Learn how to reach astounding new levels of success as a teacher with The Art of Teaching: Best Practices from a Master Educator. These 24 lectures, delivered by award-winning Professor Patrick N. Allitt, will help you develop and enhance your teaching style; provide you with invaluable methods, tools, and advice for handling all manner of teaching scenarios; and open your eyes to how other teachers-and their students-think about and approach this life-changing profession.
The Art of Teaching: Best Practices from a Master Educator
Reshape the way you think about and approach teaching in this comprehensive course, delivered by award-winning professor and a distinguished teacher.
Rated 2 out of
5
by
BobSh from
Found out what was missing
Something was missing that I could not quite put my finger on. It finally came to me at lecture 19. The course lacked the enthusiasm that was talked about. It moves really slow.
Date published: 2024-07-03
Rated 5 out of
5
by
contraryjim from
EXTRAORDINARY, A LESSON FOR LIFE
Some days ago as I was half way through the video, I wrote a review of what I thought was an outstanding course. Today as I finished it, I realize for teacher and student the content is so valuable it's message should be available to children when entering first grade or earlier. I have purchased a transcript book to make the course available our grand and great grand children and their cousins who are unable to view the video. My deepest gratitude to the Learning Company and all those who contributed to it.
Date published: 2023-05-15
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Mimi4452 from
Very happy with this course
This is a terrific course for anyone wanting to know the best practices for teaching college students and adult learners. I am grateful that the Great Courses made it available, as I find myself, in my sixth career, doing a lot of teaching. Professor Allitt is knowledgeable, self-effacing, forthright, charming, and intermittently hilarious. He and the other four professors clearly put much thought into what a person should know to teach a room full of college students. This series was produced before Covid. Zoom has made teaching 10 times more difficult but these lectures are helpful to me in deciding best practices.
Date published: 2022-12-12
Rated 5 out of
5
by
abcdef from
Good Course!
Don't be deterred by the formidable title. The master teacher is only Patrick whom I had already encountered from his Britain Grand Tour course. Despite my bias (as I am English too) I found it a very good course, more enjoyable than reading a lot of notoriously circumlocutory "waffle" in books or other courses on teaching, besides which there is also quite a bit of interesting information for none-teachers or students in it.
Date published: 2022-07-25
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Clara609 from
Great examples
I watched these videos about 6 years ago and really gained so much insight, which is why I purchased for new teachers.
Date published: 2022-07-13
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Mikebzo from
Great features and presentation
Will by other courses by this same professor if offered
Date published: 2022-01-28
Rated 5 out of
5
by
john1970 from
The instructor knew his subject, would loved to have had him as teacher during high school and further
Date published: 2022-01-19
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Heavy from
Interesting material, a well presented overview..
Currently I am not a instructor or teacher; my experience in this matter is shallow. I took this course to expand my understanding exposing only more ignorance. I desire to teach and this course is interesting also presented such that it stays interesting. The material does touch on the many aspects of teaching but not to great depths but a good overview. Perfect, that's an illusion but better and best come to mind. Thank you. Nice job well done. ..
Date published: 2021-10-06
Overview
About
Patrick N. Allitt is Cahoon Family Professor of American History at Emory University, where he has taught since 1988. He received his PhD in American History from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard Divinity School and Princeton University. He is a widely published author whose books include A Climate of Crisis: America in the Age of Environmentalism; The Conservatives: Ideas and Personalities throughout American History; and Religion in America since 1945: A History.
Trailer
01: Successful Teaching
What makes a good teacher? What makes a great one? In addition to illustrating the important role that teaching-and teachers-play in civilized society, Professor Allitt outlines the structure of the following 23 lectures and introduces you to the other veteran Great Courses professors who'll appear throughout the course....
33 min
02: The Broad Range of Learners
There has always been a strong relationship between teaching and learning. Here, discover how lifelong learning habits are cultivated by listening to students share their own insights, and hear teachers stress why it's important to always keep learning....
28 min
03: Starting Out Right
The first day of class. It's the most daunting moment in the career of both new and seasoned professors. In this lecture, learn how to make the most of your first class meeting by actively getting to know your students' names, demonstrating why your subject is so important and fascinating, establishing your expectations, and more....
29 min
04: The Teacher's Persona
Discover ways to develop and enhance your teaching persona-the in-classroom personality that establishes respect among your students. These include establishing guidelines and boundaries; using dress, regionalism, age, and other personal characteristics to your advantage; and avoiding the pitfalls of treating students as peers....
28 min
05: Planning the Work
What do you want your students to learn? How do you intend to teach your subject? How would you solve potential learning problems? The answers to these questions lie in this lecture on the art of planning, which can help cut down on your degree of uncertainty and strengthen your teaching confidence....
30 min
06: The Teacher-Student Relationship
Listen to what teachers and students themselves have to say about the importance of maintaining responsible and productive teacher-student relationships. Professor Allitt also offers tips on the best ways to create and maintain a strong practical and professional working relationship with your students....
