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Best books on pedagogy?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, Charles Perkins writes:

I have been wondering, what are some of the best books to read about philosophy pedagogy? Or, if not explicitly *about* philosophy pedagogy, what are the most helpful books wrt developing one's philosophy pedagogy?

Sam Duncan followed up, writing:

It’s not specifically about philosophy but Ken Bain’s “What the Best College Teachers Do” is very well regarded and I personally found it helpful on number of levels. It’s short too so it’s an excellent place to start. I also found Kathy N. Davidson’s “The New Education” helpful in thinking about pedagogy.

Anyone else have any recommendations?

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4 responses to “Best books on pedagogy?”

  1. Melissa Jacquart

    Jessey Wright and I have a paper in the journal Teaching Philosophy, which includes a syllabus with an extensive list of readings philosophers might be interested in when thinking about philosophy pedagogy: https://www.pdcnet.org/pdc/bvdb.nsf/purchase?openform&fp=teachphil&id=teachphil_2017_0040_0002_0123_0160.
    The American Assocation for Philosophy Teachers also has the Lenssen Prize for the best paper regarding the teaching of philosophy (all these papers are great too): https://philosophyteachers.org/aapt-awards/
    In terms of books, I’ve liked Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher
    by Stephen D. Brookfield (Brookfield also has two great books on promoting discussion in classrooms), Making the Most of College: Students Speak Their Minds by Richard Light, and the classic in the scholarship of teaching and learning How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching by Susan A. Ambrose, Michael W. Bridges.

    Reply
  2. Trevor Hedberg

    I’d recommend two of James Lang’s books: Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning and Cheating Lessons: Learning from Academic Dishonesty

    Reply
  3. James Lee

    Brown et al’s “Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning” is also a well regarded book.

    Reply
  4. Jake Wright

    There are several places I would start.
    Not a book recommendation, but Teaching Philosophy, as a journal, has a number of interesting articles on precise pedagogical questions (e.g., the permissibility of extra credit or technology restrictions) that are worth examining, as well as helpful “How to teach x” articles that can get you started thinking about how to teach specific courses. There are also any number of more generalist teaching/pedagogy journals that are worth thinking about, as well. Most of my research is into philosophical pedagogy, and I, for example, am just as likely to publish in a philosophy teaching and learning journal (e.g., Teaching Philosophy) as I am in a generalist journal (e.g., Teaching in Higher Education).
    West Virginia Press has an ongoing series of really tremendous pedagogical books that I would highly recommend; How Humans Learn and Geeky Pedagogy are at the top of my to-read list.
    Finally, it’s an older book, but A Professor’s Duties by Peter Markie is a wonderfully thoughtful book by perhaps the best philosophy teacher I’ve ever had the chance to work with.

    Reply

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