Evidence-based teaching for higher education / edited by Beth M. Schwartz and Regan A. R. Gurung.

Includes index.

APA ebook

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"A growing body of psychological research has provided empirical evidence on how teachers teach and students learn. This research, known to many as the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), is primarily conducted by college and university professors. Many SoTL studies are conducted by psychology professors using university psychology class samples. However, teachers from all disciplines conduct SoTL, and the findings are relevant to university teachers in all disciplines. Findings from the SoTL literature can be invaluable when developing a new course, deciding how to teach particular course content, or invigorating a previously taught course. Yet, although many guides are available on how to conduct SoTL (e.g., Gurung & Schwartz, 2009; McKinney, 2007), few resources are available that summarize the empirical findings of SoTL and can guide an instructor in choosing teaching techniques and tools that are based on data-driven evidence. This edited volume fills the gap by synthesizing SoTL findings to help teachers choose teaching techniques and tools. It will also help faculty determine how to approach SoTL research on particular pedagogical issues on the basis of what is already known from the literature by clearly identifying the gaps in the SoTL literature. To provide the most up-to-date empirical evidence, we have asked the authors of each chapter--who are all experts in the SoTL field and strong teachers--to summarize the findings for a particular pedagogical issue, to provide specific recommendations regarding the use of a particular technique or tool, and to identify what remains unknown in the SoTL field. Each chapter will allow faculty to go beyond what is thought to be the most effective techniques and tools. Rather than reliance on memory for what worked the last time we taught the material, or what others have advised when it comes to covering certain content, we can now base pedagogical decisions on the findings from SoTL. This book will be an important resource for all university teachers, as well as for professionals who work in university faculty development centers. For new teachers, this book will provide an important starting point to facilitate thinking beyond content, which is often the orientation one has after just completing a graduate degree. It will go beyond the how-tos of teaching a course, addressing more detailed issues, such as when to choose a particular technique over another and how to base that decision on findings from the SoTL literature. For faculty who have taught before and are facing reappointment, tenure, or promotion, this book will help explain to review committees why pedagogical choices are made in the classroom and how those choices are based on empirical evidence. Finally, this book can be a valuable resource for university faculty development centers, which often work with faculty to maximize teaching effectiveness. Directors of these centers can incorporate findings from this book into teaching workshops, as well as into consultations with individual faculty members. The goal of this book is twofold: (a) to identify practical, evidence-supported strategies that teachers can use to maximize teaching effectiveness and student learning and (b) to stimulate future SoTL research. Toward this end, each chapter ends with a succinct list of teaching recommendations that are based on the empirical evidence presented in the chapter, followed by a succinct list of questions that future SoTL research should investigate"--Introduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Also issued in print.

Electronic reproduction. Washington, D.C. American Psychological Association 2012 Available via World Wide Web Access limited by licensing agreement s2012 dcunns