The Advancement of Learning - (Jossey-Bass/Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teach) by Mary Taylor Huber & Pat Hutchings (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A publication of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, this important resource builds on the work of Carnegie's best-selling books, Scholarship Reconsidered and Scholarship Assessed. The Advancement of Learning explores the premise that the scholarship of teaching and learning holds the key to improving the quality of higher education.

The Advancement of Learning answers questions readers are likely to have:

• What are the defining elements of the scholarship of teaching and learning?
• What traditions does it build on?
• What are its distinctive claims and possibilities?
• What are the implications of the scholarship of teaching and learning for academic culture and careers?
• How does it shape the student experience?

In addition, authors Mary Taylor Huber and Pat Hutchings introduce a new concept that expands on the scholarship of teaching and learning--the teaching commons. As the authors explain, the teaching commons is a conceptual space in which communities of educators committed to inquiry and innovation come together to exchange ideas about teaching and learning and use them to meet the challenges of educating students for personal, professional, and civic life.

From the Back Cover

"The scholarship of teaching and learning is not a magic bullet that will shoot through higher education and suddenly solve the many challenges to successful student learning today. But it is a tool, an attitude, and an evolving set of habits that faculty and institutions can use to strengthen the educational enterprise."
--from the Preface

"This clear and elegant volume offers specific suggestions and examples of how the scholarship of teaching and learning can revitalize faculty, enhance student learning, contribute to assessment, and shape campus climate. The Advancement of Learning is rich with the stories and experiences of faculty who have used the scholarship of teaching and learning between experiences to understand and change their own classrooms, and it offers practical suggestions for campuses to create a 'commons' in which such knowledge can be shared for mutual benefit."
--Barbara E. Walvoord, coordinator, Self-Study for North Central Accreditation; fellow, Institute for Educational Initiatives; concurrent professor of English, University of Notre Dame

"I believe that the scholarship of teaching and learning is the most promising development in higher education today, and that this book is the best thing that could happen to it. Rather than engage in cheerleading, the authors calmly describe and characterize what is happening; and they do so with an honesty, empathy, and eye for detail that allows the movement to speak for itself. They introduce us to what real faculty are doing and take the view that all these varied activities belong in the 'commons.' More than just a book, this is an invitation to participate."
--Russ Edgerton, director, Pew Forum on Undergraduate Teaching; president emeritus, AAHE

About the Author

Mary Taylor Huber is a senior scholar at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Pat Hutchings is vice president of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.