The Center for Teaching Excellence coordinates book clubs throughout the semester on topics of interest to faculty members. The CTE invites you to enjoy thoughtful conversation with your peers at these gatherings.

Books are free to participants. Book groups usually meet a few times over the semester at the Center for Teaching Excellence, 73 Tremont Street, 12th floor, unless otherwise noted.

If you are interested in joining a book group contact the CTE st 617-573-8222, cte@suffolk.edu, or Register Online.

SPRING 2012 Book Group Choices

What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain
Discussion facilitated by Monika Raesch, Assistant Professor, Communication & Journalism

What makes a great teacher great and memorable long after graduation? This book, the result of a 15-year study of nearly 100 university-level teachers, offers valuable answers for all educators. Lesson plans and lecture notes matter less than the special way teachers comprehend the subject and value human learning. The best teachers also know how to engage and challenge students and to provoke impassioned responses. Most of all, they hold two truths dear: teaching matters and students can learn. Register Online

Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To by Sian Beilock
Discussion facilitated by Janet Fisher, Associate Professor of Academic Support, Law School

Why do the smartest students often perform poorly on standardized tests? Why did you tank that interview or miss that golf swing? Why do people mess up when it matters the most—and how can they perform their best instead? Many of us choke at some point, but don’t have to. In this energetic tour of cutting-edge science, Beilock explains the inescapable links between body and mind; reveals the surprising similarities among the ways performers, students, athletes, and business people choke; and shows how to succeed brilliantly when it matters most. Register Online




The Fall of the Faculty: The Rise of the All-Administrative University and Why It Matters by Benjamin Ginsberg
Discussion facilitated by Jonathan Houghton, Professor, Economics

Until very recently, American universities were led mainly by their faculties, which viewed intellectual production and pedagogy as the core of higher education. Now, as this controversial book warns, “deanlets”—administrators and staffers who often lack serious academic backgrounds or experience—are setting the educational agenda. This agenda is often detrimental to today’s students. As troubling as this trend has become, there are ways to reverse it. The Fall of the Faculty outlines how we can revamp the system so that real educators may regain their voice in curriculum policy. Register Online