32 min
07: Dynamic Lecturing
Throughout the history of education, lecturing has been one of the basic ways teachers pass information on to their students. So what makes a lecture good? How can you work toward becoming a more effective lecturer? What kinds of mistakes do lecturers commonly make-and how can you avoid them? Find the answers here....
32 min
08: Teaching with PowerPoint
The 21st-century classroom is filled with all manner of technological teaching aids, yet it's easy for these technologies to be misused and overused. With PowerPoint as your example, focus on tips for using technology to complement, not control, your teaching style....
32 min
09: Demonstrations, Old and New
From PowerPoint, move on to other technologies that can both enhance and detract from your lectures. This lecture reveals the pros and cons of using older "technologies"-like blackboards, whiteboards, and in-class demonstrations-and more recent technologies such as clickers, e-mail, and podcasts....
30 min
10: Teaching the Critical Skills
Teachers must resist the assumption that their students know how to read critically. Here, Professor Allitt stresses the importance of having your students read aloud as a way to develop and enhance their knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, tone, and other components essential to analytical reading....
33 min
11: Engaging with Discussion, Part 1
Equally as important as critical reading skills are critical speaking skills. In the first of two lectures on this subject, discover how to make the most of your seminars with helpful ways to coax participation in your classroom, including calling on quiet students and encouraging your students to ask plenty of questions....
32 min
12: Engaging with Discussion, Part 2
Watch class discussions in action and learn how small groups can strengthen your students' abilities to communicate intellectually; how the special type of seminar known as the case method can prepare your students for the professional world; and the vital role of humor in turning your seminar into a productive environment....
31 min
13: Cogent Thinking and Effective Writing
A great weakness in American education and, consequently, in business is students' writing. Improve the way your students write with Professor Allitt's suggestions for assignments and exercises, including assigning papers with sentences of 10 words or fewer (to stress the merits of precision), 100- and 500-word summaries (to test students' ability to isolate issues in a text), and more exercises....
32 min
14: Teaching Revision and Editing
Continue your exploration of how to encourage and strengthen student writing with pointed advice on editing drafts (such as looking out for verb-tense inconsistency), rewriting papers (such as reading drafts aloud), and practicing more writing (such as having students keep a journal)....
35 min
15: Coaching Students on Presentation Skills
Presentations, delivered by either one student or a group of students, are a part of nearly every teacher's classroom. So what makes a presentation so bad? More important, what can you do as a teacher to improve the quality of your students' presentations? Discover the answers to these questions here....
31 min
16: One-on-One Teaching
Research shows that one-on-one contact between teachers and their students has benefits for both parties. Here, watch two instances of Professor Allitt interacting with individual students and witness just how effective and valuable this kind of teaching experience really is....
29 min
17: The Learner's Perspective
Learn from students themselves their perspectives and opinions on the art and craft of teaching. What do they want from a teacher? What responsibilities do they take for their successes and failures in the classroom? How do they think teaching could be improved?...
30 min
18: Exams, Evaluation, and Feedback
In this lecture, Professor Allitt reveals several approaches you can take to creating, administering, and grading exams-whether multiple-choice, short answer, or even oral tests. Plus, investigate ways to deal with cheating and plagiarism and how to approach-and learn from-your students' evaluations of your class....
33 min
19: Maintaining Your Enthusiasm
When you've taught for quite a while, it can be easy to lose enthusiasm for your profession and your subject. But research shows that students respond favorably to enthusiastic teachers. Here, learn how to reinvigorate your teaching by tapping into new research in your field and experimenting with team teaching....
29 min
20: Managing the Challenges of Teaching
Teaching is not easy-especially for beginners. This lecture exposes strategies for maintaining your confidence in common challenging teaching situations, such as when you have a large course load or when you have to teach outside of your area of expertise....
31 min
21: Creativity and Innovation
Just as important as maintaining enthusiasm for your job is instilling in your classes a sense of the unexpected. Look at some valuable techniques for keeping your teaching style interesting and innovative, and discover why these techniques can be more effective when they take advantage of your location or the special circumstances of the moment....
32 min
22: Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths
Education is for everybody. A good teacher makes all the difference. You should always uphold your students' self-esteem. The best teachers work at the most prestigious colleges and universities. Professor Allitt dispels these and other common-and sometimes controversial-illusions about teaching and American education....
27 min
23: The Anatomy of a Great Teacher
Listen to professors describe their lives and learn the answer to one of the most important questions in this course: What makes a good teacher great? Some common characteristics of great teachers that you explore include thinking of teaching as a calling, not a job; being able to be self-critical; and constantly striving to improve....
30 min
24: Teaching and Civilization
Conclude the course by taking a giant leap back and viewing the art, craft, and importance of teaching from a historical perspective. Why is education so important to advancing civilization? Who are some of history's greatest teachers? And what is the moral and political significance of this honorable and ancient profession?...
30 min
