Book Sparks

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

2013-06-25T19:13:00.001-05:00

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. If you are one of them, this book has the power to permanently change how you see yourself. Passionately argued and impressively researched, Quiet shows how dramatically our culture undervalues introverts and identifies -- based on the latest psychology and neuroscience -- the advantages of being one.

The Next Generation

2006-05-05T10:25:00.000-05:00

Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers
"The book is a landmark study of the religious attitudes and practices of American teenagers. While the study demonstrates that there is a strong correlation between religious commitment and positive social behavior, there are also disturbing trends related to this theologically illiterate generation of teens who primarily think of God as their private butler." -- from the flyleaf. BL 625.47 S63 2005

Learning to Live in an Electronic World

2006-05-05T10:10:00.000-05:00

New Media: The Reference Shelf
Substantive essays exploring components of the new media: the Internet, blogs, open-source software, podcasts, liberal education, blogs in the classroom, wikis and the hugely popular world of gaming. QA 76.575 N477 2006

The Need to Reassert Core American Values

2005-10-30T09:36:00.000-06:00

Who Are We? the Challenges to America's National Identity

Other civilizations from around the world are having a huge impact on the United States and the distinct culture instituted by our forefathers is being eroded. E 169.12.H78 2004

Teaching Techniques for Science Teachers and Others

2005-04-18T09:21:00.000-05:00

Teaching Tips: Innovations in Undergraduate Science Instruction

Although this book is directed at science teachers, many of the techniques would work in any class. Put together by the Society for College Science Teachers, it's a "quick-read compilation of members' most effective and engaging teaching techniques." Three sections: Pedagogical Practices, Assessment Activities (QEP folks, take note), and Content Challenges. Q 183.3 A1 T44 2004

The Superiority of the Printed Word

2005-03-30T21:54:00.000-06:00

Drowning in the Current :: Books not Blogs
This is the first link I've ever created in this blog. I usually post only original items here. But this was so good ... and it praises the merits of real live books. I couldn't resist !

How toTeach To and With the Heart

2005-03-14T10:02:00.000-06:00

An Imaginative Approach to Teaching
I decided a long time ago that good teaching is good teaching: whether it's in front of a class of sixth graders or a room full of retirees. "Author [Kieran Egan] clearly demonstrates how knowledge comes to life in the students' minds if it is introduced in the context of human hopes, fears, and passions." -- From the flyleaf. LB 1025.3 E37 2005

I've Gotta Read This One...

2005-02-26T15:21:00.000-06:00

Bob Dylan. Chronicles. Volume One.

After reading only a few passages, I'm hooked. This strange, interesting man can write prose too. ML 420 D98 A3 v.1 2004

What's Wrong With Dictatorship at the Office?

2005-02-26T13:30:00.000-06:00

The Future of Work:How the New Order of Business Will Shape Your Organization, Your Management Style, and Your Life

"[Thomas W.] Malone argues that a convergence of technological and economic factors -- particularly the rapidly falling cost of communication -- is enabling a change in business organizations as profound as the shift to democracy in governments. " (flyleaf). HD 31 .M2867

American Commercialism Is a Gigantic, Socializing Force

2005-02-16T19:51:00.000-06:00

Born to Buy : The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture

This from Barbara Ehrenreich. " We worry about so many dangers to our children --drugs, perverts, bullies-- but seldom notice the biggest menace of all: the multibillion-dollar marketing effort aimed at turning the kids into oversexed, status-obsessed, attention-deficient little consumers. Like her earlier books, Juliet Schor's Born to Buy is a brilliant expose' and call to action." HF 5415.33 U6 S355 2004

Looking for Beauty in Unexpected Places: Modern Art for the Common "Student"

2004-03-17T16:35:00.000-06:00

Why a Painting Is Like a Pizza : A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying Modern Art

Among other things, author Nancy Heller answers the really important questions about contemporary and abstract art like: a) How can you tell whether the thing in the corner is a modern sculpture or a humidity monitor? or b) Which end is up? How can you tell? And more than that. "Nancy Heller's wonderful book arrives in the nick of time. Destined to be a classic of public education, it is lucid, engaging, and ingenious, leading the reader through the difficulties and strategies of avant-garde art. Intended for the general audicence, this book is also must reading for teachers, throughout the humanities, which have become distracted by jargon and ideology. Heller is an inspiring role model for university scholars, who must recover and renew their central mission of teaching." -- Camille Paglia. N6490 H42

How Cell Phones, Pagers and PDAs are Shaping Modern Culture

2004-03-04T10:29:00.000-06:00

Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution

Smart Mobs are dynamic groups of people who can act together cooperatively even if they are complete strangers. Howard Rheingold shows how this phenomenon is coming on strong. HM 851 R47 2003.

How to Think Philosophically About Any Subject

2004-03-04T10:18:00.000-06:00

Thinking It Through: An Introduction to Contemporary Philosophy

Kwame Appiah in Thinking it Through, teaches what it means to do philosophy in our time and why it matters. Eschewing a historical approach, he deals directly with classic problems (God,mind-body, etc.) primarily as a way of instructing us in the thinking ways of philosophers. "Appiah shows us not only what philosophers have thought but how they think, giving us examples we might use in our own attempts to navigate the complex issues that confront any reflective person in the 21st century." Chapters on Mind, Knowledge, Language, Science, Morality, Politics, Law, Metaphysics, and Philosophy. BD 21 A68 2003.

Do You Know What Theory Underlies Your Own Teaching?

2004-03-04T10:09:00.000-06:00

Learning Theories: A to Z

In Learning Theories, David Leonard names over 500 learning theory terms and provides substantive descriptions. Each term is identified as to which of the primary learning theories it relates to: cognitivism, constructivism, behaviorism, humanism, or organizational learning. In addition there is an excellent annotated list of selected scholarly books and articles on the subject. LB 15 .L4695 2002.

He's Serious About Humor (Really)

2004-03-04T09:54:00.000-06:00

Humor As an Instructional Defibrillator: Evidence-Based Techniques in Teaching and Assessment

In Humor as an Instructional Defibrillator, Ronald Berk takes on a difficult task and, as it appears, does a teriffic job with it. Notice the subtitle: "Evidence Based." This guy talks seriously about a way to be funny usefully... so that students learn the material. "Presents numerous evidence-based humor techniques lumped into four categories: (1) forms that rely on in class delivery, (2) forms that can be inserted in print course materials, (3) print and nonprint forms that can be used on a course Web site, and (4) forms that can be incorporated into any course tests." (flyleaf) LB 1027 .B472 2002.

A Challenge toThink Beyond the Boundaries of Nation-States

2004-03-04T09:41:00.000-06:00

One World: The Ethics of Globalization

In One World, Peter Singer covers four main issues: climate change, the role of the World Trade Organization, human rights and humanitarian intervention, and foreign aid. BJ 1500 G56 S56 2002.

How the Modern Age is Rewiring Your Mind

2004-03-04T09:35:00.000-06:00

The New Brain
"The New Brain is the story of technology and biology converging to influence the evolution of the human brain." (flyleaf). Among the significant questions Dr. Restak deals with are: What happens in our brains when the image replaces language as the primary means of communication? QP 355.2 R47.

A Ranking of the Best People Ever

2004-03-02T14:21:00.000-06:00

Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, 800 B.C. to 1950

Authored by Charles Murray, controversial author of The Bell Curve. A statistical analysis of 4,002 scientists and artists across three millenium best known to encyclopedia editors. According to the NYT Book Review "if we sliced away Murray's staistical apparatus and looked at the "Human Accomplishment" as one of man's now-slender essays on the nature of greatness? It would...be fun read."