Nilson, 2003, Teaching at Its Best, Resource for College Instructors
585532
on 7/2/10 jacklyn at jjjjshaw wrote:  Nilson's work includes an overview with update for the times. . . Explanations are insightful on terms and trends, yet forthright for professional practice. . .  As an aside, do we have to be degreed in sociology to be a universal writer?  Anyway, check it out.
1889314
This is an excellent and timely book as teachers and students continue their evolution into new and emerging media technology. It is clear the authors are completely in touch with students and teachers while comfortable with methods of teaching that take advantage new multimedia research and presentations. The layout of the book is outstanding with useful learning goals, tech and teaching tips. Their use of sidebars and post-it notes keeps the readers' attention very well. Illustrating how to use technology in the range of subjects from science to math to literature enhances the book greatly. As the dean emeritus of two different medical schools, I would enjoy seeing these authors partner with the health sciences to make a comparable book.
JF, Dean Emeritus, University of Illinois Colleges of Medicine.
174080
I have had to buy, and slog through, many textbooks for my teaching credential coursework. This book is by far the most useful, practical, and readable. So many books concentrate on theory. This book is a how to on lesson planning. It is a valuable tool for organizing your lesson, step by step, keeping all learners in mind. With an organized lesson, students are engaged, class time is maximized, and classroom management problems are minimized. This book is a keeper!
1057601
Teaching and Learning Second Language Listening advocates a task-based, constructivist, collaborative metacognative approach towards listening in a second language of active planning, monitoring, evaluating and reflection.  This book is mainly geared for university listening classes and other teaching/learning situations where task-based teaching is the norm rather than the exception.  There are useful tidbits throughout the book, which can be used in many different teaching environments.  I particularly liked the anectdotal examples of actual teachers using this methodology in their classrooms at the beginning of each chapter.
I have listed the chapter headings below.  I think they will shed some light on this book in a useful way.
Chapter 1, "Challenges and Opportunities in Listening Instruction"
Chapter 2, "Listening Competence"
Chapter 3, "A Model of Listening Comprehension"
Chapter 4, "Factors that Influence Listening Success"
Chapter 5, "A Metacognitive Approach to Listening Instruction"
Chapter 6, "A Metacognitive Pedagogical Sequence"
Chapter 7, "Activities for Metacognative Instruction"
Chapter 8, "Developing Perception and Word Segmentation Skills"
Chapter 9, "Task-Based Listening Lessons"
Chapter 10, "Projects for Extensive Listening"
Chapter 11, "Listening in Multimedia Environments"
Chapter 12, "Assessing Listening for Learning"

This is one of the better books written about teaching and learning listening in a Second or a Foreign Language.  Read it and enjoy.
928987
Jim Burke has done it again--and perhaps better than ever before! What's the Big Idea? Question-Driven Units to Motivate Reading, Writing, and Thinking not only provides a researched foundation for implementing inquiry-based instruction, but it also provides a clear picture of what goes on in Jim's high school English classes every day. Through this book Jim models how to motivate all students to engage in rich literary experiences that are tied to standards-based instruction. The text is laced with his activity handouts (also available online for classroom use), pictures of how he models specific skills, and student work samples.

Jim's claim is that questions can and should be the core of our instruction--the foundation for delivering our curriculum; the result will be motivated students engaged in high level critical thinking throughout the year. He states, "...education should disturb when possible; it should challenge students' perspectives, inspire curiosity, and pose questions about why things are the way they are." (78)

To demonstrate the role inquiry plays within instructional units, Jim takes us through his teaching of Romeo and Juliet, Of Mice and Men, and Crime and Punishment so we can witness his instruction and student results from beginning to end. Another unit he shares is an end-of-year project focused on independent reading experiences in his senior AP course. At the same time, Jim shows how he differentiates instruction for struggling students by describing how he scaffolds lessons when necessary so that all students are able to master the same skills. He states, "I began the year committed to the idea that my students could do challenging work, wrestle with big questions and complex ideas, if I guided my instruction not by the questions, `How low must I go?' but, instead by, `What must I do to make real success a possibility for all my students without lowering my standards?' In short, I treated them as though they could learn to do everything I taught, and they pretty much did." (77)

