The Joy of Teaching: A Practical Guide for New College Instructors

by Peter G. Filene

Book Overview

Gathering concepts and techniques borrowed from outstanding college professors, The Joy of Teaching provides helpful guidance for new instructors developing and teaching their first college courses.

Award-winning professor Peter Filene proposes that teaching should not be like a baseball game in which the instructor pitches ideas to students to see whether they hit or strike out. Ideally, he says, teaching should resemble a game of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807856037
• ISBN13: 9780807856031
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
• Length: 159 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Encouragement in Teaching!

After grading your hundredth paper or reading endless homework assignments, it can be easy to forget the joy and rewards of teaching. This excellent guide renews the spirit of the teacher. Teaching really is a calling and this book affirms the joy that is available for those who share their life and knowledge with others. As well as the joy of learning from others! Teaching is really receiving from the students, watching them grow, and seeing the gifts of learning! Inspiring book for teachers!

A good starting point

I really enjoyed this book because it truly helped me realize "the joy of teaching" that perhaps in my over-frenzied, over-worked state, I had missed out. While the book does have tips and ideas in it, it is primarily to help you become more reflective. It's very short and easy to read and it's a great place to start before moving on to more detailed or practical oriented guides like McKeachie's Teaching Tips. If you are short on time and there is only one book you can read before you start an academic position (or if you need some reenergizing) this is the book for you.

Worth reading

I felt I was still unprepared for what stepping into a classroom might be like, even after having taken a short preparatory course for social science teaching in college. I will begin teaching in a matter of weeks, and this author has helped me tremendously by pointing out some my blind spots which have been created by years of graduate school. These include the differences between how graduate students and undergrads learn (less abstract and more examples) and that one must observe the campus and the classroom in order to gauge what are reasonable expectations in terms of reading comprehension and grading. He also presents helpful guides for syllabi construction and discussion groups. I really felt like the author was speaking to me in terms of the way I think. A wonderful, useful read!

wonderfully practical

this was so helpful, and gave me a lot of confidence about heading into the classroom.

Useful, enjoyable, energizing

I read this book as part of an effort to catch my breath during Spring Break in my first semester teaching a large college class. It left me feeling re-energized and excited about the new ideas I learned, and gave me new perspective on the whole undertaking. It is chock full of really useful and thought-provoking insights and suggestions. Reading the book basically got me ready to get back to teaching with renewed enthusiasm and confidence. I would recommend this enjoyable and extremely useful book to any college teacher looking for new ideas and techniques--even a fresh attitude toward how they approach the classroom and their students.