The Teaching Company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Teaching Company is a Chantilly, Virginia company that produces recordings of lectures by nationally top-ranked university professors as well as high-school teachers. The professors create courses for the company in a special studio located outside of Washington DC; they are then offered for sale in audiotape, CD, DVD, MPEG-4, and MP3 formats[1].
[edit] Background
The company was founded in 1990 by Thomas M. Rollins, former Chief Counsel of the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources and a graduate of Harvard Law School, who noticed the effectiveness of videotapes in learning during his study.[2] He initially tried to create a government program to produce tapes for the public, but was unable to do so because of legal restrictions[3]. After leaving office the idea stayed with him and he started seeking out top professors to create courses for sale to the public[4].
As of 2007 the company offers more than 260 courses, which span more than 3,000 hours of content across nine subject categories: Business and Economics, Fine Arts and Music, Ancient and Medieval History, Modern History, Literature and English Language, Philosophy and Intellectual History, Religion, Science and Mathematics, and Social Sciences.
Course offerings are targeted to adult education and life-learners, typical of what would be seen in a University or College undergraduate program for non-majors; there is also a series for high school students.[1][2] Courses include supplemental booklets with outlines of the individual lectures, recommended reading lists, general bibliographies, and questions to consider. Full printed transcripts are also available.
Courses are available in many formats. Originally, the formats were limited to audio cassette or VHS tape. CD and DVD versions followed soon thereafter, and today there are MP3 downloads of the courses.[1]
On October 2, 2006, the company was acquired by Brentwood Associates, a private equity investment firm.[5]
[edit] Partial list of instructors
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c "The Teaching Company". The Catalyst. 2006-04-21. http://www.thecatalyst.org/resource/2006/04/21/The-Teaching-Company/. Retrieved on 2009-06-21.
- ^ a b Bales, Kate (February 16, 1994). "Ivy League Courses for Price of a Video". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/16/news/16iht-videduc.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-21.
- ^ According to the Kate Bales article, several states forbid federal intervention in education to develop the concept of home education.
- ^ Teaching Company website - Our history
- ^ "Berkery, Noyes & Co. represents The Teaching Company in its sale to Brentwood Associates", October 3, 2006.
[edit] References
- Linda Mathews (1996-03-31). "Adult Education; No Tests and You Can Hit Rewind". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A06E6D61539F932A05750C0A960958260.
- Kendra Nordin (2003-01-28). "From the college lecture hall to your headphones". Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0128/p15s01-lecs.htm.
