Description
Book SynopsisOn Course is full of experience-tested, research-based advice for graduate students and new teaching faculty. It provides a range of innovative and traditional strategies that work well without requiring extensive preparation or long grading sessions when trying to meet one's own demanding research and service requirements.
Trade ReviewI wish I'd had this book when I began teaching. Lang's countless practical suggestions could help everyone from the new teaching assistant to the most senior professor. He challenges us to be better, more creative teachers. At the same time, his description of the strains in learning to teach—especially the anguish we can go through when grading—are both funny and comforting. -- Paul Umbach, University of Iowa
James Lang's
On Course is a marvelous book, full of wisdom, wide-ranging and well-synthesized research, and honest advice about what to do, what not to do, and how to get yourself out of many a pickle through knowledge, cleverness, and courage—all qualities that are in the book intself. The book clarifies, demystifies, and inspires. -- Emily Toth, author of
Ms. Mentor's Impecccable AdviceBriskly moving through the basics, [Lang] tackles the hard questions…with humor and insight…
On Course is a vital resource for educators, even those who don't fit the first-year college-teaching market. My copy is dotted with notes about new ideas to try out in my lecture class this fall. Happily though, I took away from Lang's guidebook much more than techniques. -- Barbara J. King * Bookslut *
If you are looking for a [college teaching] job, get a head start by buying and reading this book. If you already have one, your teaching still stands to gain much from it. -- Greg Garrard * Times Higher Education Supplement *
Table of Contents* Acknowledgments * Preface * Before The Beginning: The Syllabus * Week 1: First Days of Class * Week 2: Teaching with Technology * Week 3: In the Classroom: Lectures * Week 4: In the Classroom: Discussions * Week 5: In the Classroom: Teaching with Small Groups * Week 6: Assignments and Grading * Week 7: Students as Learners * Week 8: Students as People * Week 9: Academic Honesty * Week 10: Finding a Balance Outside the Classroom * Week 11: Re-Energizing the Classroom * Week 12: Common Problems * Week 13: Student Ratings and Evaluations * Week 14: Last Days of Class * Week 15: Teachers as People * After The End: Top Ten Resources * Appendix A: A Sample Syllabus * Appendix B: Student Participation Evaluation Form * Index
