William Rothwell, professor of workplace learning and performance at Penn State, is co-author of a newly released book that advocates changes in hiring, goal-setting, learning and development, and performance management. "Lean but Agile: Rethink and Gain a True Competitive Edge" presents a system for analyzing work and selecting the ideal combination of cost-effective resources to accomplish it. (more)
Heavy metal music may compel some listeners to cover their ears. But to Paul Greene, associate professor of ethnomusicology and integrative arts at Penn State Brandywine, heavy metal is an exciting musical culture. In his new book, "Metal Rules the Globe: Heavy Metal Music Around the World," which he co-edited with Jeremy Wallach and Harris M. Berger, he explores a genre which exists around the world. (more)
Gail Boldt, Penn State associate professor of language and literacy education, is co-editor of the latest issue of Bank Street's Occasional Papers Series, a prominent academic journal that serves as a forum for educators to discuss timely academic matters. Boldt collaborated with William Ayers, who recently retired from the University of Illinois at Chicago, to co-edit the special Occasional Papers issue titled "Challenging the Politics of the Teacher Accountability Movement: Toward a More Hopeful Educational Future." (more)
The American Journal of Education recently released a special issue that takes on the question of data use in education and provides a crucial blueprint to guide future research on this emerging topic. The journal is housed in Penn State's College of Education. (more)
Carla Zembal-Saul, holder of the Kahn professorship in STEM education at Penn State, is co-author of a newly released book designed to support K-5 teachers in integrating explanation-driven science in their classrooms. "What's Your Evidence? Engaging K-5 Students in Constructing Explanations in Science" (Pearson, 2012) examines the importance of scientific explanation in elementary science instruction. Zembal-Saul's co-authors are Katherine McNeill, faculty member at Boston College, and Kimber Hershberger, a third-grade teacher at Radio Park Elementary School in the State College (Pa.) Area School District. (more)
Dr. Edward Glantz, a professor in Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology, has a wealth of experience to draw from when it comes to helping students get acclimated at Penn State. In his new book, "A Student Guide to Success at Penn State," he explains to incoming students that getting a degree in a particular major is not the ultimate goal of a college education. Rather, he encourages incoming students to "take advantage of all that college has to offer, including preparing for the first job." (more)
Gwendolyn Lloyd, professor of mathematics education at Penn State, has co-authored a new book with Beth Herbel-Eisenmann of Michigan State University and Jon Star of Harvard University.
The book, titled "Developing Essential Understanding of Expressions, Equations, and Functions: Grades 6-8" (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 2011), is part of NCTM's Essential Understandings series. This series, edited by Penn State faculty member Rose Mary Zbiek, aims to help teachers deepen their understandings of mathematical topics that are critical to students' learning but challenging to teach. (more)
A new book co-edited by Gwendolyn Lloyd, Penn State professor of mathematics education, offers strategies and resources for using Standards-based curriculum materials in mathematics teacher education. Lloyd collaborated with Vanessa Pitts-Bannister, of the University of South Florida Polytechnic, to produce "Curriculum-Based Activities and Resources for Preservice Math Teachers." The book follows on the heels of research that Lloyd and Pitts-Bannister conducted over several years. In their work, Lloyd and Pitts-Bannister examined strategies for using innovative curriculum resources to improve preservice teachers' understandings of mathematics teaching and learning. (more)
A religious studies scholar and pioneer in the study of American Buddhism reflects in his newest book on a more than four-decade career that included controversies and insights that changed the field of Buddhist studies. Charles Prebish said he chose to write his memoir, "An American Buddhist Life: Memoirs of a Modern Dharma Pioneer," (The Sumeru Press, 2011), to highlight the personalities of the people and scholars he met during his career. "People in Buddhist studies typically don't write memoirs, so there's no reflection on the great people in the field," said Prebish. "I thought, why not go ahead and write it because the stories are so good." (more)
