You're right, Louis. There is a lot of psychology in teaching. And I for one recieved not one bit of training to be a teacher. I think I have a certain amount of raw ability that makes me an effective teacher, but there is certainly room for improvement. I came across a new book yesterday on the APA website that is relevant to this conversation. The book is entitled The Professor's Guide to Teaching : Psychological Principles and Practices and was written by Donelson R. Forsyth, PhD, a psychologist at Virginia Commonwealth University. The text was published by APA Press in November 2002. Anyone on this list have a review for us? I’ve ordered it but have yet to receive it. Below is a summary of the text. More information can be found at http://www.apa.org/books/4311251.html. Rod The Professor’s Guide to Teaching explores what research has revealed about effective teaching and mines this resource to offer useful suggestions and practical recommendations for both new and seasoned instructors. The book unfolds in a logical fashion, beginning with prepping and lecturing and ending with evaluating and documenting. Chapters achieve a rare blend of theoretical depth and practical utility. For example, Forsyth’s analysis of lecturing as a form of communication includes recommendations for teaching that stress the importance of considering the source of the message, the nature of the message, and the characteristics of the receiver of the message. Similarly, the author approaches classroom testing from the standpoint of psychological assessment, and so considers how testing requires the same care that psychologists use when developing questionnaires and inventories. -----Original Message----- From: Louis_Schmier [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Sun 1/5/2003 10:00 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences Cc: Subject: RE: NY Times Letter Rod, whose responsibility for a student's learning wasn't the point I was making in the letter. Personally, I think learning is a partnership. Be that as it may, the point is that whatever our responsibility is, the overwhelming majority of us go into a classroom untrained. Most of us were prepared as future scholars, not as future classroom teachers. And whatever we learn, we do so by the seat of our pants and on the job. The questions I have are two: first, how many of us read the educational and teaching literature as opposed the psychology (or in my case the history) literture; second, how many of us apply whatever we read to modifying not just the content of what we teacher, but how we teach? The curious thing, especially for this list, is that I am finding that a lot of what I am recently reading in order to improve my teaching includes a lot psychology. Make it a good day. --Louis-- Louis Schmier www.therandomthoughts.com Department of History www.halcyon.com/arborhts/louis.html Valdosta State University Valdosta, Georgia 31698 /~\ /\ /\ (229-333-5947) /^\ / \ / /~ \ /~\__/\ / \__/ \/ / /\ /~ \ /\/\-/ /^\___\______\_______/__/_______/^\ -_~ / "If you want to climb mountains, \ /^\ _ _ / don't practice on mole hills" -\____ --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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