What the Best Teachers Do

I was pleased to see that Ken Bain, in a study about best teachers and best teaching practices, not only went to the colleagues and students of his instructor subjects, but also to their colleagues in other fields. These varying viewpoints paired with Bain’s recommendations on how, through the rigors of the academic year, college instructors might best prepare and evaluate themselves and their students are inspiring, and will no-doubt lead to deep analysis of ones own teaching practices.

Key to the success of this book is a subject central to the success of any college instructor: a discussion of deep learning. Relative to this topic is my favorite line in the book, wherein Bain addresses instructors who simply scare students into doing well on exams and writes "Any teacher who causes students to hate the subject has certainly violated our principle of 'do no harm.'" (p 8)

Martin Springborg, CTL Faculty Development Coordinator

Bain, Ken; What the Best College Teachers Do; Harvard University Press; 2004