Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Reading this wonderful book is like having Jane Vella at your side. She gives us the courage to risk changing our established habits of teaching."
--Clifford Baden, director of programs for professional education, Harvard University

"By marrying theory and practice, Vella has shown how to design learning that takes hold of the learner--mind, heart, and muscles."
--Jack McCall, professor, Principals′ Executive Program, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

"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

Known for her work in popular education and her worldwide teaching experience, Jane Vella has significantly changed the way we view adult learning. In her three bestselling books--Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach, Training Through Dialogue, and How Do They Know They Know?--she writes with one basic assumption: that learning is most effective when teachers involve their students in the learning process.

In Taking Learning to Task, Vella shifts the spotlight from teaching tasks to learning tasks. Unlike traditional teaching methods, learning tasks are open questions leading to open dialogue between teacher and learner. To illustrate this unique approach, Vella provides seven steps to planning learning-centered courses, four types of learning tasks, a checklist of principles and practices, critical questions for instructional design, key components for evaluation, and other tools. She also shares real-world examples of successful learning programs, including online and distance-learning courses. Taking Learning to Task is a hands-on, practical guide to designing effective learning tasks for diverse learners and diverse content. Teachers, trainers, and all types of instructors will find a wealth of advice for refining their day-to-day practice.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Tables and Exhibits (p. xi)
• Preface (p. xiii)
• Acknowledgments (p. xix)
• The Author (p. xxi)
• 1. Learning Tasks: Assumptions and Definition (p. 1)
• 2. Comparing Teaching Tasks and Learning Tasks (p. 13)
• 3. Learning Tasks As Part of a Complete Design (p. 23)
• 4. Four Types of Learning Tasks (p. 33)
• 5. The Power of Action: "The Verb's the Thing" (p. 49)
• 6. Principles to Guide Design (p. 58)
• 7. The Art of Leading Learning Tasks (p. 69)
• 8. Time and the Learning Task (p. 80)
• 9. Checkpoint: Reviewing Concepts Through Examples (p. 88)
• 10. Matching Tasks to the Group: One Size Does Not Fit All (p. 97)
• 11. Tasks for Distance Learning and the Internet (p. 104)
• 12. Using Learning Tasks: Twenty Reasons and Twenty Principles (p. 110)
• Appendix A Learning Tasks in Action: A Workshop Model (p. 127)
• Appendix B Example of a Distance-Learning Course (p. 133)
• Appendix C Technical Guide for Designing and Using Learning Tasks (p. 137)
• References (p. 143)
• Index (p. 147)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Vella, an adult and community educator, builds on her earlier works, Training through Dialogue (1995) and Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach (1997). Here, she emphasizes dialogue as central to learning and learning tasks as the means to structure dialogue. A learning task is "an open question put to members of a small group, who have been given all the resources they need to respond." It is "a way of ensuring engagement of learners with the new content." Vella takes us through definitions, explanations, and examples of the peer learning-centered approach. She presents a seven-step planning process to design courses and workshops and shows how learning tasks become the means to help learners meet achievement-based objectives and demonstrate their learning. Then she discusses four types of learning tasks, which lead participants to link new content to their own situations. Her powerful examples include diverse studies such as strategic planning, the powers of the US presidency, and the theology of Ludwig Feuerbach. Initially, her presentation seems formulaic, but the examples show the value of her approach. This is hard, time-consuming work, but Vella's book offers help and support to accomplish it. Highly recommended for upper-division undergraduates and above. R. W. Rohfeld SUNY Empire State College

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Jane Vella is adjunct professor at the School of Public Health of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.