to improve the teaching practice of beginning, midcareer, and senior faculty members."
"Scholars from 10 disciplines describe the evolution of discourse about teaching and learning in their field; the ways in which their discipline?s style of discourse influences inquiry into teaching and learning; and the nature and role of intellectual exchange across disciplines around such inquiry."
"This 'ethic of inquiry' brings with it the need for careful thought and decision making about questions that arise when teachers treat their classrooms as sites for scholarly investigation-questions about informed consent, the use of student work, impact on audiences and policy making, and response to campus and federal regulations on research with human subjects. Includes seven case studies by scholars of teaching and learning."
"Opening Lines is a collection of essays by eight of these faculty about their efforts to examine their teaching and their students? learning in ways that will advance practice. Each case study documents a process of reflection and analysis, illustrating a wide range of methods for undertaking such work in different fields and diverse intuitional contexts."
"Building on the insight offered by recent discoveries about the biological basis of learning, and on his thought provoking definitions of teaching, learning and education, the author proceeds to the practical details of instruction that teachers are most interested in?the things that make or break teaching."
"This book brings together key issues of theory and practice to develop an overall professional 'language' of teaching situated within communities of academic practice."
"Intended to be used as a toolbox, a concise compilation of hundreds of teaching techniques, formats, classroom activities, and exercises."
"The manual is a distillation of key information derived from the extensive body of literature on teaching effectiveness and learning motivation."
"This popular book addresses the problems of how best to evaluate and improve the standard of teaching in higher education in a climate of accountability and appraisal."
A "survey of current national and international teaching improvement practices is immediately useful to anyone who teaches or evaluates teaching performance in higher education."
Technology and Teaching
"Examines the educational and administrative considerations of offering courses, course materials or course delivery via the Internet."
"Reading this manual won't teach you all there is to know about the World Wide Web, but it will help you to teach yourself. In the future you will need to find information for yourself rather than relying solely on others, who may bear outdated knowledge."
Theory and Philosophies of Teaching
Total Quality Management "is a procedure in which everyone strives to continuously improve the path leading to success. TQM is not a rigid set of rules and regulations, but processes and procedures for improving performance."
"Offers a resource for improvement in higher education to faculty and instructional development staff, department chairs, faculty, deans, student services staff, chief academic officers, and educational consultants."
Kennedy, D. (1997). Academic duty. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
This book examines teaching, graduate training, research, and their ethical context in the research university.
"Based on the premise that a thinking teacher is the cornerstone of a thoughtful curriculum, the book offers insights to teachers about the working of the mind, and it sketches scenarios of how teachers have applied such insights in their own classrooms."
"This complex, comprehensive volume gives us powerful organizing concepts for generating learning that lasts. It describes how faculty and staff can sustain collaborative inquiry for continuous improvement, using internal and external research and theory, consortial membership, and publication."
"Here one of our leading literary scholars looks back on her own life in the classroom, and discovers how much of what she learned there needs to be unlearned. Jane Tompkins' memoir shows how her education shaped her in the mold of a high achiever who could read five languages but had little knowledge of herself."
"Dissects the elements of good teaching 'enthusiasm, organization, clarity, content, among others' and shows how you can become a better instructor."
"An exemplary text for encouraging rigorous and invigorating class discussions on the vocation of teaching and teaching practice."
Writing-Across-the Curriculum
Takes "the reader through the most common kinds of business correspondence that a university professor is required to produce and [offers] useful advice to make these communications as effective as possible."
Sylvan Barnet "brings a lifelong interest in art and in the criticism of art. He regards this book as partly a self-protective device: in the future he hopes to read better written essays."
"A Short Guide to Writing about Chemistry offers students an insider's view of how chemists use reading and writing to go about their work. Numerous short reading, many on key discoveries by chemists of the highest stature, are designed to improve students? writing as well as build their interest and stimulate thought about chemical concepts."
"Writer's guide: Life sciences applies current writing theory to the special needs of this exciting discipline. The result is a powerful aid for students of the life sciences at every level."
"A self-help manual for professors who want to write more productively, painlessly, and successfully."
Bond, L., & Magistrale, A. (1987). Writer's guide: Psychology. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company.
