Drop That Chalk!: A Guide to Better Teaching at Universities and Colleges

Drop that Chalk! A Guide to Better Teaching at Colleges and Universities is designed for those planning to teach – or already teaching and hoping to improve instruction – in colleges, universities, or other institutions of higher education. This book delineates the process of planning a course from designing course objectives to creating a syllabus, selecting course materials and technologies, determining which teaching strategies to employ and how to best implement them, to creating assessments, course evaluations, and assigning grades. Advantages and disadvantages of teaching and assessment techniques are shared, along with research-based guidance for effectively implementations. Guidelines for creating effective on-line courses are presented. This book also explains thirteen aspects of student diversity to help teachers understand their students, more effectively plan instruction for them, and shares a range of other suggestions to help maintain positive and effective learning environments that ensure students’ success. The techniques and myriad examples shared in this book are based on the authors’ over sixty years of combined teaching experiences, and on current research in educational psychology and related disciplines.

Table of Contents:
Contents Preface Acknowledgements In Memoriam Introduction Chapter 1: Preparing to Teach Chapter 2: Defining Objectives Chapter 3: Instructional Techniques Chapter 4: Learning Materials and Technologies Chapter 5: Evaluating Students’ Learning and Instructors’ Teaching Chapter 6: Characteristics of Your Students Chapter 7: Teaching Online Chapter 8: Creating and Maintaining a Positive and Constructive Environment Chapter 9: University Teaching’s Future References About the Authors

About the Author :
Marie Iding (PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara) is a professor in educational psychology University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, where she has taught since 1991. She has also taught and presented research or workshops in diverse locations around the world, including American Samoa, Chuuk (Federated States of Micronesia), Vietnam, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, Kenya, Spain, Portugal, Fiji, Australia, Jamaica, Ecuador, Poland and Scotland. R. Murray Thomas (PhD, Stanford University) was professor emeritus of educational psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he also directed the program in International Education and served as Dean of the Gevirtz School of Education. His list of professional publications exceeds 400, including 60 books for which he served as author, coauthor, or editor.

Review :
Although teaching is a core task for college professors, they typically do not receive much training in effective college teaching. Drop the Chalk! by Marie Iding and Murray Thomas seeks to fill this void by offering a concise, organized, and friendly guide to becoming a successful college teacher, including how to set objectives, choose appropriate instructional techniques and technologies, accommodate a diverse student population, maintain a productive climate, and evaluate student learning. If you are interested in improving your college teaching skills, this book is for you. Drop that Chalk! concisely, clearly and cogently fills a gap in the preparation of scholars to teach in higher education. It provides a highly useful and practical guide to instructors ranging from planning to enacting to evaluating teaching. Chalk! not only speaks to graduate teaching assistants and assistant professors but also to those who have taught a long time having learned “to teach by osmosis.” It is, in a word, a companion that will help teachers prepare all students to achieve to their fullest potential.