A freshly updated edition featuring research-based teaching techniques that faculty in any discipline can easily implement
Research into how we learn can help facilitate better student learning―if we know how to apply it. Small Teaching fills the gap in higher education literature between the primary research in cognitive theory and the classroom environment. In this book, James Lang presents a strategy for improving student learning with a series of small but powerful changes that make a big difference―many of which can be put into practice in a single class period. These are simple interventions that can be integrated into pre-existing techniques, along with clear descriptions of how to do so. Inside, you’ll find brief classroom or online learning activities, one-time interventions, and small modifications in course design or student communication. These small tweaks will bring your classroom into alignment with the latest evidence in cognitive research.
Each chapter introduces a basic concept in cognitive research that has implications for classroom teaching, explains the rationale for offering it within a specific time period in a typical class, and then provides concrete examples of how this intervention has been used or could be used by faculty in a variety of disciplines. The second edition features revised and updated content including a newly authored preface, new examples and techniques, updated research, and updated resources.
- How can you make small tweaks to your teaching to bring the latest cognitive science into the classroom?
- How can you help students become good at retrieving knowledge from memory?
- How does making predictions now help us learn in the future?
- How can you build community in the classroom?
Higher education faculty and administrators, as well as K-12 teachers and teacher trainers, will love the easy-to-implement, evidence-based techniques in Small Teaching.
From the Inside Flap
While cognitive research advances rapidly with every passing year, few resources demonstrate how to bridge the gap between cognitive theory and the real-world classroom environment. In the newly revised Second Edition of Small Teaching, distinguished professor James M. Lang delivers an up-to-date review of research-based teaching techniques that can be implemented by faculty in any discipline. The book connects powerful new research from cognitive theory with practical strategies for deploying these insights in a modern classroom.
Full of simple interventions that can be integrated into a pre-existing curriculum, author James M. Lang draws on his extensive experience teaching in-person and online to offer you in-classroom and online activities, one-time interventions, and small modifications that will have a major impact on your students.
You’ll learn how to help your students excel at retrieving knowledge from memory, use mindful practice to build cognitive skills, and make meaningful connections to course content. You’ll also discover how to build a community in your classroom, both online and in-person, and how to foster the motivation to learn in your students.
This new edition features revised and updated content, including a new preface, new techniques and examples, updated research, and new resources. Every chapter introduces a basic concept in cognitive and educa-tional research with major implications for classroom teaching, explains how to implement it at a particular point in time, and offers concrete examples of how the intervention could be useful in your discipline.
From the Back Cover
Turn cognitive theory into straightforward classroom interventions that work in any discipline
“Small Teaching is a treasure trove of information expertly laid out for busy faculty members. Given the small investment needed to implement the ideas in this book, along with the massive returns you will see in student learning, Small Teaching will easily be the best book in your teaching and learning portfolio.”
―Todd Zakrajsek, President and Conference Director, International Teaching Learning Cooperative, and author of Teaching at Its Best, 5th Edition
The latest edition of Small Teaching delivers practical guidance on implementing the latest cognitive and educational research in the form of small, manageable, and actionable changes to your physical and virtual classroom. Author and experienced professor James M. Lang shows you how to adopt small tweaks that bring your classroom into alignment with the latest evidence in cognitive research, regardless of the discipline you teach.
The new edition offers updated research, new examples and techniques, and brand-new resources to help you improve the ways in which your students recall information and connect with one another. By using brief classroom or online learning activities, one-time interventions in a course, or small modifications in course design or communication with students, you’ll spark positive change in your classroom and your students.
About the Author
JAMES M. LANG is Professor of English and Director of the D'Amour Center for Teaching Excellence at Assumption College. He is the author of five books.
He is a sought-after speaker and workshop leader on teaching and learning in higher education. He writes a monthly column on teaching for The Chronicle of Higher Education, and is a Senior Academic Consultant for OneHE.
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