Book Review:
I generally don't do book reviews (not because i don't like, but due to lack of time).
Due to academic necessity, I had to write this. Instead of slipping it into oblivion, I'm posting it here. So here goes)
TL DR: "This is an awesome book", is what i'm trying to say
Ken Bain, "What Best College Teachers Do", Harvard University Press, 2004, 224 pp.
Introduction
I believe they are broadly two kinds of books. One which you read out of compulsion and the ones you read because you really love the book. This book started off in the first category but very quickly shifted to the second. This book achieves a rare mix of philosophical sermons and practical steps useful in attaining them. For all those who are immersed in the ocean of research, this book makes an attempt in making us reflect about how a teacher could play a pivotal role in an individual’s life. That’s probably the reason why this book is recommended not only to prospective teachers but to almost everyone who ever had a teacher.
This book has been authored by Dr.Ken Bain, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Professor of History and Urban Education at the University of the District of Columbia. He has been founding director of four major teaching and learning centers. This book of his has been widely acclaimed and has been translated into ten languages.
Content
Before trying to generalise what they thought to be the most important attributes of the best teachers, the author identified teachers through careful selection. He firstly obtained evidence from the student’s response. They looked for indications where the teacher had reached them intellectually, educationally and had left them wanting more. Secondly he even tried to see what the students learnt. In short, they included in their study only those teachers who showed strong evidence of helping and encouraging their students to learn in ways that would usually win praise and respect from both disciplinary colleagues and the broader academic community.
The book then tries to throw some light on what do these teachers know about how the students learn. They best teachers seem to agree on the following points. That the knowledge is constructed and not received, mental models change slowly, questions are crucial and also the fact that caring is equally crucial. Each one of these statements tells a lot about how our teachers structure their lectures and plan their pedagogy. What was very interesting is that they found that the highly successful teachers have developed a series of attitudes, conceptions and practices that reflected some key insights that have emerged from the scholarship on motivation. They are ready to bend syllabus to accommodate and make the class more enriching. And also they seem to be aware that different approaches need to be adopted for different levels of learners. As a prerequisite, therefore, they tended to categorise their students based on their characteristics.
The next obvious question would be to know how they prepare to teach. The most fundamental approach would be to go the level of students and teach or help them come to teacher’s level and teach. Oversight in this aspect could render all the efforts of a teacher waste as the teacher might end up suffering from “curse of knowledge” and not be as successful teacher he/she ought to be. Further the role of Meta cognition (awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes) has also been stressed upon. This will help in understanding how the best teachers approach students based on what they think and also how as an individual a teacher has to evolve in order to better serve the students. In addressing this, the author has specified a baker’s dozen of specific planning questions which the best teachers ask themselves before they set an agenda for the class.
In this light, the author has gone on to see what these teachers expect of their students. Apart from sincerity, some amount of dedication from the student’s side is minimum requirement a teacher could ask for. The author has very succinctly used little bit of psychology and advocated that outcome of the students positively depends on intrinsic motivation and negatively depends on extrinsic motivation. This has been knowingly or unknowingly been followed by the best teachers and hence they know what to expect from their students. So they exactly know what will motivate their students to work and how much to expect from them. If things didn’t work out well, they did show willingness to tell the students when they might be better suited to a field other than the one they are pursuing currently.
Then the most important question: How do they conduct their class? Best ones have always resorted to non judgmental responsiveness, thereby creating an environment where the learner is not afraid to ask any question. Further, irrespective of the pedagogical tool a teacher employs, the author identifies seven practices they follow while conducting a class which include creating a learning environment, helping students outside the class, seeking commitments etc. Also possessing few non verbal abilities aid them in making the class a better place. The author here says that few of the best teachers know how to make silence loud; few others excel in the art of storytelling. Also at times, the best teachers ask provocative questions in spite of any possible repercussions they might face, because that might provoke a student to think beyond his/her limited boundaries.
How do the best teachers evaluate their students and themselves is the final aspect this book looks into. The author upfront mentions that the best teachers, within the given constraints, as far as evaluation is concerned, throw caution to the wind. They do not prefer the traditional methods of evaluation unless it has some merit and more importantly don’t believe in evaluating using a curve/distribution. Further, even though this might sound little far-fetched, few best teachers have even tried to evaluate a student not in comparison with the class as a whole but to that students previous self. Although this might appear to be the most ideal practice, the effort and the difficulty involved makes it quite challenging, if not completely impractical to follow. They are also aware that testing and grading the students are not some incidental acts that come at the end of teaching but powerful acts that have enormous influence on a being. Needless to say, they gather info with the sole objective to help the students but not judge them. And finally the book speaks about how the best teachers evaluate themselves as being one requires lot of self learning and more importantly accepting the fact that they can improve. They develop the abilities through constant self evaluation, reflection and willingness to change. Also the author has identified set of questions which the teachers ask themselves for evaluation.
