Honored But Invisible: An Inside Look At Teaching In Community Colleges

HONORED BUT INVISIBLE HONORED BUT INVISIBLE An Inside Look at Teaching in Community Colleges W. NORTON GRUBB w ith H W B A  B E W N B C C S G J C V Routledge New York and London Published in 1999 by Routledge 29 West 35th Street New York, NY 10001 Published in Great Britain by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. Copyright © 1999 by Routledge All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Grubb, W. Norton Honored but invisible : an inside look at teaching in community colleges / W. Norton Grubb and associates. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-415-92164-3 (hb.) — ISBN 0-415-92165-1 (pbk.) 1. College teaching—United States. 2. Community colleges—United States. I. Title. LB2331.G78 1999 378.1'2—DC21 98-35021 CIP ISBN 0-203-390085-5 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-390089-8 (Glassbook Format) We have a tradition that is honored, I suppose as much in the breach as not, but we do have a tradition as seeing ourselves as the teaching college. . . . But I think that, at least, the tradition is there and it can be called upon when the occasion warrants. —A community college English instructor Community colleges are invisible, right? I mean, many people don’t see community colleges. They’re not institutions like the university; they’re looked on as kind of very low-status. Teachers in community colleges . . . really need to think how they feel about being at a nonprestigious institution where many of the students are underprepared. They’re going to have to think about why they chose that piece of the vineyard. —A remedial/developmental instructor CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Introduction Who Cares for Teaching in Community Colleges? The Rationale and Methodology of Our Inquiry 1 Chapter 1 Instructors’ Approaches to Pedagogy and the Multiple Conceptions of “Good Teaching” 25 Chapter 2 The Modal Classroom The Varieties of Lecture/Discussion 61 Chapter 3 Lecture/Workshop and “Hands-On” Learning The Complexities of Occupational Instruction W. N G  B B 97 Chapter 4 Literacy Practices in the Classroom The Foundation of Schooling W. N G  H W 140 Chapter 5 Remedial/Developmental Education The Best and the Worst W. N G  H W vii 171 viii Contents Chapter 6 Standards and Content The Special Dilemmas of Community Colleges W. N G  H W 210 Chapter 7 Innovative Practices The Pedagogical and Institutional Challenges 245 Chapter 8 The Institutional Influences on Teaching The Potential Power of “Teaching Colleges” W. N G  E W 280 Chapter 9 Funding and Policy The Neglect of Teaching 321 Chapter 10 Alternative Futures Creati