The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom (Jossey Bass Higher and Adult Education) [Hardcover]

Stephen D. Brookfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 1990 | Series: Jossey Bass Higher and Adult Education

Now in Paperback!"Insights and practical suggestions to college educators for whom teaching students is a major part of their professional responsibility.... [Brookfield] will become to the field of education what Peter Drucker has become to management: a scholar who educates and influences practitioners in the field through incisive and challenging writing."
--Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education

"Readable, innovative, and perceptive. . . . The final chapters on the political realities and phenomenological truths of college teaching alone are worth the price of the book, especially for prospective, new, or veteran college, adult, or continuing education teachers."
--Choice

Brookfield shows new and veteran teachers how to thrive on the unpredictability and diversity of classroom life. He draws from his own teaching experience and extensive research to identify critical areas in the teacher-learner relationship--such as building trust with students and overcoming resistance to learning.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Insights and practical suggestions to college educators for whom teaching students is a major part of their professional responsibility. . . . [Brookfield] will become to the field of education what Peter Drucker has become to management: a scholar who educates and influences practitioners in the field through incisive and challenging writing."--Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education

"Readable, innovative, and perceptive. . . . The final chapters on the political realities and phenomenological truths of college teaching alone are worth the price of the book, especially for prospective, new, or veteran college, adult, or continuing education teachers."--Choice

"In an educational world that seems to be dominated by prescriptive exhortations. . .this book provides a refreshing step back from those preoccupations to look at the human relations that always are at play between teacher and student and between student and student."--TESL Canada Journal --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

Praise for the First Edition of The Skillful Teacher

"Insights and practical suggestions to college educators for whom teaching students is a major part of their professional responsibility. . . . [Brookfield] will become to the field of education what Peter Drucker has become to management: a scholar who educates and influences practitioners in the field through incisive and challenging writing."
—Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education

"Readable, innovative, and perceptive. . . . The final chapters on the political realities and phenomenological truths of college teaching alone are worth the price of the book, especially for prospective, new, or veteran college, adult, or continuing education teachers."
—Choice

"In an educational world that seems to be dominated by prescriptive exhortations. . .this book provides a refreshing step back from those preoccupations to look at the human relations that always are at play between teacher and student and between student and student."
—TESL Canada Journal --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 255 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1st edition (October 19, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555422675
• ISBN-13: 978-1555422677
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,863,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teachers are People, Too!, November 6, 2000

By 

Shawna Vyhmeister (Entre Ríos, Argentina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom (Jossey Bass Higher and Adult Education) (Hardcover)

Brookfield writes in a personal tone, sharing what he has learned in 20 years of teaching adults. He suggests that college students are adults, and should be taught as such. This is the sort of book you like to read when you've had a bad day and think no one else feels like this. Brookfield makes it okay to talk about things like feelings, discouragement, inferiority, degree of student involvement, etc. For beginning students or veterans alike, this book can easily become a teacher's friend--a source of comfort, ideas, and challenges which can help you survive and grow, both personally and professionally.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Graduate Student Review, May 16, 2007

By 

Erik M. Young-brown - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom (Hardcover)

This book provides practical, yet not presciptive, advice about how to handle many aspects of teaching adults, especially in the community college/4-year college setting. When reading the book, you are privy to the valuable insights of a veterean educator, as if present to an intimate and reflective conversation about what it is like to teach this population. Again, The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom is not a how-to book, but rather one that successfully provides the moorings to becoming a great teacher.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars teaching is a messy business, April 27, 2008

By 

Howard E. Borck "shannon6" (Dallas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom (Hardcover)

Brookfield is a key expert in pedagogy and andragogy(adult learning). He writes clearly with a non-academic/jargon style. A "must" for teachers from a humble scholar and teacher; no hubris here. Should be required reading for teachers at all levels for discussion and comment. This edition is well updated. A good vehicle for faculty development.