What the Best College Teachers Do

Dr. Ken Bain serves as Vice Provost for Instruction and Director of Montclair State University’s Teaching and Learning Resource Center. More than thirty years in the classroom provides Dr. Bain with “in-the-trenches” experience to understand the difference between student grades and student learning, superficial learning and indepth understanding, and faculty popularity and faculty effectiveness. A historian by training, Bain has spent the last twenty years studying the scholarship of teaching and learning. His 2004 book What the Best College Teachers Do earned the Virginia and Warren Stone Prize, an annual award from Harvard University Press for an Outstanding Book on Education and Society. In the context of Bain’s classroom experience, this book becomes even more meaningful. Bain and colleagues conducted extensive research into the common characteristics of individuals considered “exemplary” in facilitating student learning. They interviewed students about teachers who had made significant and positive impacts in their intellectual and personal development, held conversations with professors about colleagues who facilitated high learning, and sought out teaching award winners. Potential study participants were screened for evidence that they fostered both significant learning as well as intellectual and personal development. Sixty-three faculty were chosen for in-depth analysis to “capture the collective scholarship of some of the best teachers in the United States.” These individuals represent the diversity in higher education, teaching at all levels and in all types of colleges and universities. Classroom observations and videotaping, conversations, course materials, student small group analyses, formal and informal faculty reflections, and discussion with colleagues and past students provided the study data. Bain summarizes his scholarly findings into six broad questions: (1) What do the best teachers know and understand; (2) How do they prepare to teach; (3) What do they expect of their students; (4) What do they do when they teach; (5) How do they treat their students; and (6) How do they check their own progress and evaluate their efforts? Each question receives a full chapter of discussion, specific examples, and quoted insights from the study participants. In brief, having an extensive knowledge of one’s subject, understanding how deep learning occurs and striving to facilitate that level of learning in the classroom, and creating an environment conducive to and supportive of constructive learning were characteristic of highly effective teaching. Exemplary educators deliberately planned their courses backwards, clearly articulating student learning outcomes and then constructing experiences, finding resources, and determining appropriate assessments to facilitate and measure student success in meeting those outcomes. These faculty held high expectations of student learning comprehension and understanding, coupled with belief in and strong support for students to reach these high standards. Students were invariably treated with respect, compassion, and trust. Finally, exemplary faculty specifically sought and critically evaluated indications of their own effectiveness in facilitating student learning. Indeed, continual self-assessment and consistent seeking of new ways to understand how to learn and how to foster learning were key characteristic of these educators. Bain posits that their willingness to critically evaluate their own performance, looking at both successes and failures, is a key feature of their success. Bain was clear that these sixty-three teachers are examples of excellent teaching in the United States. These individuals are exemplary, but not exclusive. “Great teachers are. . . special kinds of scholars and thinkers, leading intellectual lives that focus on learning, both theirs and their students.’ Their attention to the details of performance stems from a concern for the learners, and their focus is on the nature and processes of learning rather than on the performance of the instructor.” Individuals with these traits are found in all disciplines at all education levels. What the Best College Teachers Do does not provide stepby-step instructions for incorporating this information into your own teaching. A small group discussion with colleagues may be helpful, especially for those entering the profession. Bain does not introduce significant theory on how student learning occurs. Ideas and comments from the studied faculty are presented, some other research is briefly introduced, and some references are presented in the Notes section, but specific text discussions of scientific research into student learning are lacking. Additional reading in the theory of learning may be useful. However, Bain’s writing style is comfortable, almost conversational. You finish the book feeling that you have just had an informative session with a caring mentor. This book is excellent reading for individuals in education pre professional programs, those relatively new to teaching, or experienced faculty seeking methods of becoming more effective in facilitating student learning. Many of us