Honored but Invisible: An Inside Look at Teaching in Community Colleges

by Grubb,W. Norton

• ISBN13: 9780415921640
• ISBN10: 0415921643
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-03-02
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Based on the most extensive research on community college teaching to date, this book examines the nature of teaching and the institutional forces that shape it in a variety of course settings, ranging from innovative approaches to complex subjects to conventional didactic instruction. Drawing on observations of and interviews with over 300 instructors and administrators, this book documents the idiosyncratic instructional practices of teachers who learn to teach primarily by trial and error. It argues that in order to realize their enormous potential, community colleges must take greater advantage of the many institutional influences on the quality of teaching--such as personnel policies, instructor training, and the culture established by administrators--only then will they be able to successfully carry out their many roles in both mainstream education and in workforce development.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction Who Cares for Teaching in Community Colleges? The Rationale and Methodology of Our Inquiry	1	(24)
Chapter 1 Instructors' Approaches to Pedagogy and the Multiple Conceptions of "Good Teaching"	25	(36)
Chapter 2 The Modal Classroom The Varieties of Lecture/Discussion	61	(36)
Chapter 3 Lecture/Workshop and "Hands-On" Learning The Complexities of Occupational Instruction	97	(43)
W. NORTON GRUBB
BARBARA BYRD
Chapter 4 Literacy Practices in the Classroom The Foundation of Schooling	140	(31)
W. NORTON GRUBB
HELENA WORTHEN
Chapter 5 Remedial/Developmental Education The Best and the Worst	171	(39)
W. NORTON GRUBB
HELENA WORTHEN
Chapter 6 Standards and Content The Special Dilemmas of Community Colleges	210	(35)
W. NORTON GRUBB
HELENA WORTHEN
Chapter 7 Innovative Practices	245	(35)
The Pedagogical
Institutional Challenges
Chapter 8 The Institutional Influences on Teaching The Potential Power of "Teaching Colleges"	280	(41)
W. NORTON GRUBB
ELNORA WEBB
Chapter 9 Funding and Policy The Neglect of Teaching	321	(25)
Chapter 10 Alternative Futures Creating the "Teaching College"	346	(23)
References	369	(14)
Appendix	383	(2)
Index	385