---
product_id: 5239408
title: "What the Best College Teachers Do"
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# What the Best College Teachers Do

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What makes a great teacher great? Who are the professors students remember long after graduation? This book, the conclusion of a fifteen-year study of nearly one hundred college teachers in a wide variety of fields and universities, offers valuable answers for all educators. The short answer is―it’s not what teachers do, it’s what they understand. Lesson plans and lecture notes matter less than the special way teachers comprehend the subject and value human learning. Whether historians or physicists, in El Paso or St. Paul, the best teachers know their subjects inside and out―but they also know how to engage and challenge students and to provoke impassioned responses. Most of all, they believe two things fervently: that teaching matters and that students can learn. In stories both humorous and touching, Ken Bain describes examples of ingenuity and compassion, of students’ discoveries of new ideas and the depth of their own potential. What the Best College Teachers Do is a treasure trove of insight and inspiration for first-year teachers and seasoned educators.

Review: Attitude is (almost) everything - Is this book somewhat vague and light on how-to's? Yes, of course. Thank goodness. You can't survey everything from theater to calculus and expect to produce a how-to manual worth 5 minutes of your time. The two take-home points, and the big values, of the book are: 1. There is a general mode of learning that transcends disciplines. IT EXISTS. It's a single thing that comes in many, many varieties, but it's still one basic thing. And it's not a mystery or the lottery. The particular details that motivate students, and the skills and challenges they bring to the classroom, may change with the times, but people's basic cognitive (and, I would even say, spiritual) needs that are satisfied with real learning *do not change*. Halle-fricking-lujah. The target has stopped moving. 2. Therefore, there is a corresponding general model for effectively facilitating that learning. Unsurprisingly, good teaching is a path, a journey, that does not end. But, by repeatedly circling around to several basic pedagogical questions and concerns, the quality of your teaching will spiral upwards. It's a craft, and not just a skill like riding a bike. Through the various chapters, the author presents and discusses those general questions that you should concern yourself with to improve your craft. He compares and contrasts highly effective teachers with less effective teachers (and occasionally abysmal teachers) in terms of using vs. not using these general pedagogical principles, including copious specific examples from various disciplines. Methodologically, I like this book because: 1. It's basically a report of a study (formatted to be readable, interesting, and useful). It's not just some guy serving up opinion, soap-boxing, cherry-picking, or re-gifting the same pedagogical fruitcake that's been passed around for the last couple of decades. If you want to object on samples or bias or whatever, he gives you the info to make an informed objection. I think many of the critiques above respond to the book as if it was just another guy's opinion, but it's the results of a lengthy study. 2. It lays out the general framework for good teaching in terms of questions and principles - or, I would say, the principle of asking yourself a certain set of questions, repeatedly, for the rest of your teaching career. This enables you to exercise your expertise, creativity, and freedom of judgment as an instructor to do what works for you, your discipline, your students, and your institution. (I can't believe people object at the scarcity of how-to's in the book, given the scope implied by the title; do people just want to hand off the responsibility of thinking??) It also means that you only have to remember one set of guidelines no matter what kind of class you are asked to teach, now or in the future. What if you're a lab junkie and you get stuck with a freshman writing seminar (albeit in your field of science)? What if you co-teach a multidisciplinary seminar; are you content to only contribute to your portion of the class and hope someone else "knits it all together" for the students? You don't have to wing it. That's excellent. It enables us as instructors to do what we do best without demanding that we re-invent the teaching wheel every time we do something slightly different. Three cheers for principles. And yes, the author covers a lot of territory and ideas that are not new. But there's a lot of value in 1) having the principles and associated questions set down concretely, vs. letting them remain as nebulous, guilt-inducing ought-to's in the back of your mind, and 2) connecting the dots at the level of discipline-transcendent principles, and not just suggestions or rules of thumb. This allows you to have the confidence to just focus on a few things that are known to work vs. trying to implement a hodge-podge of nice ideas that other people claim you ought try. Because if you're not in education research yourself, who has time to do the research to produce these kinds of principles?
Review: Worth its weight in Gold - First off, a little info about myself:I teach physics and engineering at the pre-U and undergraduate level. I have consistently received good teaching ratings from colleagues and students alike, and I have even garnered an award for teaching in the first two years of my career. When I purchased this book, I thought it was a simple "cookbook" to highlight the best practices. To my pleasant surprise, it is not. It is extremely well written and organised, and deceptively easy to read as it is filled with anecdotes. However, it is jam packed with valuable advice/practices which require insight and experience to fully appreciate. The book nevertheless puts forth convincing arguments as to why each practice is worthy of your consideration. The book also challenged, motivated, and convinced me to think about my teaching in ways many books don't (with the exception of another equally wonderful but complementary book by Susan Ambrose: How Learning Works). All of my best practices (some discovered by accident, and most from students' feedback) are highlighted in this book. How I wished I had read this book before I started teaching, it would have saved me from much grief and frustration. More importantly, since this book distills the best practices from many great teachers, I find myself fulfilling only a fraction of what a great teacher should be. The good news is, teaching can be learned, if one is willing to. My understanding of what teaching and learning means has been greatly expanded, and my students are reaping the benefits even now. One final note: though this book contains the best practices, it only has scant references to studies on the best teaching and learning practices by leading educational psychologists (experts who know how our brains are wired to learn). Nevertheless, practices highlighted in this book reflect major conclusions reported in educational journals. As such, for in-depth understanding of why certain practices work at the cognitive and emotional level, I recommend you get the book by Susan Ambrose: How Learning Works, which summarizes the most important findings on learning by researchers. I find both books complement each other nicely. All the best in nurturing the next generation! EDIT: After reading through some of the negative comments from reviewers, I am compelled to reiterate the following: This book is deceptively easy to read, but is filled with practical, life changing advice. For example, a common problem in learning is what Bain termed the plug and chug learning. Students absorb info and regurgitate it during exams resulting in shallow learning (and many teachers are responsible for this). How do we overcome this problem? Bain condensed 7 extremely good methods to overcome this problem (applicable in small class settings or in lecture halls) -- on the last paragraph of pg. 41! Only a single paragraph! And you see this pattern repeated many times over. Therefore, please read with attention to details and get ready when the "gems" pop up. It took me 4 days to complete a single chapter because I had to constantly understand, review and, more importantly, reflect upon what I have read.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #37,869 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #24 in Teacher & Student Mentoring (Books) #45 in Economics (Books) #104 in Business Education & Reference (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 551 Reviews |

