New and Notable Books at ABL

Academia is not, by and large, a kind place. Individualism and competition are what count. But without kindness at its core, Catherine Denial suggests, higher education fails students and instructors--and its mission--in critical ways. Part manifesto, part teaching memoir, part how-to guide, A Pedagogy of Kindness urges higher education to get aggressive about instituting kindness, which Denial distinguishes from niceness. Having suffered beneath the weight of just "getting along," instructors need to shift every part of what they do to prioritizing care and compassion--for students as well as for themselves. A Pedagogy of Kindness articulates a fresh vision for teaching, one that focuses on ensuring justice, believing people, and believing in people. Offering evidence-based insights and drawing from her own rich experiences as a professor, Denial offers practical tips for reshaping syllabi, assessing student performance, and creating trust and belonging in the classroom. Her suggestions for concrete, scalable actions  outline nothing less than a transformational discipline--one in which, together, we create bright new spaces, rooted in compassion, in which all engaged in teaching and learning might thrive.  

A mentor, advisor, or even a friend? Making connections in college makes all the difference. What single factor makes for an excellent college education? As it turns out, it's pretty simple: human relationships. Decades of research demonstrate the transformative potential and the lasting legacies of a relationship-rich college experience. Critics suggest that to build connections with peers, faculty, staff, and other mentors is expensive and only an option at elite institutions where instructors have the luxury of time with students. But in this revelatory book brimming with the voices of students, faculty, and staff from across the country, Peter Felten and Leo M. Lambert argue that relationship-rich environments can and should exist for all students at all types of institutions. In Relationship-Rich Education, Felten and Lambert demonstrate that for relationships to be central in undergraduate education, colleges and universities do not require immense resources, privileged students, or specially qualified faculty and staff. All students learn best in an environment characterized by high expectation and high support, and all faculty and staff can learn to teach and work in ways that enable relationship-based education. Emphasizing the centrality of the classroom experience to fostering quality relationships, Felten and Lambert focus on students' influence in shaping the learning environment for their peers, as well as the key difference a single, well-timed conversation can make in a student's life. They also stress that relationship-rich education is particularly important for first-generation college students, who bring significant capacities to college but often face long-standing inequities and barriers to attaining their educational aspirations. Drawing on nearly 400 interviews with students, faculty, and staff at 29 higher education institutions across the country, Relationship-Rich Education provides readers with practical advice on how they can develop and sustain powerful relationship-based learning in their own contexts. Ultimately, the book is an invitation--and a challenge--for faculty, administrators, and student life staff to move relationships from the periphery to the center of undergraduate education.

Even on good days, teaching is a challenging profession. One way to make the job of college instructors easier, however, is to know more about the ways students learn. How Humans Learn aims to do just that by peering behind the curtain and surveying research in fields as diverse as developmental psychology, anthropology, and cognitive neuroscience for insight into the science behind learning. The result is a story that ranges from investigations of the evolutionary record to studies of infants discovering the world for the first time, and from a look into how our brains respond to fear to a reckoning with the importance of gestures and language. Joshua R. Eyler identifies five broad themes running through recent scientific inquiry--curiosity, sociality, emotion, authenticity, and failure--devoting a chapter to each and providing practical takeaways for busy teachers. He also interviews and observes college instructors across the country, placing theoretical insight in dialogue with classroom experience.

Historically we have constructed our classrooms with the assumption that learning is a dry, staid affair best conducted in quiet tones and ruled by an unemotional consideration of the facts. The field of education, however, is beginning to awaken to the potential power of emotions to fuel learning, informed by contributions from psychology and neuroscience. In friendly, readable prose, Sarah Rose Cavanagh argues that if you as an educator want to capture your students' attention, harness their working memory, bolster their long-term retention, and enhance their motivation, you should consider the emotional impact of your teaching style and course design. To make this argument, she brings to bear a wide range of evidence from the study of education, psychology, and neuroscience, and she provides practical examples of successful classroom activities from a variety of disciplines in secondary and higher education.  

People who teach in higher education are subject matter specialists, but they often have little preparation in how to teach. This book presents the knowledge base of college teaching in a user-friendly, easy-to-read, yet well-researched format. From sample syllabi to the creation of an effective grading scale, this book covers critically important aspects of organizing and teaching your curriculum. Suggestions for preparing for the first day of the semester will make all semesters run more smoothly. Chapters about building positive student relationships, student incivility, and academic integrity provide insights about today's students, their backgrounds, and their expectations. Using techniques presented in the book for instructional management, instructors can have productive classes where students achieve success. If you teach traditional or online courses in a community college, private college, or large public university, this book needs to be on your reading list. The topics, strategies, and methods presented will not only help you to improve your courses, but will also help you to keep your job and obtain tenure. Reading this book is the equivalent of taking a course in how to teach in higher education.

