NUS + CDTL = T&L e-Books (Simply Awesome!)

National University of Singapore (NUS)
Centre for Development of Teaching and Learning (CDTL)

CDTL: http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/

e-Books (Publications)
Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn: http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/handbook/
Ideas on Teaching: http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/Ideas/
The Write Right Guide: http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/wrg/

The Effective Student: http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/ufm/sitemap.htm

(In addition, check out the inspiring CDTLink Newsletter, too)

• Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn (Handbook on Teaching) - "...aims to provide support for our faculty to maximise their teaching efficacy and enhance student learning. We want the NUS educational experience to be an enriching one that cultivates the multiple talents of our students. With this handbook, it is hoped that our faculty will be helped to teach more effectively and inventively in order to inspire and infect our students with their enthusiasm and passion for their fields of study. Then will our students experience the joy of intellectual curiosity and inquiry, the exhilaration of pushing the boundaries of knowledge, as well as the excitement of coherent, organised explanation leading to deep understanding." - Prof. Shih Choon Fong, President and Vice-Chancellor, NUS
• Ideas on Teaching - " (Currently 4 volumes) Each volume of Ideas on Teaching is a collection of short papers written by practising teachers (based on their own experiences in university teaching) that discusses specific topics and issues. The aim is to generate further thought and discussion, share tips, and encourage improvement in teaching." Real stories by Real people in the Real language. Surely we can discover a few great ideas or practices on how to facilitate effective and engaging learning from this yummy resource.
• The Write Right Guide - "This writing guide is written for the purpose of creating an awareness of these mistakes and suggesting ways to avoid them. In writing, the ultimate goal is to write well and enable readers to understand what we are writing. If we understand what makes writing work and how mistakes can be prevented, we will be able to achieve this goal" (Written by Christina Low and Daphne Pan).
• The Effective Student - "A Guide to Learning for the NUS Student. The online guide addresses six main areas: Orientation and adjusting to university life, Studying smart—the savvy student, Resources on campus, Effective learning—Enhancing productivity, Faculty information and Living in the halls. In addition, check out their Videos & links section where you will be able to access interesting videos on Time Management, Brain Power and Stress Management, and the Discover yourself section, which leads you through a set of thought provoking questions."

Some educators might be Googling Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Oxford and Cambridge looking for excellent teaching and learning resources, though it might actually be wiser to start our journey with NUS in Singapore (ranked 19th in QS World University Rankings 2006). Interestingly, I have only shared some of the delicious stuff one can find on NUS's CDTL site (Please, discover the rest for yourself). Also, I simply love the fact that they have used a lot of cartoons to attract our attention and engage our mind. Better yet, if we do not like what we see, they provide us URLs to the best teaching and learning resources found out there, and even a comprehensive list to Teaching and Learning Centers around to world. I am beginning to wonder if I really need to write a book on effective teaching and learning. Most of the juice is already out there! We just need to be a bit curious (Googling) and willing to learn :)