Book Description
Because participants in our workshop series, Instruction for All Students, often ask, "Why didn't we learn this in college?" that question provided the inspiration for the title of this new book for teachers new to the classroom. This title is in no way meant to condemn those who direct our collegiate experiences. The realities are that we may well have studied these topics and earned a good grade on a test over the theoretical aspects of this information but had no classroom teaching experiences on which to hook the information, that we took an alternative approach to entering the profession, that our focus was elsewhere at the time or perhaps, in fact, it was not taught. Whatever the case may be, teachers new to the classroom clearly need support and a repertoire of effective teaching strategies during their first years of classroom work.
Why Didn't I Learn This in College? is based on the constructs that:
+ the best management program is a good instructional program,
+ if the end we have in mind is student learning, we do not want to concentrate on control and compliance but rather on building learning centered environments, and
+ we need efficient and effective organizational systems for ourselves, our students, and our classroom.
Customer Reviews:
Very Basic .......2007-05-15
This book did not meet my expectations. The information is extremely basic and is a review of college education courses. Although this book would be helpful, it could very easily be replaced with college texts.
Hidden Gem!.......2006-01-13
I happened to find this book while browsing the teaching section. It has truly been a great resource that every (new) teacher should have. Unlike most of our teacher ed. programs, this book gives practical information about how to run a classroom. You won't regret buying this book, it is a wonderful resource!
A great resource for any teacher!.......2004-09-30
My school district gave every new teacher a copy of this book. The new teacher that I am mentoring shared it with me. After reading through it I was excited to find a book that focuses on instruction instead of some silver-bullet discipline plan. The instructional strategies are written clearly and consisely. Both of us bring our copies of Why Didn't I Learn This in College? and use them as we plan our units and lessons every Monday for the following week. I highly recommend this book to any teacher.
An ESSENTIAL for All Educators!.......2002-09-15
Practical, positive, and pure Paula! WHY DIDN'T I LEARN THIS IS COLLEGE? is an ESSENTIAL professional resource for educators at all levels of experience! Paula Rutherford applies her 30 years of teaching and educational leadership to create this book of research-based teaching tips and user-friendly tools that will help increase student achievement in our classrooms. She offers a logical framework for creating learning-centered environments, planning "with the 'end' in mind", and organizing learners and professional tasks for positive results for students, parents, and teachers.
As a veteran teacher and coach for novice teachers, I use this resource as my NUMBER ONE traveling companion and "virtual" collaborator. Paula's pro-active and positive voice resonates through its pages as my teachers and I use this information to bring all students quality instructional programs and opportunities for maximum learning. Thank you, Paula, for being my constant "ride-along" learning buddy!
THE Best new teacher book ever!.......2002-08-28
As a long time mentor for new teachers, I have read many books for teachers new to the classroom. There are a lot of books out there that focus on everything but teaching. This book is all about helping teachers with great teaching strategies that they can use throughout their entire career. New teachers can try a new strategy every day. I am now buying this book for all of my new teachers!
Book Description
Includes:
*A rich online study plan that guides students through all of the integrated assets of the comprehensive program, including the book, online, and software
*Guidance throughout the program, directing students to additional resources within the program if they need it
*A diagnostic experience to help students concentrate on the areas in which they need the most help
*A progress report, so students can keep track of and analyze their performance as they make their way through the program
*Email communication at key points during the program, providing extra tips and guidance, as well as motivation to keep improving
*Monthly online additions to ensure that the student has the latest content and information about the exam
*Remedial content to ensure students are up-to-speed on the basic concepts before attacking higher-level content
*Downloadable strategy and reference guides for easy prep on the go
*Realistic practice experiences
*Online question banks
*5 full-length practice tests with detailed answer explanations
Customer Reviews:
Great Prep Book.......2007-07-11
As a professor, I have used Kaplan materials for over 7 years to teach a prep course for my university. I find the Kaplan materials to be at a realistic testing level and have found that student's scores on the actual exam correlate very well with post course testing exams in the classroom. Many books are too easy and students develop unrealistic expectations. The verbal prep and math prep together with this edition provide an excellent study course.
Nothing really special..........2007-05-31
These GRE study guides are all overrated... I first purchased an Arco study guide for the GRE and it helped me brush up on my rusty math skills and didn't really do anything else. So I then purchased Kaplan in hopes of finding better practice tests and a little more help on the verbal section. Kaplan didn't do much for this either, although the book does provide a list some "hit" words (not very many though). Also, the math that Kaplan has on its practice tests are significantly harder (and scored in a much tougher fashion) than the actual ETS GRE exam and I found this needlessly discouraging and frustrating.