COVID-19's impacts revealed that teaching writing online was no longer merely an issue of convenience or economic necessity--it was critical to public health and equity concerns as well. Now higher education faces one of its greatest historical challenges, expanding online offerings to fully engage and support students around the world. Gathering together educators who teach writing at college and graduate levels using creative hybrid, blended, and online/remote/virtual modes, this book should be required reading for all teachers and administrators. The volume features those new to online teaching alongside experienced online writing teachers. Referencing the latest research in online teaching and writing, contributors share stories of crucial successes as well as unforeseen difficulties. Essays address compelling concerns such as engaging diversity and cultural inclusivity, social justice, as well as global learning in online writing courses; radically reshaping graduate seminars for online delivery; flipping classrooms to promote more successful writing instruction; fostering greater community within online writing classrooms; examining the problems and possibilities of Learning Management Systems for teaching writing; sustaining remote writing-centered archival research; avoiding Zoom fatigue in writing classes by using design thinking; utilizing expressive arts in online writing classes; mentoring doctoral students online; constructing meaningful approaches to online peer writing feedback; as well as making access and inclusivity central to online writing course design.

A practical guide to the essential practice that builds better teachers. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher is the landmark guide to critical reflection, providing expert insight and practical tools to facilitate a journey of constructive self-critique. Stephen Brookfield shows how you can uncover and assess your assumptions about practice by viewing them through the lens of your students' eyes, your colleagues' perceptions, relevant theory and research, and your own personal experience. Practicing critical reflection will help you... Align your teaching with desired student outcomes See your practice from new perspectives Engage learners via multiple teaching formats Understand and manage classroom power dynamics Model critical thinking for your students Manage the complex rhythms of diverse classrooms This fully revised second edition features a wealth of new material, including new chapters on critical reflection in the context of social media, teaching race and racism, leadership in a critically reflective key, and team teaching as critical reflection. In addition, all chapters have been thoroughly updated and expanded to align with today's classrooms, whether online or face-to-face, in large lecture formats or small groups. In his own personal voice Stephen Brookfield draws from over 45 years of experience to illustrate the clear benefits of critical reflection. Assumptions guide practice and only when we base our actions on accurate assumptions will we achieve the results we want. Educators with the courage to challenge their own assumptions in an effort to improve learning are the invaluable role models our students need. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher provides the foundational information and practical tools that help teachers reach their true potential.

This open access book explores the synergy between AI and education, highlighting its potential impact on pedagogical practices. It navigates the evolving landscape of AI-powered educational technologies and suggests practical ways to personalise instruction, nurture human-AI co-creativity, and transform the learning experience. Spanning from primary to higher education, this short and engaging volume proposes concrete examples of how educational stakeholders can be empowered in their AI literacy to foster creativity, inspire critical thinking, and promote problem-solving by embracing AI as a tool for expansive learning. Structured in three parts, the book starts developing the creative engagement perspective for learning and teaching to then present practical applications of AI in K-12 and higher education, covering different fields (teacher education, professional education, business education) as well as different types of AI supported tools (games, chatbots, and AI assisted assessment). It also delves into the ethical considerations, policy implications, and the central role educators play in harnessing the power of an AI informed educational experience.

Chan and Colloton's book is one of the first to provide a comprehensive examination of the use and impact of ChatGPT and Generative AI (GenAI) in higher education.

Clear away the fog surrounding AI in education--and regain your peace of mind Among teachers, there is a cloud of rumors, confusion, and fear surrounding the rise of artificial intelligence. AI and the Future of Education is a timely response to this general state of panic, showing you that AI is a tool to leverage, not a threat to teaching and learning. By understanding what AI is, what it does, and how it can be used to enhance education, you can let go of anxiety and uncertainty, and learn to embrace artificial intelligence. It's true that, along with tremendous opportunities, AI presents some challenges for the field of education. In this book, Priten Shah, a Harvard M.Ed. with a robust background in educational innovation, helps you face these challenges head on, so you can gain the knowledge and skills you need to use AI effectively in your classroom. Thanks to this thorough consideration of ethical considerations and practical approaches, you can develop your own strategy for leveraging AI in administrative tasks, lesson design, professional development, and beyond. Understand what AI and machine learning are, and learn about new developments like ChatGPT Discover strategies for engaging students more fully using AI Automate administrative tasks, grading and feedback, and assessments Use AI in innovative ways to promote higher-order thinking skills Examine ethical considerations of AI, including the achievement gap, privacy concerns, and bias For K-12 educators, as well as leaders and policymakers who want to understand the role of technology in education, AI and the Future of Education is a valuable resource that can change AI from an unknown entity to an indispensable tool.