Spring 2013 BOOK GROUP SELECTIONS
FACULTY & STAFF: Pick out a book from the list below. We’ll purchase it, help you join a group, and treat you to lunch!
Quick links:
It is important that you select a first and second choice from the following titles. Occasionally a title becomes unavailable. Having a second choice will help us serve you better. Sign up as a group of 5-7 or join an open group. If the book your group wants to read is not here please recommend it here.
BY POPULAR REQUEST: Books will be delivered to Department Secretaries for dissemination into faculty & staff mailboxes.
The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle
What is the secret of talent? How do we unlock it? In this groundbreaking work, journalist and New York Times bestselling author Daniel Coyle provides parents, teachers, coaches, businesspeople—and everyone else—with tools they can use to maximize potential in themselves and others. Whether you’re coaching soccer or teaching a child to play the piano, writing a novel or trying to improve your golf swing, this revolutionary book shows you how to grow talent by tapping into a newly discovered brain mechanism. Drawing on cutting-edge neurology and firsthand research gathered on journeys to nine of the world’s talent hotbeds—from the baseball fields of the Caribbean to a classical-music academy in upstate New York—Coyle identifies the three key elements that will allow you to develop your gifts and optimize your performance in sports, art, music, math, or just about anything. Kindle, Hardcover
Bonnie and Clyde, they thought. And what’s-his-name, the sidekick. Three teenagers with dead-end lives, and chips on their shoulders, and guns. The first person they killed was a highway patrolman. The second was a woman during a robbery. Then, hell, why not keep on going? As their crime spree cuts a swath through rural Minnesota, some of it captured on the killers’ cell phones and sent to a local television station, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator Virgil Flowers joins the growing army of cops trying to run them down. But even he doesn’t realize what’s about to happen next.Kindle, Hardcover
This is the story of a woman, Rae, and her dog, Dante, a wolfhound who teaches "his human" that love is stronger than fear (the dog has always known this). Dante is the catalyst for change in other characters as well, and they step forward with their narratives: Rae's house-tender; her therapist; two veterinarians; and an anxiety-ridden actor, Howard, who turns out to be as stalwart as Dante himself. As the "seer" who hunts by sight rather than smell, Dante has some things to add, as does Rose, another dog who lives at Rae's heels, and Stanley the cat. Among and above these myriad voices, Rae voices her own challenges. With the wit and dead-on candor we've come to expect from Pam Houston, Sight Hound unfolds a story that illuminates the intangible covenant between loved ones. Here, dogs and humans are simply equal creatures, looking to connect and holding on for dear life when they do. Reading group guide included. Kindle, Paperback
Delusion in Death by Robb, J. D.
It was just another after-work happy-hour bar downtown, where business professionals unwound with a few drinks . . .until something went terribly wrong. And after twelve minutes of chaos and violence, eighty people lay dead. Lieutenant Eve Dallas is trying to sort out the inexplicable events. Surviving witnesses talk about seeing things—monsters and swarms of bees. They describe sudden, overwhelming feelings of fear and rage and paranoia. When forensics gives its report, the mass delusions make more sense: It appears the bar patrons were exposed to a cocktail of chemicals and illegal drugs that could drive anyone to temporary insanity—if not kill them outright. But that doesn’t explain who would unleash such horror—or why. And if Eve can’t figure it out fast, it could happen again, anytime, anywhere. Paperback
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. By Malcolm Gladwell.