The best advice I would give to future GRE test-takers would be to use the actual ETS practice tests and practice questions that are on the CD-ROM that ETS provides. I also memorized every word in the Princeton Review's "Word Smart for the GRE" and that was a TREMENDOUS help. I ended up scoring: V 670, Q 590
Good luck!
excellent book to help you prepare.......2007-05-22
I bought this book and started using it about 6 weeks before my GRE test, which was today. I hadn't taken a standardized test in the past 10 years, but I managed to pull off an above average score in both the Verbal and Quantitative sections. I would say the only negative thing about the book and included software, is the the way the software practice problems are presented. It would be great to see software that would emulate the actual screens of the GRE and behavior of a computer-adaptive test more closely as well as provide scores for all the practice problems, not just the full tests. I think Kaplan pushes you do perform better by setting the bar on their tests much higher than the actual GRE. If you combine this with the free POWERPREP software from the ETS website, I truly believe that you will be more than adequately prepared for the GRE. Good luck!
Somewhat good review but their proofreaders need to be fired.......2007-05-19
I found the reviews helpful although I found that powerprep software actually helped me out more. But one thing is the amount of mistakes their book and software has! Come on now....students are relying on Kaplan's to help them with the GRE and their proofreaders can't even help with that.
Two Examples:
1. In the software, I chose the right answer and it marked it wrong. Even in its explanation it stated "The answer is 25,000 which makes the answer (D)". But actually 25,000 was answer (C) which is what I picked.
2. In the explanations for a couple of math problem...they explained completely different problems with different numbers!
Talk about annoying. I'm buying a Barron's right now....
GRE Book.......2007-05-16
This book was really helpful to get me in shape for the GRE. It was a great introduction to the test, and I felt 100% more prepared than I would have been if I had not had this book. I would recommend it because of all the great resources you get with it.
Book Description
Students planning to take the Graduate Record Exam will find six full-length model tests with answers and explanations in this up-to-date manual. They will also find intensive test topic reviews covering antonym questions, analogy questions, sentence completion, reading comprehension, vocabulary, analytical writing, quantitative comparison, data interpretation, and math. A 3,500-word master vocabulary list with definitions is supplemented with a GRE high-frequency word list. The CD-ROM enclosed with the book offers a computer-adaptive model GRE test that is similar in structure to the actual GRE test. All questions on the CD-ROM are answered and explained, and exam results are scored automatically.
Customer Reviews:
Helpful Resource .......2007-10-09
I purchased this book in April in preparation for an early August GRE. The Barron's book was my main source of preparation. I created a study schedule up to the date of the test, based on the material in this book. I did EVERY practice exercise. The book is very thorough. I found all sections to be helpful. My personal weakness was/is Math so I did get the Ultimate Math Refresher the last 2 1/2 weeks before the test. I highly recommend that also. I also purchased the GRE Official Guide so I could get some extra Math practice in. I worked with the GRE Powerprep as well. Still, Barron's was my primary source. The Barron's writing section was very helpful in my opinion, but writing is probably one of my better suits. If it's not yours, you may want to try a supplement to the Barron's book. I DID study all 50 of the vocab. lists in the Barron's book. I'd say that's pretty important. So, how did I do on the exam? I scored 670 in Math, 700 in Verbal, and 5.5 on the writing. Good luck to you!
Pretty comprehensive review.......2007-10-04
I couldn't decide between this book and the Princeton Review book (Cracking the GRE, 2007 Edition (Graduate Test Prep)), so I ended up buying & using both. Clearly, Barron's has an extensive vocabulary list. I must admit that, in the end, I wasn't able to study all the words (there's so many!), but there's a high-frequency word list that helps you prioritize which words you should be sure to learn. In comparison to the PR book, Barron's had a lot more exercises; there's a group of exercises at the end of each section. That gave me a lot of practice in applying concepts that I had just reviewed. Also, the book has 5 model tests, which means you have a lot of chances to practice. However, since these are paper-based tests, they're different from the CAT test that you'll actually be taking, and they don't really reflect what your actual scores will be. The CD that comes with this edition of the book simply didn't compare to the online supplement to the PR book. Of interest on the CD are a diagnostic test and a CAT practice test. However, the practice test on the CD recycles all the questions you see in the 5 tests in the book. I took all the tests in the book before I took the one on the CD, and let's just say my score was a little higher than expected because I had remembered the answers to a lot of the questions. I think Barron's gave a pretty good review of the material that shows up on the GRE, but I'd recommend the PR book if you want to get a better idea of how you'll actually do on the GRE.
Excellent GRE prep.. with a couple of caveats.......2007-09-28
I tend to over-research everything, so before embarking on my GRE prep I spent the better part of a day in my neighborhood B&N looking at the plethora (that's a GRE word right there) of prep books available for purchase. My eventual conclusion was that Barron's approach appears to differ substantially from all the other guides, in that it does not place much emphasis on "hacking" the GRE. Instead, it gives you well-thought out guidance and practice opportunities, all with the bare minimum of fluff (I am looking at you, Kaplan). In any case, I gradually became convinced that Barron's would be best suited for my studying style and goals, and it was therefore the only guide that I've used in the course of my GRE prep, along with some freely available ETS materials that I'll touch on in a bit.