This book "provides clear, useful advice on how to write for college courses in a variety of academic fields."
"Introduces ESL students to academic writing through a sequenced set of assignments that help them move from personal, expressive writing to informative and persuasive writing."
Connolly, P., & Vilardi, T. (1989). Writing to learn: Mathematics and science. New York: Teachers College Press.
Offers practical advice to Math and Science teachers on writing.
"The Elements of Reasoning is designed to acquaint writers with the basic strategies of responsible argumentation."
Timothy Corrigan "intends that this Short Guide will show students not only how to think about film but also how to organize that thinking into well-formulated and focused essays."
"Describes and critiques various ways that writing across the curriculum (WAC) has been incorporated into schoolwide, districtwide, and statewide programs."
"This collection of essays describing how WAC programs have adapted and continue to adapt to meet new challenges is a must-read for everyone concerned with the quality of writing in higher education."
"Integrating writing with the thinking and practices that are unique to science, this helpful guide gives readers a simple step-by-step guide to keeping lab notebooks and writing lab reports, formal research papers, and science essays."
"Specifically designed to help nonnative graduate students improve their academic writing in English."
This book is the first volume in the series Perspectives on Writing: Theory, Research, Practice and offers diverse approaches and practices on writing across the curriculum.
Miscellaneous
This book "advocates moderation in ways of working, based on the most reliable research differentiating between new faculty who thrive and those who struggle."
"One of the key arguments of the book is that student departure theory needs to become more policy-oriented in order to change current trends. Thus the recommendations made here will not only reinvigorate research on this important topic but will also lead to research that will help administrators to better manage the enrollments of individual colleges and universities."
"The essays in this cross-disciplinary reader demonstrate a wide range of ways that 'make sense' or constructing knowledge takes place. Seeing how writers convey ideas and support arguments gives students a fresh approach to writing their own essays."
This handbook "provides undergraduate science educators with a path to understanding students, accommodating their individual differences, and helping them grasp the methods- and the wonder- of science."
"This short writing guide is designed to help students prepare effective documents for their social science courses."
Demystifies "the workings of the press and other media and give you concrete, practical advice on how to effectively work with them in this handy book."
This is an "interdisciplinary research text that introduces you to research processes used in the humanities (such as English and Foreign Languages) and the arts (such as Theatre and Music)."
To Improve the Academy offers a resource for improvement in higher education to faculty and instructional development staff, department chairs, faculty, deans, student services staff, chief academic officers, and educational consultants."
Accomplishes the same goals as To Improve the Academy Vol. 19.
Making the Most of College "shows close attention to the ways students learn; what they tell the interviewers, the author's own experience, and that of other teachers together provide a rich account of the college experience." Martin Trow, To Improve the Academy University of California, Berkeley.
This essay "provide[s] a resource helpful to administrators, faculty members, directors or coordinators of faculty development programs, and others who are interested in doing faculty development by committee."
"A collection of lively, revealing profiles of teachers working in many different subjects at all levels of the educational system."
Offers a summary of major educational research and scholarship important to the field of science education."
"In this book, Pascarella and Terenzini take up where Feldman and Newcomb left off, synthesizing twenty more years of empirical research and over 2,600 studies, distilling what is known about how students change and benefit as a consequence of attending college."
This book "presents readers with a wealth of information that is essential for designing, implementing, or improving a TA training program in a department or university-wide office."
According to New Orleans Times-Picayune, Toth's book "provides excellent practical advice on such topics as dealing with sexual harassment, sexual temptation, choosing a dissertation topic, making it through job interviews, working the Mordern Language Association convention, getting through the first year on the job, playing the game of departmental politics to win, and reaching the goal of tenure."
University of Massachusetts, Amherst. (1993). Handbook for teaching assistants. Amherst, MA: Center for Teaching.
"This handbook has been put together with the goal of helping new teaching assistants in the process if becoming competent university instructors."
This book argues "departments across the nation must reinvent new forms of collegiality and become more outward-oriented, more focused on results, and more entrepreneurial."
"Provides concrete strategies for dealing with wrongdoing without damaging your own career or relationships."