One Classroom at a Time: How Better Teaching Can Make College More Equitable by David Gooblar. Harvard University Press, 2025.
Although I have been learning about best teaching practices for more than twenty-five years now, I still find there are many ways to improve my pedagogy, which is why I decided to read David Gooblar’s One Classroom at a Time. Gooblar presents readers with an engaging synthesis of research on the current generation of undergraduate students and how colleges and universities can foster their success. His discussion revolves around numerous psychological and sociological research studies that hypothesize explanations for learning gaps between traditional and minority student populations. A principal argument that carries throughout the text is that while many colleges and universities now enroll significantly larger minority student populations than in the past, those institutions and their faculty mainly facilitate the success of traditional students. Gooblar makes clear that there is no simple or universal solution to the achievement gap; however, he provides a convincing review of research on pedagogical interventions that can increase minority student success.
Higher education leadership and policymaking personnel may find this book beneficial to achieving their institutional missions. Gooblar helps these readers understand how educational funding policies led to increased enrollments of minority students and students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and his book equips them with sound strategies to improve student success for all learners, regardless of their backgrounds. Those looking to boost student retention, progression, and graduation rates will find ample guidance to ensure that new faculty members are provided with targeted training sessions and workshops on student learning. One Classroom at a Time could also serve as reading material in a pedagogical workshop offered to
faculty during their initial appointment year. Academic administrators in charge of preparing graduate students for teaching at higher education institutions might consider adding Gooblar’s text to their required reading lists, as it provides rich historical context that can help them understand the current diverse student population. At a minimum, this text would be a good choice for faculty and administrative leadership personnel.
Those just beginning or aiming to teach students in a college setting will find Gooblar’s research-grounded analysis to be a helpful tool for developing realistic expectations and classroom material for the students who actually enter their classrooms—as opposed to the ones they might imagine when developing course materials. Gooblar points out that in many higher education settings, new faculty members may lack pedagogical training and teach in the manner of their former teachers and professors, without regard for the actual needs of the student population. New faculty members also often receive their graduate degrees from elite private universities or public flagship universities with student populations that differ from those at the institution where they begin their careers. The lack of pedagogical training and the lack of experience with some student populations often negatively affects students in general but is especially harmful to first-generation and minority students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Gooblar provides pedagogical recommendations to help both new and experienced college teachers understand how student demographics can affect student success.
Seasoned faculty members known for high-quality teaching may believe that their students are succeeding simply because they have developed sound pedagogical strategies for their institution’s student population and care about their students’ success. That is likely true, in part, but other factors may also be at work. Researchers have identified essential elements common to teaching that helps students overcome barriers and that encourages strong academic performance. Gooblar provides educators rich examples of how they can intertwine those essential elements with their pedagogical materials to benefit minority and nonminority students alike. Those not aware of the decades of psychological and sociological studies that provide research-supported teaching strategies to foster student success will be enlightened. For seasoned and effective faculty members, these studies may shed light on why what they are doing has been working and offer strategies for continued improvement.
College and university administrators, along with both new and experienced faculty members, must invest time to learn how best to meet the needs of their students, who today belong to one of the largest and most diverse undergraduate populations since the entry of GI Bill students. Reading this book may be like a refresher course for those already aware of research on achievement gaps. For others, the book may not only provide a deep understanding of why learning gaps exist but also—and most important—provide sound pedagogical strategies to foster high retention, progression, and graduation rates for all students. As One Classroom at a Time shows, when institutions and instructors use pedagogical practices designed for the students they actually have, all students have a chance to succeed.
Terry Carter is professor of English at Kennesaw State University. His research and publication interests are in the areas of online pedagogy, digital scholarship, and African American studies.