A mainstay on the shelves in most teaching and learning centers has been Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross' Classroom Assessment Techniques. For many, that handbook helps answer the two most basic questions that instructors ask themselves, "How well are my students learning?" and "How effective am I at teaching?" As testament to its usefulness and popularity, the book prompts fairly commonplace conversations about the suggested assessment strategies. Simply mentioning the "minute paper" or the "the muddiest point" will likely receive a rating of "3 out of a possible 4 knowing looks" in a college faculty dining room. Not bad for a book about pedagogy.
With the success of the previous work of Cross and Angelo, faculty development specialists have understandably been anxiously awaiting the Jossey-Bass publication, Classroom Research: Implementing the Scholarship of Teaching by K. Patricia Cross and Mimi Harris Steadman. Advance information about the book suggested that it would successfully integrate learning, assessment and research. Would Cross and Steadman stimulate widespread interest in the scholarship of teaching? An overnight revolution on a college campus hasn't happened since the 60's, but if read and discussed in the right academic circles, this book might begin -- at the very least -- some radical discussions.
The layout of the book best lends itself to teaching circles or other organized discussion groups. As often mentioned in this book, "Classroom research is more process than product." That process is elevated when there are rich dialogue, thoughtful queries and less than perfect answers. However, individual readers will certainly find value in the information provided without the benefit of human sounding boards. As Steven Brookfield would remind us, reflecting about teaching may take many forms.
Four separate case studies are presented representing classes in economics, physics, history and education. But the kinds of courses alluded to are merely a backdrop to the learning issues found in any classroom in any discipline. The subject matter of the course will not hinder any teacher from identifying with the problems and frustrations discussed.
Following each case is a case analysis. The analysis yields several possible hypotheses about why the student(s) are having problems learning. The reader is also encouraged to consider plausible hypotheses not stated in the text. After each hypothesis, a review of the relevant research is presented. Faculty not well versed in pedagogy will not be repelled by unnecessary discipline jargon. Unlike most literature reviews, the research synopses discussed are clearly explicated and reader-friendly.
The next section deals with recommended readings related to the different hypotheses described. These readings are for teachers who want more background information simply for their own knowledge or for those who need several solid articles and books to lay the foundation for further research.
The fourth area offers "Illustrations of Classroom Assessment." Although it would be helpful to have read Cross and Angelo's Classroom Assessment Techniques, it is not required reading in order to gain the benefits from the suggestions listed. Each assessment technique is delineated and its appropriateness to the case study explained.
Finally, the last section introduces ideas for Classroom Research for each hypothesis. This portion, of course, is the crux of the book. Most teachers, frustrated and sometimes desperate, take the "hit or miss" approach to classroom change. Cross and Steadman hope to replace such "unacademic" attempts at improvement. Often using assessment techniques as a springboard, Cross and Steadman present numerous ways for the instructor to use the gathered data empirically. The steps are simple, but both effective and sound. Their view is that thoughtful planning with useful and current data about a class is the ideal way to produce meaningful changes in both instruction and learning. Consequently, the information gathered in Classroom Research will help the instructor make informed choices about how to create positive modifications in the class. Unfortunately, this type of Classroom Research is not common in educational practice. What's needed is a revolution.
This book is written for the teacher who is discipline-oriented but without training in educational research. As Cross and Steadman state,
Classroom Research is not traditional research conducted in or on classrooms. . . . It is most simply defined as ongoing and cumulative intellectual inquiry by classroom teachers in the nature of teaching and learning in their own classrooms.
However, if finding out about one's own class sparks further pedagogical research, it is a dividend that the authors welcome. More research in discipline-based instruction is needed and there are over fifty disciplinary teaching journals waiting for submissions. In the ideal future this kind of research will be held in as much esteem by higher education administrators--and faculty colleagues--as other types of scholarship. Now, that would be a revolution.
Charlynn Ross
UNC Charlotte