On Course: A Review of James M. Lang’s Guide for Beginning College Teachers

by Heidi Tworek, Ph.D. James Lang’s On Course is an accessible and wittily-written guide to all the major aspects of the first semester of teaching. Lang takes readers through their first semester week-by-week, from writing the class syllabus, lecturing, and leading discussions right up to the last days of class and designing and interpreting student evaluations. The major contributions of the book stem from its down-to-earth practical advice and its excellent summaries of existing literature on teaching and learning. The most important service of Lang’s book is its immense practicality. Rather than simply advising that teachers dress as they feel appropriate on […]