So, a month later, with the test finally behind me and having scored in the high 700s on both sections, I still feel that Barron's is a quality product. Firstly, the word lists are excellent; there were at least 3 words on the actual test that I wouldn't have known if it wasn't for Barron's "Essential" list. The ginormous 3500 word list is also quite useful, although I found the word selection to be a little arbitrary -- there are some weirdly specialized terms (tessellated?), and a couple of words felt antiquated (benison? really now). I did like how Barron's went the extra mile with the example sentences -- some were unexpectedly clever and good for a chuckle. Having said that, Barron's also appears to place too much importance on distinguishing fine shades of meaning -- some of the analogies are almost guaranteed to give you a headache, and I thought that the Powerprep and the real GRE were considerably less anal-retentive on that front. Also, the Analytical Writing section is quite short; it won't help you much if your writing skills aren't already reasonably up to par. On the plus side, it has some valuable tips about adapting your writing to the GRE format; the information about structuring your essay was well thought out and matched up with the guidelines on the ETS website. So kudos on the verbal -- the actual test held no surprises on that front, with the level of question difficulty about equal to that of Barron's.
Now on to the math, which is a bit of a mixed bag. On the positive side, the math review is excellent, takes a while to get through, and has some pretty good exercises that get the brain cells firing. In fact, there were a couple of questions on the actual exam that contained "traps" that I was able to recognize quickly due to having seen them in Barron's earlier. However, the test experience on the Q section was very different from Barron's; the time constraints were intense, after the first few questions the level of difficulty increased substantially past anything I've seen in the book, and didn't let up until the very end. I think this may also be why reviewers tend to disagree about whether or not the actual test is more difficult than the material contained in the book. This is probably due to the way the CAT works; it'll give you questions tailored to your level of knowledge. Thus, it's possible that some reviewers had questions that were easier than the book, and some whose questions were more difficult. Having said that, my GRE score were higher on the actual exam than on any of the practice tests from Barron's..
Impressively, the book appears to be almost completely error free. My copy had some typesetting issues with a couple of Quantitative Comparison questions on the sample tests (one or both of the values were missing), but that wasn't overly bothersome. Unfortunately, the Barron's CD is essentially worthless -- it repeats questions from the paper exams, and the actual test experience has a much different feel. Make sure to download the PowerPrep software from the ETS website, but be careful -- if you are taking a PowerPrep practice test at night and your computer's clock rolls over to 12:00am, the software will inform you that you have just ran out of time and kick you out of your current section.
Anyway, that's my take -- hope someone finds this useful..
Barrons is what you need.......2007-09-25
First off let me say I am not good in math and I had not heard ALOT of these words prior to ordering this book. After taking the exam Barrons certainly helped alot because all the words I ever encountered on any practice test were in this book. I used this book, GRE Bible, Powerpre, and the Ultimate Math Refresher. This book teaches you the mechanics of the GRE and offers an abundance of words. I went through the most frequent word list, made flash cards of those words, and made flash cards of any word I encountered on any other practice exam. Instead of reading barrons all night long I just took practice test after practice test which allowed me to get in the flow of taking the exam. The reading comprehension was a bit dense at first but after reading several passages I get use to it. The key is to take multiple tests. GRE bible has 15 tests. Keep taking tests and using this book.
BEWARE. POWERPREP is the only software that gives scores close to the actual GRE exam. GRE Bible is WAYYYYY harder than the actual exam.
Too much great info!.......2007-09-03
I bought this book after reading all the reviews on Amazon. And yes, the 3000 word list is a bit daunting, but I focused my attention on the ones that they hi-lighted as being the high-frequency words to appear on the GRE. That helped ease the anxiety of having to learn 3000 vocab words. I loved that Barron's provided example sentences following their definitions b/c it helped jog my memory as I was studying. Compared to Kaplan, I also loved Barron's approach to the analytical writing portion...it's very straightforward and helpful in the way they instruct you to formulate your essays. I scored pretty high marks on that portion and I primarily used the tips provided by Barron's. As for the math portion, well, I'm entering a social science field, so I just glazed over that part. Overall, I would recommend coupling this purchase with the Princeton GRE prep b/c both offer unique techniques to tackling the GRE.
