Reviews
Pallas and Neumann are part of [a] teaching and learning revolution in higher education.
I can't wait to share this book with colleagues. It is a much-needed and thoughtful focus on the (seriously neglected) importance of teaching in colleges and universities today. Unless we pay attention to the message of this book, higher education as we know it now is in serious trouble. Convergent Teaching is a well-written, engaging manifesto for a change in direction.
Colleges today are highly criticized for poor graduation rates and a perceived lack of learning by students. Many proposed solutions focus on financial or structural issues, while too few have addressed the core of the enterprise: How faculty teach. This important volume addresses the problem directly, and provides practical solutions for faculty and administrators alike.
Invaluable. Pallas and Neumann offer both the high-level vision and details on the ground in describing how higher education can be richer and more meaningful.
Finally, a smart book about good college teaching—what it looks like and why it matters. That the authors lean on K–12 research and wisdom about teaching is uncommon. Using cases of actual professors' classes, Pallas and Neumann underscore the central importance of teaching in higher education. It is about time.
Both an important policy manifesto and a practical how-to guide, this wonderfully comprehensive book ranges from macro-level analysis of the current state of higher education to suggestions as to how beginning faculty can improve their teaching. A wise, inviting, clear-eyed treatment of a vital but neglected topic.
Book Details
Acknowledgments
Part I. A Roadmap
Chapter 1. American Ambivalence and College Teaching
Part II. Convergent Teaching
Chapter 2. Targeting: Carving Out What's To Be Taught
Chapter 3. Surfacing
Acknowledgments
Part I. A Roadmap
Chapter 1. American Ambivalence and College Teaching
Part II. Convergent Teaching
Chapter 2. Targeting: Carving Out What's To Be Taught
Chapter 3. Surfacing: Unearthing Students' Prior Knowledge to Foster Learning
Chapter 4. Navigating: Orchestrating Subject-Matter Concepts and Students' Prior Knowledge
Part III. Policies and Practices
Chapter 5. Campus-Level Supports for Convergent Teaching
Chapter 6. Supporting Convergent Teaching beyond the Campus
Notes
References
Index