This celebrated New York Times bestseller -- now poised to reach an even wider audience in paperback -- is a book that is changing the way Americans think about selling products and disseminating ideas. Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback
Just as people schedule regular check-ups with physicians, our planet needs regular check-ups to catch issues as early as possible, before they become more serious and harder to heal. That is the much-needed service provided on a global scale by the Worldwatch Institute in this new book, Vital Signs 2012. By taking stock of global consumption, Vital Signs 2012 offers the facts that need to guide our stewardship of the Earth's resources-and some of these facts are shocking. The report covers topics from obesity to ecosystem services, from grain production to nuclear power. Taken as a whole, it paints a picture of skyrocketing population, disappearing forests, and increasing consumption peppered with bright spots like growing investment in high-speed trains and other efficient transportation systems. Vital Signs 2012 is based on Worldwatch's online project of the same name, which provides up-to-date figures on important global concerns, as well as the Institute's own additional research. The book compiles the most important of these into an accessible, informative resource for policymakers and anyone who wants a realistic look at the state of our planet. Kindle, Paperback
Edible Medicines: An Ethnopharmacology of Food By Nina L. Etkin
Chile pepper is used today as a flavoring, but Aztecs also applied it for toothache, sore throat, and asthma. The tonic properties of coffee have been recorded in Islamic pharmacopoeia since the eleventh century, and many peoples have used it to protect against Parkinson’s disease. Although much has been documented regarding the nutritional values of foods, until recently little attention has been paid to the pharmacologic potential of diet. This book investigates the health implications of foods from the cuisines of peoples around the world to describe the place of food in health maintenance. In this wide-ranging book, Nina Etkin reveals the pharmacologic potential of foods in the specific cultural contexts in which they are used. Incorporating co-evolution with a biocultural perspective, she addresses some of the physiological effects of foods across cultures and through history while taking into account both the complex dynamics of food choice and the blurred distinctions between food and medicine. Showing that food choice is more closely linked to health than is commonly thought, she helps us to understand the health implications of people’s food-centered actions in the context of real-life circumstances. Drawing on an extensive literature that transects food and culture, the history of medicine, ethnopharmacology, food history, nutrition, and human evolution, Edible Medicines demonstrates the intricate relationship between culture and nature. It will appeal to a wide range of scholars and professionals, from anthropologists to nutritionists, as well as general readers seeking a greater understanding of the medicinal aspects of food. Paperback only
The phenomenal success of the iPhone, iPad and the iPod touch has ushered in a “gold rush” for developers, but with well over 300,000 apps in the highly competitive App Store, it has become increasingly difficult for new apps to stand out in the crowd. Achieving consumer awareness and sales longevity for your iOS app requires a lot of organization and some strategic planning. Updated and expanded for iOS 4, this bestselling book will show you how to incorporate marketing and business savvy into every aspect of the design and development process. The Business of iPhone and iPad App Development was written by experienced developers with business backgrounds, taking you step-by-step through cost effective marketing techniques that have proven successful for professional iOS app creators—perfect for independent developers on shoestring budgets. No prior business knowledge is required. This is the book you wish you had read before you launched your first app! Kindle, Paperback
Teaching What You Don't Know by Therese Huston.
Your graduate work was on bacterial evolution, but now you're lecturing to 200 freshmen on primate social life. You've taught Kant for twenty years, but now you're team-teaching a new course on “Ethics and the Internet.” The personality theorist retired and wasn't replaced, so now you, the neuroscientist, have to teach the "Sexual Identity" course. Everyone in academia knows it and no one likes to admit it: faculty often have to teach courses in areas they don't know very well. The challenges are even greater when students don't share your cultural background, lifestyle, or assumptions about how to behave in a classroom. In this practical and funny book, an experienced teaching consultant offers many creative strategies for dealing with typical problems. How can you prepare most efficiently for a new course in a new area? How do you look credible? And what do you do when you don't have a clue how to answer a question? Kindle, Paperback, Hardcover
Flip Your Classroom: Reach Every Student in Every Class Every Day by Jonathan Bergman.
It started with a simple observation: students need their teachers present to answer questions or to provide help if they get stuck on an assignment; they don't need their teachers present to listen to a lecture or review content. From there, Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams began the flipped classroom-students watched recorded lectures for homework and completed their assignments, labs, and tests in class with their teacher available. What Bergmann and Sams found was that their students demonstrated a deeper understanding of the material than ever before. This is the authors story, and they're confident it can be yours too. Learn what a flipped classroom is and why it works and get the information you need to flip a classroom. You'll also learn the flipped mastery model, where students learn at their own pace-furthering opportunities for personalized education. This simple concept is easily replicable in any classroom, doesn't cost much to implement, and helps foster self-directed learning. Once you flip, you wont want to go back! The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is the trusted source for professional development, knowledge generation, advocacy and leadership for innovation. ISTE is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in improving teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education. Home of the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), the Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology (CARET), and ISTE's annual conference (formerly known as the National Educational Computing Conference, or NECC), ISTE represents more than 100,000 professionals worldwide. We support our members with information, networking opportunities, and guidance as they face the challenge of transforming education. Some of the areas in which we publish are: -Web. 2.0 in the classroom-RSS, podcasts, and more -National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) -Professional development for educators and administrators -Integrating technology into the classroom and curriculum -Safe practices for the Internet and technology -Educational technology for parents Kindle, Paperback