Book Description
From the creators of the #1 GMAT course... Kaplan's
GMAT Premier Program: 2007 Edition comes complete with a comprehensive review of all the material on the exam, and Kaplan's proven test-taking strategies to help maximize your score. This powerful combination is a highly effective way for you to score higher on the GMAT and make yourself competitive for business school admissions. Plus, we provide additional online features to help you practice with even more GMAT questions. You will score higher. We guarantee it.*
Features:
#1 best-selling GMAT book according to Nielsen BookScan USFREE online features to help you improve your score even more!The latest GMAT information and new practice questions online every month.6 full-length practice GMAT tests—1 in the book, 1 online, 4 on the CD-ROM.Quizzes for Problem-Solving, Critical Reasoning, Data Sufficiency, Reading Comprehension, Sentence Correction, and a new, expanded GMAT Math Reference section.Effective test-taking strategies to help you maximize your score on every section of the test.Mobile prep for your PDA or cell phone.Strategic approaches for every question type, including math, verbal, analytical and writing sections, and tips for mental conditioning.Expert advice on succeeding on the Analytical Writing Assessment and approaching the computerized essay grader.
System Requirements
Windows OnlyWindows 98, 98SE, NT 4.0, 2000, ME, XPPentium 266MHz or higher15MB hard drive space16MB RAM640 × 480 thousands of colors (millions recommended)4x CD-ROM speed or higherSoundcard Note: Internet Connection is required for the web features of the Program.
Customer Reviews:
Good appendices, general overview.......2007-08-26
Got this book a while back and finally got around to working through it as I studied for the GMAT. I found the text easy to read, quick to move through the practice problems and explanations. The book gives a very good overview of the GMAT format, question types and general strategies for answering each type of question. The AWA writing/essay section is fantastic - read the strategies, example essays and tips on how the computer grades your essays, all you need to get a 6.0/6.0 on the writing. The appendix for math (Quantitative) is worth the price of the entire book. Great quick reference while practicing and in the final week before taking the test, to help remind you of the formulas you'll need to memorize for the actual GMAT. BE VERY WARY, though, that even if you answer almost all of the practice questions correctly, you will not get anywhere near an 800 score on the GMAT. The practice tests simply are not hard enough, bottom line. I thought I would breeze through the Quant section seeing as how I answered 96% of the questions correctly on the practice Quant exam. However, I got to the real exam and the most difficult 10-20% of the practice test was the easiest 10-20% of the real test. So I scored 630 overall (78th percentile), mostly due to a low Quant score. So I was pretty disappointed. I bought the Kaplan GMAT 800 (see my separate review there) and it really gives you great practice questions, explanations and the toughest questions. I took the GMAT again 6 weeks later, after having used the other book as my sole study guide and only for a week or so, and scored 750 (98th percentile)!!! I'd still recommend this book or one of the similar guides (everyone seems to like the Official Guide to the GMAT published by the test writers themselves) to get you started, but don't stop there if you're serious about a 700+ score. The only other comment I'll make, is that I used the online companion to take a practice quiz and that was ok - never did the full online practice exam. Didn't use the CD because it won't work on a Mac, and gave me some error on my Windows laptop about not having the right video player so I gave up on the CD. I found the GMAT 800 book far more valuable than either the CD or online companion.
good book.......2007-08-13
Tips given in all sections are very useful. Match appendix is very useful. Got 780 in real exam today. Big draw back is that its tests are not even close to real GMAT. scoring is not similar.
Only Ideal for Anxiety Attacks..........2007-08-13
I purchased this last year with the assumption that the Kaplan name means quality test preparation...boy, I was wrong! For one thing, the sample question sections are terribly skimpy that you can fly through them in no time. The only "content" worth looking at are the math review concepts. Nothing else is useful. As for the CD, not terribly user-friendly but comes with a passable amount of sample sections. Of course, that brings us to the best part of this 'product'...that it serves to crack all your self-confidence. The questions are unrealistic and the concepts behind many of them in no way related to anything on the GMAT. Actually kept me from signing up for the GMAT because of my poor scores. Do yourself a favor and get the official GMAT guide - tons of sample questions that are a realistic idea of the GMAT and won't kill your confidence...I really regret buying this book...
You get what you need.......2007-07-22
This review is being useful and make study a lot easier. Let's see how will be my grades.
Don't waste your money.......2007-06-13
This book is by far the worst I've ever seen in terms of editing. The book is filled with paragraph duplications and missing information. With errors like these, how can they expect you to trust their advice on how to achieve a good score?!
The sample questions are confusing, and the answer explainations left me scratching my head even more. They're vague at best, and sometimes down-right WRONG!
This book is a real confidence buster. It really freaked me out to see how poorly I did on the sample tests. I know I'm not half the idiot they made me out to be!
What a waste of time and money! I don't recommend this book to anyone. The Princeton Review book and the Official GMAT study book are by far superior to this one.
