Tools for Teaching

by Barbara Gross Davis

I've read countless books on teaching strategies over the years, and I can't think of one that compares--in depth, breadth, accessibility, and practicality--to this one. Tools for Teaching has much to say to teachers of all ranks, disciplines, and institutions.
--Mary Deane Sorcinelli, director, Center for Teaching, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

A rich compendium of classroom-tested strategies and suggestions designed to improve the teaching practice of beginning, midcareer, and senior faculty members. Forty-nine teaching tools cover both traditional tasks--writing a course syllabus, delivering a lecture--and newer, broader concerns, such as responding to diversity and using technology.

Genres: Teaching, Education, Nonfiction, Textbooks, Reference

429 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 1993

Reviews

[Kristin]

I don't recommend reading this cover to cover. Instead, consult it as needed for a particular topic e.g. facilitating discussion, activities for large enrollment courses. There's lots of good, well-referenced suggestions here. I find it supplements McKeachie well, going into more detail.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book lays out the essentials for teaching a college course in a straight-forward and easy to understand way. It is very thorough and well organized. A few of the specific advice pieces seemed a little odd to me (especially in the section on email etiquette), but overall there are a lot of great tips.

[Les Hollingsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good basic tips. The book relies heavily on checklists and bullet points to allow quick digestion of the content.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A smorgasbord of methods and practices for effective teachers gleaned from studies and the input of teachers in a wide range of fields, with some commentary by the author. Much of the information is very good, while some suggestions about what to do or not to do are non-sequitur (e.g., her argument never to give students choices among essay questions on an exam). Overall, it is a great book for teachers, at least at the college level, to look at. The chapters and sub-sections are divided well and allow for easy picking and choosing among areas to read. I probably have read about half the book by page count.

[Michelle Boyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A practical guide to teaching. I picked this up in a teaching course before I was going to become a GTA while working on my Ph.D. and I am glad that it was available. While some of the offerings might not work for you, there are then twenty more that will work for you. I highly recommend this to any educator, or anyone interested in education.

[Jessica DeWitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I had read this before I taught my first course, particularly the sections on how to get students to participate in discussion. The organization of this volume is appealing, and I can see myself revisiting it in the future.

I advise picking up a later edition than the one I read because attitudes towards technology and technology represented in the 1993 edition are woefully outdated.

[Alistair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful grab bag of advice collected from a broad array of modern teaching scholarship. A Coles notes with useful tidbits wherever you cast your hook. As the introduction suggests, this book is best read "in the moment" as one reaches for a solution to some specific issue that has been identified. Useful as I taught for the first time this fall.

[Hugh Egener · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the style which makes it easy to breeze through and catch the highlights. A little dated but is an excellent book for teachers wanting to learn the small things they need to do to become effective teachers. Good reference book for new and stale teachers.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good book, but it makes me tense - too many ideas thrown at me at once. But there are some great ideas in there for communicating with students and getting your point across in the classroom.

[Amber + Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an easy read, but would not read it cover-to-cover. It is laid out in such a way that one can cherry pick the sections that are of most interest to them. I would not use this as my only teaching book as it does not go into great detail, but use it as a supplemental material and utilize its bibliography. That is actually my favorite part of the book. Each chapter has a great plethora of references and it was beneficial to also read those references as they went into further detail than Tools for Teaching did.

Notes: This was an assigned reading for a course at California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH)

[Elliedakota · Rating 4 out of 5]

Class requirement. Comprehensive and likely valuable for new teachers. Having been teaching for nearly 30 years, I found some advice amusing (ex: avoid writing with chalk that squeaks) but I did find a few interesting new ideas.

[♏Vanessa♏ · Rating 2 out of 5]

it appears to be very comprehensive, however its focus is college and university teach and as such I didn't get as much out of it as if it was more generalised with examples from different levels of teaching. So, after chapter 4 and DNF it.

[Olga · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s quite old and some of the advice is very outdated, but, for the most part, this is essential reading for a beginning teacher.

