Book Review: Small Teaching - James M. Lang

A common complaint across higher education is that college costs are rising without outcomes to justify the increase. Retention and graduation rates are still low, and employers feel that graduates are not equipped for the workforce. Simply put: what we’ve been doing all along to educate students is not enough to ingrain learning and prepare them for life after college. James M. Lang wrote Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning to address the issue of learning on a micro-level by offering nine techniques professors might try incorporating into their lesson plans to improve student learning. Lang frames the book with the concept of small-ball, or the practice in softball and baseball of making small changes and taking small risks to win the game (e.g., stealing bases). Small teaching, thus, is “an approach that seeks to spark positive change in higher education through small but powerful modifications to our course design and teaching practices” (p. 5). Small teaching interventions can take one of three forms: brief activities in class, one-time interventions, or small modifications in course design or communication.

Part I of Small Teaching addresses knowledge. In order to learn, analyze, synthesize, and apply material, students need a foundation of knowledge. Lang makes a point throughout the book to encourage instructors to use these principles in a way that will help students perform better on assignments. For example, if the final exam is open-ended responses, then small teaching techniques should be designed in such a way to encourage students to practice developing a thesis, recalling material, and writing freely. The first practice Lang presents is retrieving, which asks students to recall information from previous classes at the start of class or to pull out important points from the day at the end of the class. The next practice is predicting, in which students make a prediction about something related to course content. This activates the brain differently from listening to a lecture, and students are more likely to retain the information taught regardless of the accuracy of the prediction. The third practice in this section is interleaving, which is the practice of switching between content when studying. This might seem annoying to students but demands better recall and more concentration when interacting with the different materials.

Part II presents pedagogy related to understanding. First, connecting is a task in which students make associations between prior knowledge and the material presented or concepts taught at different points throughout the course to deepen understanding. The next technique is practicing, in which instructors provide ample opportunities for students to gain experience in what will be required of them on course assignments and exams (e.g., writing each part of a paper). Third, the act of self-explaining is helpful because students catch instances in which they might make errors or not fully understand a concept and thus are compelled to remedy this issue. Feedback from the instructor is especially important for these three small teaching practices to guide students along the path of deep understanding of course material.

In Part III, Lang shares ideas around inspiration. First, motivation is a touchy subject because of the tension between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Since students are influenced by the instructor’s disposition, small practices like connecting with students in the minutes before class, sharing enthusiasm, and acknowledging students’ emotions can all increase intrinsic motivation to engage in the course. Second, growing stems from Carol Dweck’s work with mindset; Lang uses this principle to encourage instructors to praise effort rather than intelligence and to consistently use growth language. Finally, Lang presents expanding, which could be considered a big teaching technique depending on how much an instructor wants to redesign their course. Lang encourages readers to thoughtfully integrate service learning, simulations, and activity-based learning to inspire students.

All nine practices presented in the book are well researched and supported by theory and practice. However, Lang’s background as an English professor comes through in his examples for how readers might apply some of the practices. Lang occasionally makes suggestions for how instructors in other fields might incorporate small teaching techniques, but the book is most accessible to those in the humanities and social sciences; other readers need to make the leap from theory to practice for themselves. Additionally, Lang suggests using clickers for several of the teaching techniques. However, there is some debate on whether clickers are useful since students might not participate without consequence. It would be helpful if Lang suggested other ways to engage students while still providing immediate feedback. Finally, Lang offers minimal suggestions for online applications of the small teaching principles he presents. Readers interested in effective online pedagogy might consider the companion book, Small Teaching Online by Flower Darby.

Small Teaching is a great read for anyone looking to improve their teaching techniques. Lang assumes most readers have been teaching for a while, but graduate students and new teachers will also benefit from this book as they design courses. Practice 8—growing—is relevant to readers as well. Embracing a growth mindset and using feedback will be key to implementing the small teaching techniques Lang presents. Helping students learn better does not necessarily require a massive overhaul of a course; readers can try something new tomorrow.