Book Description
Cracking the GMAT now offers MAJOR new features on DVD, including engaging video tutorials from The Princeton Review’s top instructors. We also bring you over 200 practice questions in the book and exclusive free access to 4 practice exams and expert advice online.
Of course, you’ll also get all the test-prep techniques you expect from The Princeton Review. In Cracking the GMAT, we’ll teach you how to think like the test writers and
·Solve complex sentence correction problems by recognizing key errors
·Crack tough data sufficiency questions using simple techniques
·Practice online with full-length tests, lessons, and drills
·Get the most out of your prep time with the study plan that’s right for you
We give you plenty of practice problems to help you master our proven techniques. Our practice questions are just like those you’ll see on the real GMAT—but with detailed answers and explanations for every question.
Customer Reviews:
Good Effort on Cracking the GMAT by Princeton Review.......2007-08-03
This book helped me a lot in my preparation for the GMAT. It gives really good examples of using things like process of elimination, pacing during the test, and GMAT tendencies to help improve your score. This book covers each section of the GMAT in great detail and has a good number of practice questions of varying difficulty. The online practice tests are useful but the scoring seems to be a little off (I scored 30 to 50 points higher on the Offical GMAT practice tests and on the actual test). I would buy this book as the "how to take the GMAT" guide and the Official Guide for GMAT Review for actual tests questions from past versions of the GMAT. As mentioned in another review the DVD is pretty worthless. If you want to watch it I would suggest watching it first just to get an overview of the test and then delve into the book. Here are some of my tips for the GMAT: 1) Find out if the school of your choice uses the scores for the writing assessment. The one I hope to attend does not which allowed me more time to prepare for the other sections and cut my test time by an hour. 2) Finish the test... from the practice tests I learned that not finishing will cost you big time. Even if you have to guess on some questions you will come out better by finishing the test compared to getting a few more problems right but not finishing. 3) Take your practice test at a location away from home (library, coffee shop, etc.)... this will get you prepared for taking the test in a different environment. 4) Time yourself on practice questions to get a feel for how long you can spend on a problem. Cracking the GMAT has a good section on pacing which will give you a game plan going into the test. Good Luck!
THE RIGHT STEP TO START .......2007-07-04
This book guide you from point A to point B, but not for all. It is the right step to prepare yourself. There are so many of the same, but be careful to pick the one best for you.
I passed using this.......2007-06-23
I had only a few months to study and not every day and I only used this book (and the free practice test that the Gmac mails out) and I got a 500 on the test. It was harder than the SAT but the advice on the video w/ the book and the practice tests ( I recommend that one focus on the tests above all) and you can do well. I did not study as much as I could have
Better than nothing.......2007-06-08
I found the questions to be a bit rudimentary. The classes might help. but you're probably better off with Kaplan, etc. classes and mentoring.
Test Prep material is good. Tests are below average.......2007-06-05
This book is good to refresh your concepts and to browse over quickly what you probably forgot since high school, but thats about it. The tests are totally way off the actual GMAT.
Especially the Math section on the online tests is too simple, and the actual GMAT questions are a few notches higher.
All in all, not worth buying. You could probably get one from a library to use. I'd recommend Kaplan to this one.
Book Description
There's no better way to learn a test's structure than from the inside—and the 1.2 million students taking the ACT need look no further than this official guide! Packed with tips, strategies, and plenty of subject review, it's the only real guide to the ACT
Customer Reviews:
This is the only source for real test questions.......2007-08-15
This book is the only source for real test questions. There are several knock offs but this is the one and only real deal. College Prep Coach, the premier test company in the country, uses this guide exclusively in its course. If you are serious about ACT test prep this book is a must have item.
If you buy one review guide this should be it........2007-06-25
Prepared by the organization that writes the ACT. As a teacher who helps prep students for the college admissions tests, I know what most students are willing to do. Hours of study and review over a long period of time may be the ideal, but it is an unrealistic ask of most teenagers. Their most efficient use of time is to take practice tests and then look over the problems missed. This book has real questions direct from the source combined with good explanations of all answers. The overall review sections are short and to the point. Students may take practice tests one section at a time to avoid burnout (but must understand why they missed each question). A few hours spent preparing with this method will raise scores, probability of admission to certain schools and the amount of scholarship money a student is likely to earn.
The Best ACT Practice Book...Practice, not Instruction.......2007-05-13
The ACT is quickly becoming an equal competitor to the SAT college entrance exam. Accordingly, the test prep industry is growing up around this relative newcomer-turned-regular on the admissions scene.
This book, published by the ACT organization--the makers of the test--is a fantastic resource for any student or teacher working on test preparation. But, in all honesty it is only worth the [...](a pretty reasonable price) because of the three real practice tests included inside. The rest of the book...the introduction, the strategies, and even the question answer explanations...have been done better by other organizations. It's no slight to the ACT company, but they simply did not choose to share the best strategies to beat their own test.