[Raf Faisal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to be reference for some conflicts , didn't read it all but i took some points to summarize what i found it helpful for myself ..
Starting with the main idea that each teacher must get is :
How i teach my students is guided by what they want to accomplish = differ from one student to another

Consider each one of them by :
.Range of knowledge
.Skills
.Attitude
.What did they already finished

But the same time i'll apply the same main principles

Understand that each course should have :
Variety of methods to give info.
Many way to demonstrate
Use tech. To increase access.
Students Participate + present
Invite students every time to share there needs " in office "

B4 you start think of :
No. Of students
No. Of Instructors + experience
Lab
No. of Assistants

In lectures :
Always start with the big idea .. And flow into the details
Always stress classic points
Manageable no. Of points 4-7 each lec. Not more !

5 types of info in each lec. :
Key points
Hard points - time-
Important materials As extra
E.g. & illustration
High interest to students

Think of : How to create knowledge in the field that will have relation with real world !

General ideas for designing course :
Always create a *schedule for your class to be in the same page with them , keep open parts for them , allow time for complex topics and keep updating them

How to use internet to serve students need = order books , materials .. Reading articles .. E-books concept .. Mail list .. Web page for course .. Online chat !

Consider the student workload in designing course : theoretical - lab - clinic - extra assignments

Offer a set of extra credit points to ALL ..

If you want attendance be worthwhile ! Reward good attendance , set yourself as example = early .. Start and end in time - stay for Q

Always share with another faculty even in other specialty

Introduction day =
-obj
- goal
- overview
- where does this course fit
-ask student to say their names directly to learn the correct pronounce
-study materials
- methods of instruction and when u will use it : lec,disscussion , grp work , field work
- expectation
- time
- evaluation
- exams and conflicts
- requirements
- policies your own rules
- office hrs
- contacts
- copies of past exams , model papers
- difficulties that others faced
- update your schedule *upon discussion
- instructors names and qualifications
- introduce students to each other " icebreaker " without making them uncomfortable like : interest , place they visit , birthday
- give them assignment for next session MOVE IMMEDIATELY but avoid giving grade ..
- ask them to write reaction toward 1st day

Students interaction :

Address them by names
Give them time b4 answer
Promote more answers to one Q from more than one student
Credit them by saying " as x said .. "
Give feedback
Make sure that everybody is listening ask them to speak up
Any heated remark should not pass take few min to ask the students to solve it without your intervene too quickly
Help them in study team

Out class :
Meet the students informally
Involve them in your research
Help them to establish organizations

Design groups :
But students 1st in small grp discussions so then they can speak up to all the class later ..

Designing Group Work:
Create group tasks to be interdependence "sink or swim" together
Make the group work integral to the course objectives.
Create assignments that fit the students' skills and abilities
Assign group tasks that allow for a fair division .
Try to structure the tasks so that each has equal contribution.
Be conscious of group size. -6-
Keep groups together.
Regularly check in with the groups.
evaluate the effectiveness of their group.

Consider group test taking
-Assign group work at the beginning of the term
- Use multiple-­‐choice tests that include higher-­‐level questions
-Have students take the test individually first

If problem raised :
•let them find its own way to handle it .
• majority vote .
•Changing group as last resort.

[Michael Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

[TO EXPAND. Strong points: a bit about everything; excellent pointers related work; summaries are technically dense, but good; discusses "new age" classrooms---racial mixes, etc.; assessment techniques; active learning and similar techniques]

[Najla · Rating 5 out of 5]

الكتاب يعد مرجع ممتاز لمدرسيّ المرحلة الجامعية، ويحوي الكثير من الأفكار والاستراتيجيات المفيدة حول التدريس الجامعي الفعّال. الكتاب طويل جداً ويغطي مواضيع مختلفة قد لا تحتاج لقراءته كاملاً والاكتفاء بالفصول والأجزاء التي ترغب في تطوير أداءك حولها.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far... very insightful.

In completion: It has it's compelling writers, however I agree with many of the other evaluators. It is very long and tedious to read.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a good resource, but long. The author did say that it should not be read cover to cover, but what does she know.