Areas of improvement
No attempt has been made to link the way the best teachers think/act to the existing literature on learning. This would’ve enabled to create a structure of all the findings and made the study more robust. This could partly be justified as the whole book converses in a positive tone. I.e., the author always specifies what the best teachers did rather than advocating what ought to be done in order to be the best teacher. I believe this serves two purposes. One, teaching is an art and cannot simply be replicated. In fact replication might prove to be costly. Hence anyone reading this book should try to take the essence and customise the learning to suit their own personality. Secondly, a normative tone might not be as compelling as a positive one.
Also there are quite a few tips on how to become best teacher; few of them are not implementable. For instance one of the teachers in study has completely dismantled the evaluation criteria of her college and created her own. But same might not be possible for others. If those added benefits go into making a teacher what he/she is, then the normal teacher is deprived of such chance.
Judgement in selection of teachers – The author has laid down the criteria for selection of teachers in the study. An element of subjectivity cannot be ruled out. And also, one of the criteria used is student’s ratings which might not depict the true picture. Although the author has taken additional method to select the best teachers, it’s good to take these results with a pinch of salt.
Only what not how – Most of the qualities of the best teachers are rather only descriptive. It is only specified what they are. Very little attempt to study or discuss how they have been developed has been made. It would’ve been immensely beneficial to try and understand how to inculcate those “best values”, rather than just studying what they are.
Conclusion
This is a must read book for budding scholars who might grow up to become teachers, at least twice in their life. Once before they become teacher, so they know precisely, why they admire a teacher and what can be learnt from them. And once more after they become one, to gauge themselves and improve.
It captures the essence of a true teacher when it says, teachers are those who are not trying to force students into some kind of mold; on the contrary, they are trying to help them escape one. Probably Mahatma Gandhi is correct in saying “Those who know how to think need no teachers”, but I believe to learn how to think, one needs a teacher and this book proves the same.
I generally don't do book reviews (not because i don't like, but due to lack of time).
Due to academic necessity, I had to write this. Instead of slipping it into oblivion, I'm posting it here. So here goes)
TL DR: "This is an awesome book", is what i'm trying to say
Ken Bain, "What Best College Teachers Do", Harvard University Press, 2004, 224 pp.
Introduction
I believe they are broadly two kinds of books. One which you read out of compulsion and the ones you read because you really love the book. This book started off in the first category but very quickly shifted to the second. This book achieves a rare mix of philosophical sermons and practical steps useful in attaining them. For all those who are immersed in the ocean of research, this book makes an attempt in making us reflect about how a teacher could play a pivotal role in an individual’s life. That’s probably the reason why this book is recommended not only to prospective teachers but to almost everyone who ever had a teacher.
This book has been authored by Dr.Ken Bain, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Professor of History and Urban Education at the University of the District of Columbia. He has been founding director of four major teaching and learning centers. This book of his has been widely acclaimed and has been translated into ten languages.
Content
Before trying to generalise what they thought to be the most important attributes of the best teachers, the author identified teachers through careful selection. He firstly obtained evidence from the student’s response. They looked for indications where the teacher had reached them intellectually, educationally and had left them wanting more. Secondly he even tried to see what the students learnt. In short, they included in their study only those teachers who showed strong evidence of helping and encouraging their students to learn in ways that would usually win praise and respect from both disciplinary colleagues and the broader academic community.
The book then tries to throw some light on what do these teachers know about how the students learn. They best teachers seem to agree on the following points. That the knowledge is constructed and not received, mental models change slowly, questions are crucial and also the fact that caring is equally crucial. Each one of these statements tells a lot about how our teachers structure their lectures and plan their pedagogy. What was very interesting is that they found that the highly successful teachers have developed a series of attitudes, conceptions and practices that reflected some key insights that have emerged from the scholarship on motivation. They are ready to bend syllabus to accommodate and make the class more enriching. And also they seem to be aware that different approaches need to be adopted for different levels of learners. As a prerequisite, therefore, they tended to categorise their students based on their characteristics.
