Taking Learning to Task: Creative Strategies for Teaching Adults
"Reading this wonderful book is like having Jane Vella at your side. She encourages, she coaches, she inquires, she models--and ultimately she gives us the courage to risk changing our established habits of teaching. An important book, to be read and reread." --Clifford Baden, director of programs in professional education, Harvard University"As an octogenarian who has taught for many years, I celebrate what Vella has done in these pages. By marrying theory and practice, she has shown how to design learning that takes hold of the learner--mind, heart, and muscles. I'm going to use learning tasks in my own work and prove that it is never too late to learn." --Jack McCall, professor, Principals' Executive Program, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill"Is Jane Vella's brilliant and challenging approach something we can truly master? In Taking Learning to Task, the master herself reveals the mechanics of creating learning tasks. You'll feel as though you've found the keys to creating profound and powerfully effective learning experiences. Anyone responsible for engaging a group of adults in learning will find this book invaluable!" --Rod Brooks, vice president for administration, EXPLORIS"Vella has inspired me to rethink my teaching and move in a new direction. Instead of merely giving a lecture, I now weave theoretical information into creative learning tasks. It's a dynamic new teaching-learning approach, and your students will thank you for it." --Monica Rector, professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill"Highly recommended for upper-division undergraduates and above." (Choice, 9/01)