## Images

![What the Best College Teachers Do - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51kz0GLxcmL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Attitude is (almost) everything
*by A***R on April 5, 2011*

Is this book somewhat vague and light on how-to's? Yes, of course. Thank goodness. You can't survey everything from theater to calculus and expect to produce a how-to manual worth 5 minutes of your time. The two take-home points, and the big values, of the book are: 1. There is a general mode of learning that transcends disciplines. IT EXISTS. It's a single thing that comes in many, many varieties, but it's still one basic thing. And it's not a mystery or the lottery. The particular details that motivate students, and the skills and challenges they bring to the classroom, may change with the times, but people's basic cognitive (and, I would even say, spiritual) needs that are satisfied with real learning *do not change*. Halle-fricking-lujah. The target has stopped moving. 2. Therefore, there is a corresponding general model for effectively facilitating that learning. Unsurprisingly, good teaching is a path, a journey, that does not end. But, by repeatedly circling around to several basic pedagogical questions and concerns, the quality of your teaching will spiral upwards. It's a craft, and not just a skill like riding a bike. Through the various chapters, the author presents and discusses those general questions that you should concern yourself with to improve your craft. He compares and contrasts highly effective teachers with less effective teachers (and occasionally abysmal teachers) in terms of using vs. not using these general pedagogical principles, including copious specific examples from various disciplines. Methodologically, I like this book because: 1. It's basically a report of a study (formatted to be readable, interesting, and useful). It's not just some guy serving up opinion, soap-boxing, cherry-picking, or re-gifting the same pedagogical fruitcake that's been passed around for the last couple of decades. If you want to object on samples or bias or whatever, he gives you the info to make an informed objection. I think many of the critiques above respond to the book as if it was just another guy's opinion, but it's the results of a lengthy study. 2. It lays out the general framework for good teaching in terms of questions and principles - or, I would say, the principle of asking yourself a certain set of questions, repeatedly, for the rest of your teaching career. This enables you to exercise your expertise, creativity, and freedom of judgment as an instructor to do what works for you, your discipline, your students, and your institution. (I can't believe people object at the scarcity of how-to's in the book, given the scope implied by the title; do people just want to hand off the responsibility of thinking??) It also means that you only have to remember one set of guidelines no matter what kind of class you are asked to teach, now or in the future. What if you're a lab junkie and you get stuck with a freshman writing seminar (albeit in your field of science)? What if you co-teach a multidisciplinary seminar; are you content to only contribute to your portion of the class and hope someone else "knits it all together" for the students? You don't have to wing it. That's excellent. It enables us as instructors to do what we do best without demanding that we re-invent the teaching wheel every time we do something slightly different. Three cheers for principles. And yes, the author covers a lot of territory and ideas that are not new. But there's a lot of value in 1) having the principles and associated questions set down concretely, vs. letting them remain as nebulous, guilt-inducing ought-to's in the back of your mind, and 2) connecting the dots at the level of discipline-transcendent principles, and not just suggestions or rules of thumb. This allows you to have the confidence to just focus on a few things that are known to work vs. trying to implement a hodge-podge of nice ideas that other people claim you ought try. Because if you're not in education research yourself, who has time to do the research to produce these kinds of principles?