The next obvious question would be to know how they prepare to teach. The most fundamental approach would be to go the level of students and teach or help them come to teacher’s level and teach. Oversight in this aspect could render all the efforts of a teacher waste as the teacher might end up suffering from “curse of knowledge” and not be as successful teacher he/she ought to be. Further the role of Meta cognition (awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes) has also been stressed upon. This will help in understanding how the best teachers approach students based on what they think and also how as an individual a teacher has to evolve in order to better serve the students. In addressing this, the author has specified a baker’s dozen of specific planning questions which the best teachers ask themselves before they set an agenda for the class.
In this light, the author has gone on to see what these teachers expect of their students. Apart from sincerity, some amount of dedication from the student’s side is minimum requirement a teacher could ask for. The author has very succinctly used little bit of psychology and advocated that outcome of the students positively depends on intrinsic motivation and negatively depends on extrinsic motivation. This has been knowingly or unknowingly been followed by the best teachers and hence they know what to expect from their students. So they exactly know what will motivate their students to work and how much to expect from them. If things didn’t work out well, they did show willingness to tell the students when they might be better suited to a field other than the one they are pursuing currently.
Then the most important question: How do they conduct their class? Best ones have always resorted to non judgmental responsiveness, thereby creating an environment where the learner is not afraid to ask any question. Further, irrespective of the pedagogical tool a teacher employs, the author identifies seven practices they follow while conducting a class which include creating a learning environment, helping students outside the class, seeking commitments etc. Also possessing few non verbal abilities aid them in making the class a better place. The author here says that few of the best teachers know how to make silence loud; few others excel in the art of storytelling. Also at times, the best teachers ask provocative questions in spite of any possible repercussions they might face, because that might provoke a student to think beyond his/her limited boundaries.
How do the best teachers evaluate their students and themselves is the final aspect this book looks into. The author upfront mentions that the best teachers, within the given constraints, as far as evaluation is concerned, throw caution to the wind. They do not prefer the traditional methods of evaluation unless it has some merit and more importantly don’t believe in evaluating using a curve/distribution. Further, even though this might sound little far-fetched, few best teachers have even tried to evaluate a student not in comparison with the class as a whole but to that students previous self. Although this might appear to be the most ideal practice, the effort and the difficulty involved makes it quite challenging, if not completely impractical to follow. They are also aware that testing and grading the students are not some incidental acts that come at the end of teaching but powerful acts that have enormous influence on a being. Needless to say, they gather info with the sole objective to help the students but not judge them. And finally the book speaks about how the best teachers evaluate themselves as being one requires lot of self learning and more importantly accepting the fact that they can improve. They develop the abilities through constant self evaluation, reflection and willingness to change. Also the author has identified set of questions which the teachers ask themselves for evaluation.
Areas of improvement
No attempt has been made to link the way the best teachers think/act to the existing literature on learning. This would’ve enabled to create a structure of all the findings and made the study more robust. This could partly be justified as the whole book converses in a positive tone. I.e., the author always specifies what the best teachers did rather than advocating what ought to be done in order to be the best teacher. I believe this serves two purposes. One, teaching is an art and cannot simply be replicated. In fact replication might prove to be costly. Hence anyone reading this book should try to take the essence and customise the learning to suit their own personality. Secondly, a normative tone might not be as compelling as a positive one.
Also there are quite a few tips on how to become best teacher; few of them are not implementable. For instance one of the teachers in study has completely dismantled the evaluation criteria of her college and created her own. But same might not be possible for others. If those added benefits go into making a teacher what he/she is, then the normal teacher is deprived of such chance.
Judgement in selection of teachers – The author has laid down the criteria for selection of teachers in the study. An element of subjectivity cannot be ruled out. And also, one of the criteria used is student’s ratings which might not depict the true picture. Although the author has taken additional method to select the best teachers, it’s good to take these results with a pinch of salt.
Only what not how – Most of the qualities of the best teachers are rather only descriptive. It is only specified what they are. Very little attempt to study or discuss how they have been developed has been made. It would’ve been immensely beneficial to try and understand how to inculcate those “best values”, rather than just studying what they are.
Conclusion
This is a must read book for budding scholars who might grow up to become teachers, at least twice in their life. Once before they become teacher, so they know precisely, why they admire a teacher and what can be learnt from them. And once more after they become one, to gauge themselves and improve.
It captures the essence of a true teacher when it says, teachers are those who are not trying to force students into some kind of mold; on the contrary, they are trying to help them escape one. Probably Mahatma Gandhi is correct in saying “Those who know how to think need no teachers”, but I believe to learn how to think, one needs a teacher and this book proves the same.
