Teacher’s Bookshelf: The Skillful Teacher

Stephen D. Brookfield. The Skillful Teacher. On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom. 2nd. Ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006.

If I were asked to recommend one book that I think every faculty member of the college should read, it would be Brookfield’s classic in its second edition, an engagingly written introduction to teaching, which combines a gentle introduction to pedagogical theory with numerous practical suggestions for every teacher—from the newly minted Ph.D. to the seasoned veteran—that will improve performance in the classroom.

From “core assumptions of skillful teaching” and a chapter on how to survive emotionally the onslaughts of our chosen profession, to sections on how to lecture creatively, increase students’ participation in discussion, or respond to resistance, it’s all here.

To my mind, though, the best chapter is the fourth, where Brookfield addresses “what students value in teachers,” asserting that they learn best when credibility and authenticity are held in a state of ”congenial tension” (57).

The attributes that establish credibility include expertise, experience (in one’s field as well as in the classroom), conviction (our sense of the importance that students “get” what we are teaching), and rationale, which Brookfield defines as the ability to “talk out loud the reasons for . . . classroom decisions, course design, and evaluative criteria” (63).

Sections of Brookfield’s  discussion of authenticity may raise some eyebrows.  He claims we must manifest congruence between what we say we will do and what we do; full disclosure (“regularly making public the criteria, expectations, agendas and assumptions that guide [one’s] practice”); responsiveness (convincing students that what you are teaching actually will help them); and personhood (the more controversial part): one’s ability to allow students to know that we are indeed human beings with personal lives outside the classroom (67-71).

Brookfield’s reflections on this final attribute and the problem of balancing self-disclosure and professional boundaries is typical of the book as a whole—nuanced, clear, and brief.

John Lanci
Professor, Religious Studies

Teaching Tip: Note-taking Pairs

If you have concerns about your students’ note-taking skills, then you might consider adding “Note-Taking Pairs” to your pedagogical toolbox.

Basically, all Note-Taking Pairs involves is asking students to work for a few minutes with a partner summarizing for each other the notes they’ve taken and mutually addressing any gaps or questions. This can improve not only the quality of students’ notes, but can also serve as a mini-review that drives home the lecture’s main points.

Note-Taking Pairs can be incorporated as regular breaks throughout a long lecture or as a final wrap-up at the end of a class. Some instructors have applied similar strategies to students’ reading notes, as well.

Read more about Note-Taking Paris in Barkley, Cross, and Major’s Collaborative Learning Techniques (2005) — available to borrow from the CTL’s Faculty Reading Room.

Civic Education talk this week

This Wednesday Tom Ehrlich will speaking at Tufts University about alternative civic education strategies and previewing his forthcoming book, Educating for Democracy: Preparing Undergraduates for Responsible Political Engagement.

Ehrlich will also be discussing the findings of the Carnegie Foundation’s Political Engagement Project, a study of 21 college and university courses and co-curricular programs that address students’ preparation for democratic participation.

When: Oct. 24th, 2007 from 3:30 – 5 p.m.

Where: Sophia Gordon Hall – first floor, Medford/Somerville Campus of Tufts University

For more information, email Barbara Canyes (barbara.canyes@tufts.edu).

Wheelock College: “The Education of Black Male Youth”

Although geared more towards secondary educators, this series of workshops and lectures hosted by Wheelock College and Atlas Learning Communities could provide some interesting perspectives on inclusive teaching. Attending the workshops requires a fee, but the lectures are free.

Beginning at the end of October, the lectures are held once each month until March. Some workshop/lecture titles are:

“Yes We Can, If We Choose: De-Traumatizing Black Boys”

“Playing with Anger: Engaging the Emotional Lives of Black Boys in Schools”

“To Be Male, In School, and Black: Connections and Consequences of Teaching Beliefs and Practice”

To learn more about the series, visit http://www.wheelock.edu/atlas/index.asp.