Still, this book contains the only published real ACTs, and all other companies cannot match their faithfulness to the test (some companies unfortunately are very, very far off). Similarity and accuracy are essential for practicing, because the format, style, and difficulty level of practice problems can vary immensely. Since the best way to practice for the test is to work out real problems, this book is a must-have resource for any student or instructor.
Hopefully the ACT will publish some more tests soon. In the meantime, you can also try and get a hold of their free "Preparing for the ACT" guide which comes out every fall. Each one contains a full practice test, so try and get your hands on them. Good luck practicing!
[...]
okay if you don't already know this stuff this book won't teach it to you.......2007-05-07
this book is good if you have an idea as to what it is you are doing ie...remeber this stuff from hs some topics i remembered vaguely and this book doesn't spoon feed you anything you should already know it just basically let you know what to expect...gives you an idea thank god i got it from amazon b/c i wouldn't haven't bought it from barnes and nobles at the price they are selling it for !!!
Reviewing for the ACT with Students.......2007-04-11
I am a high school math teacher and I purchased multiple copies of this book to use as a review for my students in after school review sessions for the ACT. I believe that all of the students who worked with me in these sessions will perform significantly better on the ACT than they otherwise might have.
Book Description
Why do some students in the United States make the most of college, while others struggle and look back on years of missed opportunities? What choices can students make, and what can teachers and university leaders do to improve more students' experiences and help them make the most of their time and monetary investment? And how is greater diversity on campus--cultural, racial, and religious--affecting education? How can students and faculty benefit from differences and learn from the inevitable moments of misunderstanding and awkwardness?
Two Harvard University Presidents invited Richard Light and his colleagues to explore these questions, resulting in ten years of interviews with 1,600 Harvard students. Making the Most of College offers concrete advice on choosing classes, talking productively with advisors, improving writing and study skills, maximizing the value of research assignments, and connecting learning inside the classroom with the rest of life.
The stories that students shared with Light and his colleagues about their experiences of inspiration, frustration, and discovery fill the book with spirit. Some of the anecdotes are funny, some are moving, and some are surprising. Many are wise--especially about the ways of getting the best, in classroom and dormitory, from the new racial and ethnic diversity.
Filled with practical advice, illuminated with stories of real students' self-doubts, failures, discoveries, and hopes, Making the Most of College presents strategies for academic success.
Customer Reviews:
So you've been admitted to a top school; now what?.......2007-06-13
If you are interested in this book, check out the hard-cover edition which is available both new and used for substantially less than the paperback.
I was introduced to this book by a friend who is heavily involved in undergraduate advising. I had not heard of Prof. Light or of this work previously, and I wonder whether it is less widely known than it deserves to be.
The title and cover of the book are a bit misleading. It could easily be mistaken for a self-help book and/or a book that covers a wide spectrum of college environments. For this, I fault the publisher rather than the author. Readers who come to it expecting one of the above will indeed find it lacking. It assumes students are motivated and goes from there. If you're looking for a book to provide motivation, this is not it.
The book in fact presents the results of ten years' research, primarily around Harvard undergraduates. To understand the context fully, one should read the first item of back matter, "The Assessment", first. There has been some attempt to generalize by involving faculty from 25 other institutions (which are neither named nor characterized), but the real focus is on Harvard.
There are good reasons for this. Harvard is a very selective place, and its administration has both the wherewithal and the motivation to make every student's experience as rich as possible in the full knowledge that for every student who disengages, there were ten other equally qualified applicants for whom there was not room. Thus, Harvard funded the study, the results are particularly applicable to it, and its own press published it. It is unrealistic to carp that the book wasn't about something else.
So who should be reading this book? Sadly enough, it should most be read by those Harvard faculty members who are not particularly interested in developing undergraduates to see what they're missing. Perhaps Harvard's recently-launched initiative in excellence in teaching will help; the question of advising remains murkier. Academic staff anywhere who aspire to do a better job in helping their students launch their adult lives are bound to find useful perspectives and practical nuggets. I think the book will be mostly lost on undergraduates; I wouldn't have understood it then, much as it might have been useful. Parents of high-potential college students might find it helpful in understanding what their children are going through, but to use it as a guide to advising their parentally-resistant (or, worse, parentally-dominated) offspring may be unproductive. Using it in a peer-advising context is a waste of time, as you can see from other reviews. I suspect there are good nuggets here for secondary school educators as well.
This book makes an interesting contrast with the more recent book, "Excellence Without a Soul" by Harry Lewis, who was the Dean of Harvard College during the time Light was finishing this book. Lewis's book reflects personal opinions on the same issues (and more); its underpinnings are based on his own experiences rather than the extensive interviewing process Light uses. Taking the two together provides even better insights than either separately.
