Sul Ross State University
A Member of the Texas State University System
  |
New QEP Library Books Available at Wildenthal Library700.68 A792 Arts and Cultural Programming--a Leisure Perspective Human Kenetics Pub. 2008 Review: This book should be useful for students planning a career in elementary ed and those who guide them. The author offers practical advice for place-based curriculum building. The design principles are built on "play motifs," or what children do when they are free to play in nature (they probably apply to many adults too).
Chapters point out applications of these design principles in successful playgrounds, innovative classrooms, and outdoor based curriculum. Although aimed at younger children, the ideas seem quite adaptable to the college level. For example: museum dioramas, community based research, mapping, outdoor service, special places like "the desk." One fault of the book--no pictures. 333.72 E19 Ecological Literacy: Educating Our Children for a Sustainable World Sierra Club Books, 2005 The author once wrote a book with Timothy Leary called The Psychedelic Experience, so for those who grew up in the '60s, that's probably all I need to explain. The book is a very "mystical" look at using nature for imaginary "trips" of various kinds. It covers Gaia, vision quests, phychoactive plants, "wild humans," extensive coverage of gods and goddesses connected to nature, even Emiliano Zapata and Faust. Although this book is aimed at elementary school projects, many could be adapted for GIS/GPS projects, newspaper features, art, science, history, writing, and more. The book covers planning, budgeting, scheduling and all the details. Some of the projects are birdfeeders, mastering observational skills, creating a handmade book, insect watching, making maps, etc. Handy templates for making a dichotomous key, becoming a "citizen scientist," or participating in bird science with Cornell are included. An extensive resource list includes contests, films, grants and donors, websites, and field guides. A 50-page Appendix provides six different examples of completed projects: one on books, one on hands-on science, one on an injured animal, one on attracting birds and butterflies, one on native plants, and one on a park. 796.5 S677B 1996 Beyond Ecophobia: Reclaiming the Heart in Nature Education (Nature Literacy Series, Vol. 1), 1999 REVIEW: The author recommends a "place-view" rather than a "world-view" because understanding and solving local problems in the natural world is the key to an accurate wider view. He stresses the importance of age-appropriate projects and encourages a foundation of caring affection toward nature before facts and figures are attempted. He strongly argues against introducing grade school children to environmental tragedies. Instead, he recommends (and gives many examples) of age-appropriate ways to foster a love of the natural world. May be more philosophical than practical, but does bring up interesting debate questions. 304.2071 S677P 2005 Place-based Education: Connecting Classrooms and Communities, 2005. REVIEW: This is an inspirational collection of major community projects that schools have undertaken nationwide. It is a very community friendly guide advising against designing projects that harm communities so schools don't become 'the enemy" of the community. Most projects are centered in public schools, but could be easily adapted to college work in social sciences (peer research, improved consciousness and community relationships, applied theory), history (celebrating local culture, preservation, interviewing), community improvement (serve on committees, a river walk with changing exhibits), psychology (curricular exhibitions, designing child-friendly hospital rooms), economics (students help revive businesses, advertizing, community branding), agriculture (local speakers, hands-on experience, improving local school lunches), education (GA's design interdisciplinary outdoor projects, nature play), science (lots! Ideas range from water testing to mapping, designing research to collecting data, finding/creating interpretive trails), art (community art, local folk art), and wildlife (creating habitat, controlling problems, research). 508.07 161 1996 Into the Field: A Guide to Locally Focused Teaching, 2005 REVIEW: The authors emphasize how drawing (even if poorly done) can enhance memory and journaling can combine content with response for additional aid to memory. Great book for understanding the importance of journaling to numerous classes: science, history, art, nature writing, perhaps even business students could draw (to help remember) and then respond to or critique store displays, advertizing, street windows, etc. The authors include three forms of using the environment (nature and culture) for learning experiences: observation/descriptive writing, art/nature writing, and "reading" the environment for cultural history (land uses, separating natural scars from cultural scars). The book has a good critical thinking focus as the authors emphasize the importance of developing questions to promote engagement and improve observational skills, interpretation, and theses. For example, drawing and journaling can be used to come to a class consensus that "this place was once logged," then moving on to research in historical documents to prove/disprove the class hypothesis. Assignments could be used for co-op projects between art/writing/history/business classes. 510 A194M 2009 A Mathematical Nature Walk, 2009 KIT 97 (CD) A Perfect Storm: Understanding and Managing Millennials (by Magna Publications) 160.F533C 2001 Critical Thinking: An Introduction, 2001 331.702097 K590 Field Guides to Finding a New Career: Outdoor Careers, Ferguson Publishing, 2009 Review: This book covers some real basics of searching for a career in the outdoors, especially how to change from an "indoor" career to an "outdoor" career. It ranges from jobs connected to agriculture to jobs connected to outdoor sports. it seems almost too "basic" for me, but perhaps it is written at a level that students who are searching for a career might be able to identify with best. Each job also includes a pro/con interview with someone who switched from an indoor job to the featured job. (Barney Nelson) 513.1 P945B 1991 Basic Math concepts for Water and Wastewater Plant Operators (Mathematics for Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant Operations) 304.2071 S677C Childhood and Nature: Design Principles for Educators, Stenhouse Publishers, 2008 REVIEW: Aimed at elementary teachers, this book could/should also be inspirational for college-level projects. The author uses the local town and surroundings to increase student engagement with math, government, history, science, and almost any subject. Students learn geology by studying a local slate quarry...and discover immigration, economics, history, and a never-ending list as they learn to recognize and split slate and even build a commemorative pathway in the school garden. From investigating place-based outdoor games as "endangered species" to mapping the town to creating dioramas, the students learn to treasure their own as they learn. Example: explore a creek from source to merger with a larger river and recreate it in an accordion book with each student assigned a section. I wondered how engaging this might be for college students to "follow" Alpine creek, creating a similar project while learning to read topographic maps and deeds, interviewing people living along the creek, researching their section in the archives or courthouse, discovering floods, tragedies, local government, and more. Although a great book for those searching for creative ways to incorporate engagement with local nature and almost any subject, the index is not as practical as it could be. Ways to incorporate math, for instance, are sprinkled throughout the book, but the index does not list math as a heading or the interesting way to incorporate statistics by analyzing census records (p. 134). The same is true for numerous art, science, writing, drama, geometry, etc. assignments. The book is clearly written and engaging to read, so mining it for ideas would be a pleasant task. 378.16913 W555 What Faculty Members Need to Know About Retention, Magna Publications, 2010 371.384 094 2008 The Outdoor Classroom: Integrating Learning and Adventure 378.1644 S964A 2004 Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2010 616.89165 D262P 2008 The Promise of Wilderness Therapy, AEE, 2008 370.115 P697 2008 Place-Based Education in the Global Age: Local Diversity, Routledge, 2007 153.42 R931A 2012 The Art of Thinking: A Guide to Critical & Creative Thought, Group, 2011 153.42 K23C 2009 Critical Thinking: A Beginner's Guide, Oneworld, 2009 121.6 B157S 2008 A Short Course in Intellectual Self Defense, Seven Stories Press, 2008 DVD 1313 Motivating Students to Think Critically by Teaching for Discovery DVD 1317 Learner-Centered Teaching--Where Should I Start? DVD 1019 Global Gardener--Permaculture with Bill Morrison DVD 1349 Life (Documentary narrated by David Attenborough) DVD 1327 Baraka DVD 1326 Flow: How Did a Handful of Corporations Steal Our Water? DVD 1325 The Polyface Farm DVD 1316 How Can I Promote Deep, Lasting Student Learning? |