Ken Bain - What Makes For Excellent Teaching

If you missed the chance to listen to Ken Bain speak last spring, get his book. For those who value not only command of the subject but also creating an environment in the teaching of it, that lights a fire in the minds and hearts of learners, It is a great great read.

One thing that he says, that I have noticed about the teaching in our department is this: "Most important, our outstanding teachers generally avoided using grades to persuade students to study. Instead, they invoked the subject, the questions it raises, and the promises it makes to any learner. In doing so, they display their own enthusiasm for the issues contained in the material. "I believe that if you've chosen your field properly," explained a professor of Slavic languages and the literatures, "you've chosen it because it answers what I call the god inside of you- or if you like, the devil inside of you.  If the students see you pursuing that, with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your might, they'll respond". (What The Best College Teachers Do, p. 36)