Specifically, Jim addresses a number of uses of incorporating essential questions: to build background knowledge, to teach interviewing skills and connect them to note-taking and synthesis of information, to encourage students to generate their own questions, to motivate writing and thinking through blogging, and more. He emphasizes factual, inductive, and analytical questioning while also guiding students to determine which questions are the important ones to ask.

Particularly helpful are his handouts, including a thesis generator, graphic organizers, reading guides that still allow for reading flow, and unit planning sheets which allow us to take Jim's ideas and match them to our own curricula. The appendix also includes "The Big Questions" associated with the McDougal Littell Literature series and a study guide for teacher discussion of the entire book.

For further insight into this text, log on to [...]  and participate in Jim's online book discussion.
4386111
Dr. Brooks has written a comprehensive guide to the thematic method of teaching ESL. As a former ESL coordinator at LIU, and an ESL and English teacher for many years at the college level, I instinctively was drawn to the idea of challenging students to achieve more than they ever considered themselves capable of at the start of any course. This is the main idea of Dr. Brookss book. The use of books rather than textbooks and writing about them is a wonderful idea, and the lesson plans extensive. Personally, I would balance this with a great amount of teaching conversational skills at every class.
688462
Kleitz's Digital Electronics is an excellent textbook for classroom use, or for learning the basics of digital circuits on your own. Each section is very well organized with questions and exercises that relate directly to real world problems using real IC's and devices. It also makes frequent use of Multisim simulations which are a faster, cheaper alternative to using breadboards and expensive analysis instruments to explore device configurations and troubleshooting techniques.

Many of the devices he uses for examples are out of date, but still somewhat in use. Still, the concepts they illustrate are sound. (For example running off 1.2V rather than 5V, and being surface mount devices rather than DIPS isn't too important while learning how gates and flip-flops work.) He also describes FPGA's and CPLD's and includes some exercises in working with them using HDL.

Perhaps most valuable, every chapter includes exercises in interpreting real data sheets and schematics for a watchdog timer, HC11D0 master board, or 4096 control card. In this fast paced world of constantly changing electronic devices, technicians and engineers both need to know how to learn about the characteristics of digital circuits that they've never seen before -- whether they're well documented or not.
4619551
This is an excellent resource for beginning teachers at the college level.  This is a reminder of why we went into teaching in the first place.  There is always one teacher who inspired and taught and brought a subject to life and that is how we ended up teaching it.  But it isn't always easy to translate what we know to action in the classroom or to remember what caused a classroom to be so effective.

I was lucky to have spent my first decade teaching at the college level because it gave me an opportunity to learn a great deal about my subject before I went to the middle school, elementary, and high school, where there are so many other pressures pulling at every classroom moment.  This book could have been helpful the first year, but I was lucky to have the resources of being in a group of beginning college instructors who were extremely supportive toward each other.

There are a lot of interesting ideas in this book, many of which can be used across grade levels.
4311613
Forty years ago I was a student of the late Prof. Joseph Fernandez at Georgetown University, and we used this book in his class for advanced students. The text details the differences in Spanish and English articulation through charts and diagrams. In his class (conducted in Spanish), we read the text together - and using a tape-recorder, Prof. Fernandez recorded each of us as we read specific exercises. He then played it back and in his gentle and gracious way, pointed out our errors, which we then worked on until we got it "right."