Goodness: Among his many detailed points, Light talks (sometimes through the students) of the importance - and difficulty - of clear exposition in reporting on scientific research and of the value of evidence-based discourse, and this book provides an exemplar of both. The book is not heavy on theory with consequent bulky endnotes, and the bibliography is of reasonable size.
Quibbles: Light intermixes Harvard-specific terminology (e.g., proctor) with more generic equivalents (e.g., dorm supervisor) without making the connection for the reader. He presents most of his dilemmas from the viewpoint of a student in the social sciences, which are somewhat different from those encountered by students in the humanities or - especially - the natural sciences. There is so little indentation in the extended quotes from the students that it is sometimes hard to tell whose voice is speaking. The inner margins in both the hardcover and the paperback are so tight that it's hard to read without breaking the spine. And the editing could have been a bit tighter.
The above could easily reduce my rating by a star, but on balance I think the importance of the work and the clarity (if occasionally redundant) of the exposition overcome these. Perhaps I should say five stars if your desired frame of reference is a selective, research university, and four stars otherwise.
Better the second time around.......2006-06-02
The first time I read this book (in 2002) I wasn't at all impressed. As a student affairs professional, I kept thinking that Light (as is the case with most academics) basically ignored the role of student affairs as a significant source of student support and education. I also thought he was writing the obvious.
I re-read the book in 2005, however, and had a very different experience of it. Light refutes some of the "conventional wisdom" (such as the common feeling that it is best to get all of the "requirements" out of the way early) and backs up what he says with solid reasoning.
The major weakness of this book is it's focus on Harvard students as the research sample. The book would have gained considerable credibilty if Light had made a diligent effort to reach beyond Cambridge and beyond the Ivy League to learn what makes students at other kinds of campuses successful.
That being said, this is an important book for anyone who advises college students: faculty, academic advisors, and student affairs professionals. I would also recommend it for High School guidance counselors and parents. Students might or might not enjoy it; again, the Harvard focus could make it seem perhaps irrelevant to many.
Making the Most of Light.......2005-11-07
I am a peer academic advisor at a West Coast college. I was assigned this book as part of my peer advising training, so I read this book from the perspective of a student. Overall, I found the book mixed in its helpfulness to students.
Chapter 3, "Suggestions from Students", contains the bulk of practically useful information. The title itself underlines one of the book's key ideas: students learn from each other. While substantial student interaction occurs behinds classroom doors, Light notes correctly that "learning outside of classes, especially in residential settings and extracurricular activities such as the arts, is vital" (p. 8). More subtly, Light suggests that college leaders and other individuals must make conscious efforts to develop the kind of environment that facilitates symbiotic learning between students. He writes,
when students refer in their interviews to those that build campus culture, they do not just mean deans or residence hall directors or leaders of student organizations ... They are really characterizing _every student_, in the old-fashioned sense of believing that each person can make a difference by setting an example (p. 194, his emphasis).
Later, he continues,
deans and adults should convey to all incoming students that they have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience, in their college years, a new set of people with new ideas that may challenge their own. They should encourage students to see these few precious years as a special chance to meet, work with, and get to know others who are unlike themselves (p. 196).
So far so good. The rest of the book, I felt, was short on concrete advice for students. Here, I'll mention some thoughts that occurred to me while I was reading the book.
First, despite Light's claims, I am unconvinced that his results generalize. Light is a statistician by training, and I was surprised that he did not offer any comparative statistics to substantiate his claims; as such, his work may be more aptly called Making The Most Of Harvard (or more accurately, How Faculty Can Help Students Make The Most Of Harvard).
Second, not only does Light's results not generalize across colleges, he also does not provide evidence to show that they generalize across a diverse group of students (strange, since he devotes a large part of the book to diversity). There are no tables, graphs, charts, or summary statistics that back up his claim that his results generalize; in particular, the book focused mostly on students who are ex ante driven and motivated towards success - Light says nothing about the selection bias that arises from sampling a group of Harvard students, who are more likely than not to possess the characteristics necessary for success.
All in, I found Light's book informative, but unhelpful. I will not deny that there are lessons to be learnt if one puts some thought into it. As a peer academic advisor, however, much of the book was made up of clichés, platitudes, and findings that were irrelevant to my work. Faculty and administrators, however, may find the book more useful.
Pretentious .......2005-09-21
It should have been titled, Making the Most of Harvard: Students Speak Their Minds. We were required to read this book for an English writing class. Some of the suggestions in the book are helpful, like time management and getting help if you are not scoring well but only if you read this book *before* you go to college.
Light makes suggestions that may not be feasable, including finding a class with very few students because it will be benificial. Our class also felt that Light's suggestion of picking roomates according to race is ludicrous.
