Issue
26(2)
Practical
Magic: On the Front Lines of Teaching Excellence. (2003).
John E. Roueche, Mark D. Milliron, and Suanne D. Roueche. Washington
, D.C.: Community College Press. 192 pp., Price: $40. ISBN # 0-87117-335-2.
Review
by: Laura Alfano
Director
of Staff Development
Virginia
College
at Birmingham
The title
of this book immediately caught my attention. When done well,
teaching is magic; and students take away new ideas and ways of
perceiving the world that will serve them for the rest of their
lives.
The
authors "report on the perspectives, strategies, counsel, advice,
and recommendations of thousands of teaching professionals who
have received the National Institute for Staff and Organizational
Development (NISOD) Excellence Award over the last decade" (p.
vii). This award is presented annually to college instructors
who exhibit teaching excellence. Recipients responded to survey
questions, which form the basis of the book.
Two
charts are of particular interest. The first is a comparison of
the APA's Learner-Centered Principles, Angelo's "Teacher's Dozen",
and Svinicki's Learning Principles (pp. 51-54) in respect to cognitive
factors, motivational factors, social factors, and individual
factors. The second is a comparison of good teaching practices,
using Roueche and Baker's Teaching for Success Model, Chickering
and Gamson's Seven Principles of Good Practice, and Feldman's
Nine Exemplary Teaching Characteristics (pp. 55-58). These models
are compared based upon intellectual skills, interpersonal skills,
and motivational attributes; also included are characteristics
considered to be indicative of good teaching.
Though
there is some discussion of teaching and learning theory, this
is not a book for readers interested in the philosophical side
of classroom excellence. Instead, it focuses on the answers that
the award-winning instructors gave researchers who categorized
their comments into a plethora of advice for effective teaching.
Besides core strategies for effectively teaching content and for
effectively teaching students, the authors include recommendations
for the beginning community college instructor.
Although the
authors, through the responses given by the NISOD award winners,
concentrate on teaching behavior, many of the suggestions apply
to any interpersonal interaction with students. Advisors, administrators,
and others would benefit from the material. Experienced educators
will recognize themselves and garner new ideas from the thoughts
of those who care about the teaching profession and their students.