I rate the book four stars rather than five for two reasons: The book, published in Spain, understandably focuses on Iberian Spanish, whereas North American students have perhaps greater interest in Latin American Spanish. And without a native speaker  and a recording device, the student cannot take full advantage of the information contained within.
671354
This is intended largely as a response to the review by mjgrey, above.
Having had the fortune to take the class for which this text was intended with one of the authors, I can say that the order in which material is presented makes a lot of sense - for the way the author chooses to take the class.  Some faculty, especially new faculty, may have some difficulty scheduling their classes around its ordering scheme, and those attempting to use the book to teach themselves the material would probably be quickly lost.
However, it should be noted that the author says as much in his introduction, and suggests skipping around as necessary to fit the topics as they are being introduced in the class syllabus.  If the book is used as it is intended, and the instructor takes a reasonable amount of care, the ordering of topics becomes a much less critical issue.
I have found this to be an excellent volume to turn back to when basic concepts of calculus are called up (as they are time and again in statistical analysis).
350862
"Small Teaching" by James Lang is filled with simple practices that can be inserted into existing course designs to improve student learning outcomes at the college level. There is no need for massive course redesign to implement Langs tested recommendations. He has purposely focused on actions that can be implemented tomorrow. All his practices are based on research. Chapters include the theories, practices, and principles needed to address the means to enhance student knowledge, understanding, motivation, growth, and more. This is a practical resource that faculty will refer to often as they strive to further the learning of their students.
2492323
This is an excellent exposition of the history and underlying philosophies of two mainstays of education: the textbook and the lecture. While these traditional modes of instruction are often maligned in contemporary education culture, Friesen's treatment helps the reader understand the fundamental nature of both the textbook and the lecture, and how we might re-envision or even redeem them for today and the future. An accessible read, this book would be an excellent choice for discussion by a professional learning community. Highly recommended reading for middle and high school teachers, faculty in higher education, educational technology professionals, professional development leaders, curriculum directors, instructional coaches, and administrators at all levels.
3606183
As a college professor, I found the information in this book to be helpful, timely and important for most university instructors. I know that I would have benefited tremendously from the information in this book when I was first starting out. Even with over 15 years of teaching experience there was still a tremendous amount of tips and advice that I plan to implement in my lesson plans. The author states and rightly so that most college students simply do not retain information from a traditional lecture and yet as instructors we still utilize this method almost completely. Instead he outlines areas where we can stray away from this tradition and provide students with the material in a manner that is easier for them to retain and understand and is overall more interesting. Highly recommended for teachers of any level.
2639881
I have been a college composition instructor almost since I earned my MA in English.  Like several other reviewers, I am not officially the target audience for this book.  However, I found that the ideas that Hafer presents are wonderful and well-backed by such greats as Peter Elbow.  (Many of Elbows articles were required reading when I was in graduate English.)  I would be eager to try them in my classroom.  I can definitely see students doing what the title says  embracing writing, and becoming more competent and confident writers.

The structure and style of this book is very readable.  I can see that Hafer has the writing skills he wants his students to work toward.  However, I saw more copyediting (spelling, word choice) errors than I should have for what appears to be the final copy of a professional book.

But I see one big problem:  getting college administration to allow instructors to try these ideas.  For example, Hafer stresses the importance of writing the syllabus in such a way that the instructors voice, as well as expectations and procedures, are all apparent in the syllabus.  Seeing this will help students find their own voices.  I agree with Hafers point, but Im sorry to say that this freedom is no more.  Instructors are required to use a template to ensure that all federal legal requirements (the ADA statement and the Title IX statement, just to name two) and school requirements are fulfilled, leaving the instructors with little opportunity to demonstrate their own voices.  Assignments and grade weighting are determined by the particular academic departments.

