Key Information
The Engaged Teacher: What Works with Today’s Students, By Nancy Vader-McCormick
2012 [ISBN: 1-58107-219-8; 224 pages; 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches; soft cover] $20.95
As described by Terry O’Banion, “Nancy Vader-McCormick is an authentic voice, seasoned and tempered in the fires of the teaching and learning experience; she has been on the firing line, on the ground, and in the trenches. In this book, she has transcended her experience as a practitioner to become a scholar, an author, a mentor—but always a teacher who wants to make passionate connections with her students and her readers.”
The Engaged Teacher describes today’s college students, trends in the growth of postsecondary education, and the increased demand for accountability in education. It reaffirms major lessons learned from the teaching and learning research. This new title answers the question: “What do exemplary teachers do to engage today’s students in deep and sustained learning?”
The purpose of this book is to examine ways teachers can better engage today’s students in learning and help them succeed in school. Teachers that employ some of the practical approaches presented in this book will:
- Understand the relationship between the students, the subject matter, themselves, and teaching practices that positively influence and sustain student learning.
- Reflectively examine and expand their teaching approaches to increast student engagement in deeper learning and increased responsibility.
- Learn effective ways of teaching to enhance overall student success by employing a wide variety of practical examples, strategies, and pedagogies.
See the author’s Web site at http://nancyvader.wordpress.com/about/
The Contents
Part One: Contemporary Teaching Challenges
Chapter One: The Changing Landscape
This chapter illustrates the changes in today’s educational landscape with a focus on the challenges posed by today’s diverse students.
Chapter Two: Teaching Matters
This chapter presents the rationale for why teaching matters, highlighting characteristics of community college faculty and students.
Chapter Three: The Engaged Teaching and Learning Model
An overview of the research on effective teaching and student learning is presented and integrated with The Engaged Teaching and Learning
Chapter Four: Listening to Students
The feedback from 200 students is presented, along with relevant studies on what students say about teachers who help them learn.
Part Two: Engaged Teachers Meet Today’s Challenges
Chapter Five: Creating Connections
This chapter presents the insights from 100 engaged teachers, demonstrating how they understand and help students create learning connections.
Chapter Six: Engaging Students in Active Learning
The active learning practices that the exemplary teachers in the study use to engage students in the subject are presented in this chapter.
Chapter Seven: Exploring Teaching Insights
This chapter illustrates the insights and reflective practices of exemplary teachers through classroom and self-appraisal strategies.
Part Three: Sustaining Teaching and Learning
Chapter Eight: Tools for Engaged Teaching
This chapter presents 50 of the best ideas and strategies for engaged teaching and learning captured in this study.
Chapter Nine: Building a Community of Engaged Teachers
This chapter presents 25 ideas for engaged teaching and learning with a focus on collegiality and community.
Epilogue: Final Thoughts on Engaged Teaching
A conclusion of the “best” teaching practices based on the study is presented in this chapter
The Author
Nancy Vader-McCormick, PhD, is a scholar, educator, and consultant with over 25 years as an award-winning and innovative teacher. She is a Professor of Communication and the Coordinator of the Faculty Center for Teaching Excellence at Delta College in Michigan. Nancy earned her doctorate at the University of Florida, two MA degrees at Central Michigan University, and a BS fro Western Michigan University. Her publications include Academic Service-Learning: A Handbook for Faculty and Creativity: From the Inside Out.