The Art & Craft of College Teaching: A Guide for New Professors and Graduate Students

An intro to college teaching is a big subject, and the best that I can say is that Rotenberg attempts to cover as much of it as he can. However, I found relatively little in here that’s actually useful. The best specific advice is to continually assess your class (assess, as opposed to evaluate with grades), to focus on learning rather than teaching, and to be clear and fair in your expectations. Anybody who’s had a halfway decent teacher and paid attention should know all of this. Overall, it’s a collection of vague generalities that is most useful as a source for poaching some language for a teaching statement on a job app.

The strongest part of the book is the references to the standard texts in the field; the interlocution isn’t worth your time, so just go to the primary sources.

For how adults learn: Kolb, A. Y. & Kolb, D, A. (2005). Learning Styles and Learning Spaces: Enhancing Experiential Learning in Higher Education. ACAD MANAG LEARN EDU June 1, 2005 vol. 4 no. 2 193-212 (and the rest of the Kolb Experiential Learning theory)

For designing classes: Wiggins & McTighe. Understanding by Design

For grading and evaluation: Walvoord & Anderson. Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment.