Taking Stock : Research on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Drawing on contributions by renowned educational researchers, this book "takes stock" of teaching and learning research in higher education. Core findings include:

-There is a relationship between how faculty teach and how students learn - when faculty teach in traditional teacher-centered ways, students tend to adopt surface learning strategies.

-There is also a relationship between how students learn and the learning outcomes they achieve - surface learning strategies tend to result in a variety of learning deficits.

-The majority of faculty continue to teach in traditional teacher-centered ways, resulting in system-wide learning deficits.

-There is much faculty can do in support of student learning - from improving organization and communication in the traditional lecture to the adoption of non-traditional pedagogies and assessment techniques.

Arguing for an enhanced commitment to evidence-based practice, Taking Stock offers concrete suggestions for changes on a systemic level in support of student learning and calls on all those working in higher education - faculty, educational developers, administrators, and government officials - to work together to bring about these changes.

Contributors include Tom Carey (University of Waterloo), Julia Christensen Hughes (University of Guelph), James Downey (Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario), Noel Entwistle (emeritus, University of Edinburgh), Jillian Kinzie (Indiana University), Christopher Knapper (Queen's University), Sari Lindblom-Ylänne (University of Helsinki), Erik Meyer (University of Durham), Joy Mighty (Queen's University), Michael Prosser (University of Hong Kong), Alenoush Saroyan (McGill University), Alastair Summerlee (University of Guelph), Keith Trigwell (University of Sydney), Maryellen Weimer (Penn State University), Carl Weiman (University of British Columbia), and Alan Wright (University of Windsor).