3.5 Stars... Worthwhile reading for/re incoming college freshmen.......2005-07-08
My son and I went through the college search process in the past year (he'll start college next month), and we actually had quite a good time doing the college campus visits, narrowing down his choices, etc. Now that he is about to start college, I fell upon this book by accident.
"Making the Most of College" is from some professor at Harvard whom I readily admit I've never heard about before. But the author actually makes a number of (seemingly) good points that I thought made a lot of sense (disclaimer: I did not go to college in the US but in Belgium, so I cannot easily compare it to "the old days"). The book does get tedious at times,and as such is not geared to/written for incoming freshmen but more for parents and teachers. I cannot imagine too many incoming freshmen reading through the whole thing (my son certainly did not), but I did discuss certain passages of the book with him. What good (if any) it will do him, who knows... only time will tell :-)
Book Description
Combining keyboarding lessons and skillbuilding with basic formatting skill using Word 2003, this text will develop speed and accuracy while teaching the basics of document and word processing. Formats include block and modified block letters, standard memos, simple reports, references, title pages, tables, and newsletters. Perfect for an introductory word processing course, this text also includes a capstone project that reinforces lesson concepts.
Book Description
Thoroughly revised and updated, Educational Administration: A Problem-Based Approach shares with readers the very latest thinking in the field and relates it to significant real-life problems of practice.
Reflecting on current changes and thinking in educational administration, this book includes updated expert analysis pieces by noted authorities in every chapter. The book uses a problem-based approach and provides readers with opportunities to analyze and apply their knowledge to authentic situations. . It emphasizes a number of important challenges such as the increasing diversity in our schools and society and the impact of reforms and technology on learning environments.
For those involved in educational administration.
Book Description
Dee Fink poses a fundamental question for all teachers: "How can I create courses that will provide significant learning experiences for my students?" In the process of addressing this question, he urges teachers to shift from a content-centered approach to a learning-centered approach that asks "What kinds of learning will be significant for students, and how can I create a course that will result in that kind of learning?"
Fink provides several conceptual and procedural tools that will be invaluable for all teachers when designing instruction. He takes important existing ideas in the literature on college teaching (active learning, educative assessment), adds some new ideas (a taxonomy of significant learning, the concept of a teaching strategy), and shows how to systematically combine these in a way that results in powerful learning experiences for students. Acquiring a deeper understanding of the design process will empower teachers to creatively design courses for significant learning in a variety of situations.
Customer Reviews:
Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses (Jossey Bass Higher and Adult Edu.......2007-03-08
This is an assigned text in a course I am taking. It seems like a good choice so far, but I've only read one chapter. The book arrived in good shape. The packaging was very good-no bent book covers.
Multidimensional Education.......2007-01-04
Fink starts with an interesting proposition: What do you want your students to know several years from now?
To be realistic, while it would be great for my students to have a working sociological vocabulary five years from now - I would rather they look at their world with respect and understanding, treat other people with dignity and grace, and be able to think critically about the world around them.
Fink proposes that curricula and teaching methods can (and should) be changed to meet the ever changing educational needs and dynamics of today's students. The text soundly lays out justification for the change in educational environments, and provides a sound framework to build classes that reach beyond memorization and regurgitation. Fink advocates setting students up for success by meeting their needs for core subject components, tying subject matter together with other subjects, personal life experiences, and the student's social context. The logical effect being, students who learn more, because they want to, and retain the material longer.
Exceeded my expectations.......2006-10-03
This book changed the way I design my college level courses in a very effective and enjoyable way. It will give you a lot of insight on the design of courses that will encourage students to continue learning. I also enjoyed all the reference on the results of scientific work that deals with innovative teaching methods. You will love this book.
Detailed ideas applied 2 work equals a new answer. .......2006-01-15
This book is worth it. I graduated from a graduate program (in education) and this information has increased/expanded my knowledge as to how things must be done in the classroom (when teaching, when testing, and when lecturing). For example, each square of information must be related to the other square of information in order to reach ones point with ones students. Education is about detail. Let this information from this book change the way you see and teach the information you have obtained a degree in. Let it take you to new spheres, or portals of information that were always present in the work that you do, but that you never saw because one lacked the tools in order to open up those worlds. Create beauty in the work that you create (in the quizzes, in the lesson plans, in the rubrics chart, in the surveys, etc.) What you lecture must be from the book, and what you assign for reading must mirror the lecture, and that equals learning.
Education masters graduate.
Creating Significant Learning Experiences.......2005-09-26
I dropped the grad course I was taking that req'd this book; however, the book itself contains a lot of really terrific ideas and is easily understood.
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General
| Education
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Instruction for All Students
21st Century Mentor's Handbook
Fred Jones Tools for Teaching
The First Days Of School: How To Be An Effective Teacher
Leading the Learning: A Field Guide for Supervision & Evaluation
