Reading Circles

We will be running "Reading Circles" in future offerings of the centre. The following titles will be offered for a reading circle session in the near future:

Taking Stock: Research on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Julia Christensen Hughes and Joy Mighty
Drawing on contributions by renowned educational researchers, this book 'takes stock' of teaching and learning research in higher education. Arguing for an enhanced commitment to evidence-based practice, "Taking Stock" offers concrete suggestions for changes on a systemic level in support of student learning and calls on all those working in higher education - faculty, educational developers, administrators, and government officials - to work together to bring about these changes. The contributors include: Tom Carey (University of Waterloo), Julia Christensen Hughes (University of Guelph), James Downey (Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario), Noel Entwistle (emeritus, University of Edinburgh), Jillian Kinzie (Indiana University), Christopher Knapper (Queen's University), Sari Lindblom-Ylanne (University of Helsinki), Erik Meyer (University of Durham), Joy Mighty (Queen's University), Michael Prosser (University of Hong Kong), Alenoush Saroyan (McGill University), Alastair Summerlee (University of Guelph), Keith Trigwell (University of Sydney), Maryellen Weimer (Penn State University), Carl Weiman (University of British Columbia), and Alan Wright (University of Windsor).

How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching

by Susan A. Ambrose, Michael W. Bridges, Michele DiPietro, Marsha C. Lovett, Marie K. Norman
Any conversation about effective teaching must begin with a consideration of how students learn. However, instructors may find a gap between resources that focus on the technical research on learning and those that provide practical classroom strategies. How Learning Works provides the bridge for such a gap.

In this volume, the authors introduce seven general principles of learning, distilled from the research literature as well as from twenty-seven years of experience working one-on-one with college faculty. They have drawn on research from a breadth of perspectives (cognitive, developmental, and social psychology; educational research; anthropology; demographics; and organizational behavior) to identify a set of key principles underlying learning-from how effective organization enhances retrieval and use of information to what impacts motivation. These principles provide instructors with an understanding of student learning that can help them see why certain teaching approaches are or are not supporting student learning, generate or refine teaching approaches and strategies that more effectively foster student learning in specific contexts, and transfer and apply these principles to new courses.

For anyone who wants to improve his or her students' learning, it is crucial to understand how that learning works and how to best foster it. This vital resource is grounded in learning theory and based on research evidence, while being easy to understand and apply to college teaching.

Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice

by Maryellen Weimer
In this much needed resource, Maryellen Weimer-one of the nation's most highly regarded authorities on effective college teaching-offers a comprehensive work on the topic of learner-centered teaching in the college and university classroom. As the author explains, learner-centered teaching focuses attention on what the student is learning, how the student is learning, the conditions under which the student is learning, whether the student is retaining and applying the learning, and how current learning positions the student for future learning. To help educators accomplish the goals of learner-centered teaching, this important book presents the meaning, practice, and ramifications of the learner-centered approach, and how this approach transforms the college classroom environment. Learner-Centered Teaching shows how to tie teaching and curriculum to the process and objectives of learning rather than to the content delivery alone.