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Worth its weight in Gold
*by L***W on June 12, 2014*

First off, a little info about myself:I teach physics and engineering at the pre-U and undergraduate level. I have consistently received good teaching ratings from colleagues and students alike, and I have even garnered an award for teaching in the first two years of my career. When I purchased this book, I thought it was a simple "cookbook" to highlight the best practices. To my pleasant surprise, it is not. It is extremely well written and organised, and deceptively easy to read as it is filled with anecdotes. However, it is jam packed with valuable advice/practices which require insight and experience to fully appreciate. The book nevertheless puts forth convincing arguments as to why each practice is worthy of your consideration. The book also challenged, motivated, and convinced me to think about my teaching in ways many books don't (with the exception of another equally wonderful but complementary book by Susan Ambrose: How Learning Works). All of my best practices (some discovered by accident, and most from students' feedback) are highlighted in this book. How I wished I had read this book before I started teaching, it would have saved me from much grief and frustration. More importantly, since this book distills the best practices from many great teachers, I find myself fulfilling only a fraction of what a great teacher should be. The good news is, teaching can be learned, if one is willing to. My understanding of what teaching and learning means has been greatly expanded, and my students are reaping the benefits even now. One final note: though this book contains the best practices, it only has scant references to studies on the best teaching and learning practices by leading educational psychologists (experts who know how our brains are wired to learn). Nevertheless, practices highlighted in this book reflect major conclusions reported in educational journals. As such, for in-depth understanding of why certain practices work at the cognitive and emotional level, I recommend you get the book by Susan Ambrose: How Learning Works, which summarizes the most important findings on learning by researchers. I find both books complement each other nicely. All the best in nurturing the next generation! EDIT: After reading through some of the negative comments from reviewers, I am compelled to reiterate the following: This book is deceptively easy to read, but is filled with practical, life changing advice. For example, a common problem in learning is what Bain termed the plug and chug learning. Students absorb info and regurgitate it during exams resulting in shallow learning (and many teachers are responsible for this). How do we overcome this problem? Bain condensed 7 extremely good methods to overcome this problem (applicable in small class settings or in lecture halls) -- on the last paragraph of pg. 41! Only a single paragraph! And you see this pattern repeated many times over. Therefore, please read with attention to details and get ready when the "gems" pop up. It took me 4 days to complete a single chapter because I had to constantly understand, review and, more importantly, reflect upon what I have read.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Learning doesn’t just affect what you know; it can transform how you understand the nature of knowing.
*by M***S on May 1, 2018*

