Donald L. Finkel

If you have ever wondered what is meant by the phrase “student-centered classroom,” then this is the book for you. Oh, how I wish this book were available to me at the start of my career. Finkel’s thinking, his articulate explanations, and his lucid application of foundational educational theory (specifically Dewey and Piaget) to practical classroom contexts is like found treasure for both novice and veteran educators. And while Finkel speaks most directly to college-level instructors, there are gems of wisdom and helpful guidance in this book for teachers at all grade levels.

After explaining why the traditional image of teaching as “telling” is a misconception, Finkel describes how he implements the strategy of “teaching with your mouth shut” in his own classroom. Through the use of seminars (and drawing upon examples of Socrates himself), inquiry-based learning, writing, collegial teaching, and experiential education, Finkel offers clear examples of the teaching philosophy that has been most successful for him. The brilliance and clarity of his thinking is quite remarkable, yet he never preaches—he is aware that the specific techniques that work for him and his students using his curriculum may not necessarily work for anyone else. In other words, he’s quite aware of the critical role that context plays in the teaching/learning environment.

He distills his thinking in the book’s final chapter, which is subtitled “Providing Experience, Provoking Reflection.” As he develops Dewey’s notion that no idea can ever be conveyed from one person to another (hence why “telling” is an ineffective pedagogy), he explains that the two required features of any teaching strategy pertain more to the design and intent of the lesson than to any specific content. The successful teacher will guide his/her students through an experience designed to facilitate learning, and he/she will then help students reflect on that experience—in Finkel’s rather convincing opinion, this is the only way that learning occurs. The real work of teaching is planning, designing, curating, inquiring, guiding, and supporting—just about all of which can be done silently. Consistent with a democratic approach to education, students are then empowered to co-construct knowledge among themselves without the authoritarian voice of the teacher to rule their learning. (Finkel’s explanation of the distinction between power and authority is quite astute as well.)

At fewer than 200 pages, this volume is dense with useful insight. I plan to discover ways to apply these strategies to my own teaching, and I’m confident that the ideas in this book will transform my practice. I urge all teachers to devour this text—you’ll be a more thoughtful, strategic, and successful practitioner for having done so.… (meer)