So, Professor Hafer, you have some outstanding ideas and back them up with sound scholarship  but I wish youd taken some time to tell us how to get administration to allow us to try these ideas and give us the academic freedom we deserve.
2339566
"Most successful teachers learn from a combination of resources, including local communities, virtual communities, and research," writes Kristen Swanson in her new book Professional Learning in the Digital Age: The Educator's Guide to User-Generated Learning. In other words, educators learn from the communities to which their are connected, and having the tools to make those connections are truly vital in the digital age. That's where Swanson's book comes in. Packed in only 109 pages, she gives readers the process and tools to become a connected educator in the 21st century, and engage in "user-generated learning." Professional Learning in the Digital Age is a must read for educators who want to fine-tune the process of building and maintaining professional learning networks. And, for those have yet to venture out and begin the process of becoming a connected educator, this book gives them clear straightforward advice on how to do it, and a Tool Repository at the back of the book with which to get started.

Swanson begins by defining what is meant by "user-generated learning" which she defines as "learning acquired through active curation, reflection, and collaboration to a self-selected collaborative space." In other words, user-generated learning is a very deliberate process of carrying out three specific actions that can transform an educator into a connected one, and by default transform his or her educational practice. These three actions that bring about the kinds of learning fostered through online connections include:

Curating: Process or action of carefully collecting relevant resources. In this case, these are resources entirely associated with our professional practice. There are online tools that aid in the process of curating the content and information on which learning is based.

Reflecting: Process or action of making sense of this newly curated information and determining what it all means for professional practice. Reflecting is vital to assimilating our new learning. Tools such as blogging assist educators in reflection.

Contributing: This is the final process of action of user-generated learning. It consists of giving back to the community of learners to which we are now connected. Contribution fosters connections.

In simple terms, engaging in these activities result in fostering and growing as a connected educator. Swanson gives readers a powerful formula for fostering "user-generated learning" through connectedness, capitalizing on one of the most powerful professional development tools educators have in the 21st century.

Professional Learning in the Digital Age: The Educator's Guide to User-Generated Learning, Eye on Education,  is powerful-succinct guide for all educators to learn 21st century style.
4428550
I was skeptical about the textbook at first when I saw that it was written by my professor. The textbook is designed more for the students to read rather than the professor. The chapters are written by experts on each topic, and case examples are provided at the end of the chapter. The cases are real life scenarios within different businesses. There are many visual diagrams throughout the book that display different concept connections that are key to different topics. They give me, as a student, a better understanding of the concepts in the course. Also, this book is considerably cheaper compared to other university textbooks which is great for a college student.
2736206
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is teaching sociology or anthropology classes on racial and ethnic relations as one of the textbooks to use in class. This book introduces students to a wide variety of concepts and theoretical orientations that are or have been prominent in the sociology of racial inequality over the past 50 - 100 years, such as Park's race relations cycle, Gordon's assimilation theory, Hansen's three generation hypothesis, and Moynihan's "culture of poverty" paradigm.

Unlike most other textbooks that deal with this subject matter, Parrillo does not organize chapters around particular racial/ethnic groups. Instead, chapters are organized by thematic concepts, such as prejudice, discrimination, and the future of ethnicity in the United States. Parrillo incorporates a tremendous diversity of theoretical frameworks and sociological concepts throughout the text - the most important being the "Dillingham Flaw" (intentionally making a flawed comparison, based on past phenomena that no longer exist or have changed considerably).

This book is perfect for teaching freshman-level race courses at universities. Students often enter these classes with averse, angry attitudes and hostile outlooks. In the first chapter, Parrillo actually discusses this problem, pointing out why intellectual conversations on race that aim for rational analysis of data and empiricism are difficult for students. Students often have trouble keeping their own emotions in check and have difficulty looking at things "outside the box" - a necessary endeavor for quality social science analysis. This is the only book I know of that speaks to and addresses the emotional reactions people usually get when discussing race.

My favorite part of the book is Chapter 2, especially the section on "Theories of Minority Integration" where the author discusses different ideologies a society may employ regarding ethnic diversity (assimilation, amalgamation, or pluralism). His discussion of a multitude of different and conflicting social and psychological theories regarding the origins of prejudice and discrimination are also top notch.

There is nothing negative I can say about this book. It is extremely informative, written in a plain-English prose, and should have trouble in grabbing and retaining the reader's interest.