Distilling the research literature and translating the scientific approach into language relevant to a college or university teacher, this book introduces seven general principles of how students learn. The authors have drawn on research from a breadth of perspectives (cognitive, developmental, and social psychology; educational research; anthropology; demographics; organizational behavior) to identify a set of key principles underlying learning, from how effective organization enhances retrieval and use of information to what impacts motivation. Integrating theory with real-classroom examples in practice, this book helps faculty to apply cognitive science advances to improve their own teaching. Kindle, Hardcover
Right now, holding in your hands, you have a copy of the best summary on the market today of the characteristics of students with diverse learning and curricular needs, and a critical examination of pressing, current issues in education. If you’re currently an educator, studying to be a teacher, or just interested in how students with a wide-array of needs succeed at being students, well then you’ve found the right book by the right author team! Effective Teaching Strategies that Accommodate Diverse Learners , Fourth Edition, the teaching, instruction, and curricula required to meet the needs of diverse learners, who by virtue of their experiential, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, challenge traditional curriculum and instructional programs. The majority of the text is dedicated to effective strategies and recommendations for teaching reading, comprehension, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies to ensure that diverse learners succeed in the classroom. This edition features new updates that enhance the value of this book and it’s meaning to you as an educator in today’s classroom environment. The authors have been careful to include: the most current research inroads and the implications for diverse learners; new results from assessment of student achievement and progress; the most current trends and changing demographics; and updated policy and practice and how these affect implementation of curriculum and instruction for diverse learners in today’s schools. Paperback
An ideal textbook for masters, doctoral, or educational specialist certificate programs,Foundations of Educational Technology offers a fresh, project-centered approach to the subject, helping students build an extensive electronic portfolio as they navigate the text. The book addresses fundamental characteristics of educational technology that span various users, contexts and settings; includes a full range of engaging exercises for students that will contribute to their professional growth; and offers the following 4-step pedagogical features inspired by M.D. Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction:
- TELL: Primary presentations and pointers to major sources of information and resources
- ASK: Activities that encourage students to critique applications and share their individual interpretations
- SHOW: Activities that demonstrate the application of key concepts and complex skills with appropriate opportunities for learner responses
- DO: Activities in which learners apply key concepts and complex skills while working on practice assignments and/or projects to be created for their electronic portfolios
The first textbook to launch Routledge’s new Integrative Approaches to Educational Technologyseries, this indispensable volume covers the core objectives addressed in foundations of educational technology courses. Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback
Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, 2nd edition. By Ceri B. Dean, Elizabeth Hubbell, Howard Pitler, and BJ Stone.
In 2001, Classroom Instruction That Works inspired more than a million teachers to refine their approach to teaching by asking and answering these questions: What works in education? How do we know? How can educational research find its way into the classroom? How can we apply it to help individual students? This all-new, completely revised second edition of that classic text pulls from years of research, practice, and results to reanalyze and reevaluate the nine instructional strategies that have the most positive effects on teaching and learning:
* Setting objectives and providing feedback
* Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
* Cooperative learning
* Cues, questions, and advance organizers
* Nonlinguistic representations
* Summarizing and note taking
* Assigning homework and providing practice
* Identifying similarities and differences
* Generating and testing hypotheses
Kindle, Paperback
A Guide for Developing Interdisciplinary Thematic Units. By Patricia L. Roberts and Richard D. Kellough.
Offers a step-by-step approach to using ITUs to help pupils acquire the knowledge and develop the problem-solving skills required for today's changing–and challenging–times. Addresses the content, technology, diversity, and classroom management of ITUs. Material on curriculum standards, scoring guides, and the relationship between the interdisciplinary thematic unit approach and professional education tests. Extensive coverage of the role of pupil input into ITUs. For future educators. Paperback
Conducting Educational Design Research by Susan McKenney and Thomas C. Reeves.
Educational design research blends scientific investigation with systematic development and implementation of solutions to educational problems. Empirical investigation is conducted in real learning settings-not laboratories-to craft usable and effective solutions. At the same time, the research is carefully structured to produce theoretical understanding that can serve the work of others. To support graduate students as well as experienced researchers who are new to this approach, Conducting Educational Design Research integrates multiple perspectives of educational design research throughout this three-part book. Part one clarifies the educational design research origins, approach and outcomes. It also presents a generic model portraying the overall process. Part two discusses the constituent elements of the model in detail, these are: analysis and exploration; design and construction; evaluation and reflection; and implementation and spread. Part three offers recommendations for proposing, reporting and advancing educational design research. Through related readings and richly varied examples, Conducting Educational Design Research offers clear and well-documented guidance on how to conceptualize and conduct this stimulating form of inquiry. For decades, policies for educational research worldwide have swung back and forth between demanding rigor above all other concerns, and increasing emphasis on impact. These two qualities need not be mutually exclusive. This volume supports readers in grasping and realizing the potential of educational design research. It demonstrates how rigorous and relevant investigation can yield both theoretical understanding and solutions to urgent educational problems. Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback
PLEASE NOTE: The Teaching and Learning Forum will provide one book to each person who participates in a Book Group each semester. If you wish to join more than one group per semester, you will need to pay for any additional books and lunches. You may also preview the books at the Teaching and Learning Forum Office in Library Room 057 before the registration deadline.