At first glance, Ken Bain’s "What the Best College Teachers Do" might appear to be concerned with teaching and assessment methods alone. After reading, perhaps a more apt title would be “What the Best College Teachers Desire.” This book captures the heart behind what teachers do to construct and encourage a student desire for deep-learning. Bain’s work is driven by a search for teachers who produce these deep-learners. A helpful tool for seasoned professors and novice practitioners alike, "What the Best College Teachers Do" draws on what the most effective college educators understand and do well inside and outside of the classroom. While Bain’s primary audience is professors from both research and liberal arts universities, he contends the book’s conclusions could also be of interest to students and their parents. This book raises questions about the practices and philosophies of highly successful teachers in varying fields. It should be noted that “success” is defined as something more than students’ acing departmental final examinations. Success in teaching students results in “sustained influence” in learning, even beyond the classroom (9). Bain’s background in higher education learning initiatives (founding multiple “teaching centers” at universities such as NYU, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and Montclair; serving as Provost of the University of the District of Columbia; and currently serving as the President of the Best Teachers Institute) qualifies him for such a task as uncovering the best teaching practices and philosophies. Bain admits he, like most college and university professors, had no formal preparation for helping anyone else learn, thus suggesting the purpose this book serves in the academic community (181). This book is first and foremost a study of what it is outstanding teachers do really well. Bain divides his research into six major conclusions concerning teaching: knowledge and learning, preparation, expectations, method and practice, treatment of students, and evaluation or assessment. “The ideas here require careful and sophisticated thinking, deep professional learning, and often fundamental conceptual shifts” (15). A paradigm shift from transmission of information to transformation of the student learner is of utmost importance. In summarizing the book, Bain first centers on what the best teachers know and understand. The most outstanding teachers are without a doubt experts in their field. Their immense, while specific, knowledge helps to qualify them for the task of teaching and training. Of course, those teachers are also aware that “knowledge is constructed, not received” (26). It should be understood rather than merely absorbed. Bain suggests a student’s interest should be in a mastery of learning over failure avoidance. Bain then shifts his focus from what these teachers know and understand to how they prepare to teach. With a baker’s dozen worth of weighty questions, Bain advocates for engineering a natural critical learning environment that is student-centered. Discerning the abilities and skills of students, understanding the pre-established mental models they bring to the classroom, assessing the student’s difficulty of grasping material, and sustaining long-term student interest and thinking all play a role in creating this environment. “Highly effective teachers design better learning experiences for their students in part because they conceive of teaching as fostering learning” (67). Moving forward from knowledge and preparation, Bain discusses the expectations successful teachers place on their students. A combination of high standards and the assurance of authentic learning goals ring through as critical. Bain emphasizes the importance of intellectual and personal development of the student for meaningful learning. The best teachers in the study expected more from their students — that “more” is tied to critical thinking and acting rather than completion of mounds of meaningless coursework. Method and practice emerge in Bain’s argument for effective teaching, and once again touches on a natural critical learning environment. Bain makes a case for gaining and keeping the attention of students with something they care about, seeking academic commitment from students, and engaging students inside and outside of class with a diverse set of learning experiences. Particular methods are far less important here than directing and shaping the learning environment. Bain voices his concern for the treatment of students by promoting common decency, acknowledging that professors should conceive of themselves as “fellow students” (144). Lastly, proper evaluation and assessment conclude the research. Bain stresses student assessments should be used as an additional avenue for helping students learn and teaching assessments should be used as a way of promoting learning-based instruction that is student-focused. Bain states, “Excellent teachers develop their abilities through constant self-evaluation, reflection, and the willingness to change” (172). Together, these create a system of evaluation dependent upon how well evaluators know and understand human learning. Bain’s approach was thoroughly considered. Organizing parts of this research study as a kind of “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ), each chapter informs the reader of different aspects of teaching and learning. This tool makes the book incredibly useful as a resource. While reading the book in its entirety generates a better understanding of the process, scope and reasoning for conclusions, returning later for study concerning specific topics of interest is made easier and more accessible. I appreciated the student-centeredness Bain presented in his work. As the primary beneficiaries in the classroom, teaching should reflect students’ learning potential. It is suggested the best teachers “displayed not power but an investment in the students” (139). Bain’s work, in some respects, enhances an understanding of learning that exhibits sustained change in students’ lives. I found the information on “mental models” brought into the classroom as a result of each student’s background and rearing in education to be very insightful. Framing teaching in a way that moves beyond encouraging students to absorb information and toward understanding the underlying structures deep-learning requires is by no means a revolutionary conclusion or suggestion, but does act as a good reminder for practice. Critiques offered for "What the Best College Teachers Do" focus on data and the research methods of gathering that data. Bain’s primary prerequisites for the study are appropriate in direction, but the question arises of the data’s measurability. “Ultimately, the judgment to include someone in the study was based on careful consideration of his or her learning objectives, success in helping students achieve those objectives, and ability to stimulate students to have highly positive attitudes toward their studies” (183). There was great breadth to this study. Because of that, the conclusions offered are cursory at times. While “careful consideration” is admirable, it is not completely objective or measurable. This is where the data and research meet experience and discernment. I commend Bain for his efforts in rationalizing his subjective research methods but still fall on the side of caution in exact implementation or replication of his conclusions. While some similarities in learning theory across fields can be assumed, all cannot. The universities and subjects surveyed surely do not represent a comprehensive view of the American university system. Only sixty-three professors and teachers were studied closely in the final rounds of research (all but twelve were exclusively from research universities [188]). This study is hardly meant to be exhaustive, but is still valuable for graduated growth toward teaching students to learn deeply. Bain’s book is absolutely worthwhile and recommended for any professor or college teacher who is seeking to generate deep-learning motivation in their students. In many ways, it can be customized to each reader’s needs or desires. At just shy of two-hundred pages, the book is easily read in one sitting and well divided for later reference. I believe Bain’s sentiment can best be summed up in his thoughts on the potential and purpose of learning: “Learning doesn’t just affect what you know; it can transform how you understand the nature of knowing” (42).

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