35 pages • 1 hour read
Ken BainWhat the Best College Teachers Do
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2004A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Fostering a Natural Critical Learning Environment
Ken Bain identifies the creation of a “natural critical learning environment” as the key characteristic of the best teachers. Bain defines such an environment as “natural” because students exercise skills and study for coursework that is “intrinsically interesting” (99). There is no one mode of instruction that gives rise to a natural critical learning environment, but generally, students are encouraged to collaborate in their pursuit of answers to critical questions. Their instructors provide regular feedback, in formal and informal assessments, so students recognize their current learning stage and know how to improve. Importantly, this critical learning environment is a safe one.
Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do foreshadowed more recent calls for “safe spaces” on college and university campuses. A “safe” classroom does not mean students are exempt from grappling with challenging issues—rather, Bain’s safe learning environment is one in which students can struggle with concepts, even fail to grasp them, without fear of judgement. They have opportunities to improve their work under the guidance of an empathetic instructor, who offers constructive criticism and reinforcement. These instructors encourage higher thinking, moving beyond recall. Their students instead apply concepts and analyze information. Overall, Bain’s research found a natural critical learning environment fostered trust that “produces an interactive atmosphere in which students could ask questions without reproach or embarrassment, and in which a variety of views and ways to understand could be freely discussed” (142).
Effective instructors recognize students are capable of excellence and take classes at different stages of learning. They are not destined to fail or succeed. Students can cultivate deep learning but need interest to do so. Offering intriguing questions at the beginning of a course and having students craft their own questions can generate interest. Positioning these inquiries within a natural critical learning environment is what historian Cate Denial terms a “pedagogy of kindness.” Denial, like Bain, realizes mutual trust between educators and students is key to fostering critical learning: “[…] the kindness offered by honesty challenges both myself and my students to grow” (Denial, Cate. “A Pedagogy of Kindness.” Hybrid Pedagogy, 15 Aug. 2019).
Teaching as Scholarship
Bain argues the most effective teachers approach instruction as a research project. This approach is learning-centered, for both educators and students. Teachers should be lifelong learners who seek as much knowledge as possible about their students, assess their own teaching, and revise their teaching. Only then will an educator reach the level of excellence that models deep learning for students. Bain believes faculty should use the analytical skills they honed as experts in their field to analyze their teaching through formal and informal data. This data may include student ratings of teaching effectiveness, but should not be limited to them. Rather, a compilation of evidence provides a comprehensive view of one’s teaching. A teaching portfolio should be constructed as teachers would a scholarly presentation, article, or book. Outside evaluators can also assess teaching portfolios and provide feedback as they would research. For example, evaluators might consider quality of evidence and areas for improvement.
In modern day, faculty at most institutions of higher education are required to compile teaching portfolios for tenure or promotion-related consideration. This practice is especially common at teaching-focused colleges and universities, with most institutions having teaching centers where faculty can exchange pedagogical knowledge and learn from experts. This training is important because most doctoral programs do not specifically prepare graduate students for teaching. Rather, many faculty are self-taught and learn about teaching by doing—and sometimes failing. Instead of identifying learners as a problem when teaching fails, scholars should reflect on failure as they would an experiment: New experimentation and questions are sometimes necessary.
Bain encourages backward design to make courses mirror the research process. Scholarship often begins with a research question, and researchers pursue its answer through experimentation and evidence. Faculty should plan their classes in a similar fashion by asking what they want students to know and what skills they should develop by a course’s conclusion, instead of listing topics to cover. This listing is instructor-centered, while backward design centers learners and facilitates deep learning.
Student-Centered Teaching and Learning
Instructors are investigators who pursue answers to questions about various disciplines, even humanity itself, and constantly strive for greater understanding. Bain suggests this curiosity must extend to students: When faculty approach teaching with the same curiosity as a scholarly presentation or research project, they often learn more about their students in the process. Student-centered teaching and learning necessitate an instructor’s humility, and run counter to the transfer of knowledge through memorization and exams. Students are not empty vessels for facts, but learners at varying levels of capability deserving of mentors who will help them develop higher thinking. They become creators and collaborators through student-centered teaching and learning, as educators assess their progress and meet needs. Instructors avoid demanding language and instead outline a course’s promises and “the kinds of questions the discipline will help students answer, or about the intellectual, emotional, or physical abilities that it will help them develop” (36-37).
Bain argues student-centered teaching and learning rely on positing questions that intrigue and challenge students. This form of pedagogy often involves a project that students complete over the course of a class under their instructor’s guidance, developing higher thinking skills as they progress. In addition to a central project, student work is frequently collaborative: For example, students engage in discussions, debates, and other forms of group learning in which they take the lead, while their teacher offers support. Technological innovations since the publication of Bain’s book offer opportunities to engage students in collaborative deep learning. Students can use applications like Zoom to communicate and collaborate on assignments (through annotation, etc.). They can also partake in activities and receive timely feedback from instructors in and outside of class. Instructors can use applications like Nearpod and PollEverywhere to gauge student understanding efficiently and in real time. Through student-centered teaching and learning, instructors convert their disciplines from nouns into verbs—actions and actionable goals. Knowledge is not a product that students consume, but a student construction.
