College and Research Libraries


402 I College & Research Libraries • September 1965 

College Teaching. By J. G. Umstattd. Wash-
ington, D.C.: The University Press of 
Washington, D.C., 1964. v, 355p. $6. 
( 64-24000) . 

For more than fifteen years Professor Um-
stattd of the University of Texas has taught 
a course on problems of college teaching. 
He has drawn upon his experience in this 
course, upon his own varied background as 
a professor, and upon selected findings of 
research in writing a comprehensive volume 
on college teaching. 

The book has "three major divisions. The 
first considers the five basic problems of 
purpose, offering, the student, the free-
dom of teacher and student, and motiva-
tion. Part II defines and analyzes twenty-
four general procedures and offers sugges-
tions for their classroom use. The final di-
vision treats the problems of the evaluation 
of teaching and learning, the college teach-
er's part in counseling, and the practical 
considerations of qualification, compensa-
tion, and advancement" (p. iv). 

It will be noted that this volume does 
not limit itself to what happens in the 
teaching-learning process. Also considered, 
for example, are the purposes and back-
ground of higher education and the role, 
qualifications, and promotion of the college 
teacher. Nevertheless, the major contribu-
tion of the book is made in that part which 
deals directly with teaching. 

Particularly valuable are the identification 
and discussion of twenty-four teaching pro-
cedures which are classified under three 
headings: 

Procedures largely controlled by students 
-committee conference, debate, dramatiza-
tion, forum, independent study, panel, oral 
student reports, and written reports. 

Procedures involving relatively more co-
operation-case method, coaching, field 
trips, tutorial, unit system. 

Procedures mainly controlled by the 
teacher-anecdote, auditory aids, demon-
stration, discussion, examinations, labora-
tory, formal lecture, informal lecture, par-
able, television, visual aids. 

The author admits and defends his 
"strong bias in favor of democratic processes 
in the classroom" (p. iv) on the basis of 
both psychological and philosophical ev-
idence. He emphasizes "motivation as the 
basic essential for learning ( p. 112) and 

points out that the findings of psychologists 
reveal that effective motivation is encour-
aged in the democratically operated class-
room. Philosophically, he asserts that "in 
a culture the core of which is the demo-
cratic concept of the rights and dignity of 
the individual, higher education in all its 
aspects must reflect that concept not only 
in theory but also and particularly in 
practice" (p. v). 

In reporting a survey of teaching meth-
ods used by more thap eleven hundred 
faculty members in twenty-nine colleges 
and universities, the author points out that 
procedures "largely controlled by students" 
are used-at least occasionally-by many 
instructors. 

"The facts . . . give a negative reply to 
the critics of the college teacher who in-
sist that the lecture is the only procedure 
in use and that the student has .no opportu-
nity for expression. . . . This finding should 
lend security to the young instructor who is 
interested in sharing the responsibility for 
the teaching-learning process with his stu-
dents" (p. 123). 

With the emphasis which this book gives 
to student responsibility for and control of 
learning, it would be anticipated that the 
role of the library in teaching would be 
highlighted. It is, therefore, disappointing 
to find consideration of "increased use of 
the library" (p. 210) restricted to a discus-
sion of less than one page. 

All of the materials in this volume have, 
prior to publication, been used in the au-
thor's course on college teaching. Accord-
ingly the content · and organization of the 
book-including selected references for fur-
ther study at the close of chapters-are well 
adapted for use in teaching. This publica-
tion will also, however, have high value 
for college teachers and administrators, for 
students of higher education-and for li-
brarians.-B. Lamar Johnson, University of 
California, Los Angeles. 

Encyclopedia Americana. International 
Edition. New York: Americana Corpora-
tion, copyright 1965. 30 vols. (65-11857). 

Giving a fair opinion about a major gen-
eral encyclopedia is one of the most dif-
ficult tasks that can beset a reviewer. The 
overwhelming amount of material, and 
monstrous complexity of the editorial policy 
which lies behind the work, together with