The Spark of Learning

What are you reading this summer? Will it be a “beach read” with some fun capers in lovely Paris? Will your list include detective novels (like the Harry Bosch novels I love)? Will the list include some of the classics, like “To Kill a Mockingbird” or maybe “Moby Dick”? If you are more interested in keeping up with your professional reading while you sip your morning coffee or tea and relax on the deck, the 5-Star Consortium faculty development specialists have some recommendations.

I am starting my summer reading with a book by Sarah Rose Cavanagh, “The Spark of Learning.” Check out this sentence from her preface: I am going to argue that if you want to grab the attention of your students, mobilize their efforts, prolong their persistence, permanently change how they see the world, and maximize the chances that they will retain the material you’re teaching them over the long term, there is no better approach than to target their emotions.”

I can’t wait to start reading and have even set aside a little time at work each day to begin learning, among other things, how to change how I ask questions in the classroom and tell students about my own failures as a student!

Want to know what the other books on our list of recommendations are? Check off how many you’ve read, and if they aren’t in your institution’s library, check with your college’s faculty development specialist – maybe they have a copy in their library!

5 Star Consortium Recommended Reading

Ambrose, Susan A. How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching.

Bain, Ken. What the Best College Teachers Do

Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom

Bowen, Jose Antonio. Teaching Naked: How Moving Technology Out of Your College Classroom Will Improve Student Learning

Bowman, Sharon L. Training From the Back of the Room!: 65 Ways to Step Aside and Let Them Learn

Brown, Peter C. Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning.

 

Carey, Benedict. How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens

Cavanagh, Sarah Rose. The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion.

Emdin, Christopher. For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood, and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education.

Eng, Norman. Teaching College: The Ultimate Guide to Lecturing, Presenting, and Engaging Students

Gabriel, Kathleen F. Teaching Unprepared Students: Strategies for Promoting Success and Retention in Higher Education 

Groccia, James E. To Improve the Academy: Resources for Faculty, Instructional, and Organizational Development, Vol. 32.

Harrington, Christine. Dynamic Lecturing: Research-Based Strategies to Enhance Lecture Effectiveness (The Excellent Teacher Series) 

Lang, James M. Cheating Lessons: Learning from Academic Dishonesty

Lang, James M. Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning

Major, Claire Howell. Teaching for Learning: 101 Intentionally Designed Educational Activities to Put Students on the Path to Success 1st Edition

McGuire, Saundra Yancy. Teach Students How to Learn: Strategies You Can Incorporate Into Any Course to Improve Student Metacognition, Study Skills, and Motivation 

Palmer, Parker J. The Courage to Teach Guide for Reflection and Renewal.

Reynolds, Garr. Presentation Zen

Tatum, Beverly Daniel. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race

Walker, Jan. Unlocking Minds in Lockup: Prison Education Opens Doors.

Willingham, Daniel T. Why Don't Students Like School?: A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom