"Irritating, arrogant, nuts--and a genius." That's what Charles Laughton said of Paul Baker. He also said, "Paul Baker is one of the most important minds in the world theater today. He seems to have invented new ways of doing things, and I think something big will come out of it." Something big did come out of it. Stage productions such as Othello, Hamlet, and A Cloud of Witnesses brought critics including Henry Hewes of Saturday Review and photographers such as Eliot Eliosofon of Life magazine to Baylor Theater in Waco. Baker's production of Eugene McKinney's A Different Drummer received an invitation from CBS TV's cultural program, Omnibus, to present the play live from their New York studio. Baker's production of As I Lay Dying, Robert Flynn's adaptation of William Faulkner's novel, brought an invitation to present the play at the Theater of Nations in Paris, the first non-Broadway production to compete there, where it won a Special Jury Award. That was Paul Baker the theater director. Equally important was Baker's role as teacher and mentor in the arts. Architect Arthur Rogers stated, "No single person has contributed more to (theater architecture) development than Paul Baker." Baker's architectural visions at Baylor Theater, the Dallas Theater Center, and Trinity University's Ruth Taylor Theater have inspired similar constructions not only in the United States but in places such as Manila and Seoul. Baker's teaching philosophy, based on his famous class "The Integration of Abilities," has been inspirational. In education Baker has been founder, mentor, or director of children's theaters where children are the creators of the drama; of the Booker T. Washington School of the Arts; of the Learning About Learning Foundation, a retail line of interactive kits that included books and toys; and dozens of creative programs for children, parents, and educators. In Paul Baker and the Integration of Abilities, Baker tells how a summer in Paris gave him a new way of looking at theater. Eugene McKinney describes Baker's development of writers, and Glenn Allen Smith demonstrates the use of the elements in creating a play. In other chapters on acting, directing, speech, and design, Baker's ideas gave roots and wings to his students and colleagues. Despite invitations from theaters in other places, including Austria, Germany, Yugoslavia, and New Zealand, and offers of positions at other universities, Baker chose to remain in Texas where he was born and where he lives today.

To what extent do creativity and imagination decline in childhood? What factors might influence a decline? Theories of cognitive development show only uni-directional progress (although theorists may disagree whether such progress occurs steadily in small continuous improvements or comes in stages separated by plateaus during which developmental gains are consolidated). Declines in levels of skill are quite uncommon, yet many have observed just such an unusual pattern with regard to the development of creativity and of the imagination. Is there something about the development of one kind of thinking that undermines imaginative and creative thinking? Is it perhaps the process of schooling itself, with its focus on the acquisition of knowledge and the production of correct (rather than imaginative) answers, which promotes this decline? This book explores these questions from a variety of perspectives. Essays from psychologists and educators from diverse backgrounds discuss the relationships among creativity, reason, and knowledge.

What makes a great teacher great? Who are the professors students remember long after graduation? This book, the conclusion of a fifteen-year study of nearly one hundred college teachers in a wide variety of fields and universities, offers valuable answers for all educators. The short answer is—it’s not what teachers do, it’s what they understand. Lesson plans and lecture notes matter less than the special way teachers comprehend the subject and value human learning. Whether historians or physicists, in El Paso or St. Paul, the best teachers know their subjects inside and out—but they also know how to engage and challenge students and to provoke impassioned responses. Most of all, they believe two things fervently: that teaching matters and that students can learn. In stories both humorous and touching, Ken Bain describes examples of ingenuity and compassion, of students’ discoveries of new ideas and the depth of their own potential. What the Best College Teachers Do is a treasure trove of insight and inspiration for first-year teachers and seasoned educators.