Ask-Dr-Kirk

Free Textbooks For Students

Here's a list of 150 free textbooks (with links to these) covering a variety of topics including Art History, Biology, Business, Science, Education, Math, and Engineering.

Summer Reading: Week 10

This may be the last fun reading I'll get to do for a while with the new semester starting up. This week's book was The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. The author uses an interesting approach that seems to be popular lately and that is to take real characters and write a novel about their lives. This one is about Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley, and gives insight as to how he got his start as a writer but told from Hadley's point of view. I really enjoyed it.

Summer Reading: Week 9

This week I read a book that I started to read years ago but didn't get past the first few pages. I'm not sure why. The book is One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus. The premise of the story is that a Cheyenne Indian Chief proposed to President Grant in the mid 1800s that white women be sent to marry within the tribe. The children of these marriages would then help assimilate the Cheyennes, teaching them what it would take to live peacefully within the White culture. One of the women, May Dodd, writes about the experiences of the women in a series of journals. The book is fiction but written in such a way as to seem feasible.

 

Summer Reading: Week 8

Last weekend I went with a friend to St Pete Beach so I chose a beach book to read, Smoking Seventeen by Janet Evanovich. If you've never read one of her Stephanie Plum novels, these are the type of books you want to read just to be entertained. The best part is the wacky characters, starting with Stephanie who is a bounty hunter. If you haven't read any of these books, I would suggest starting with the first one in the series, One for the Money.

 

Summer Reading: Week 7

This week I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. The book is narrated by 15-year-old Christopher who loves animals, doesn't like people, and is a whiz at mathematics. He is a fan of Sherlock Holmes and decides to figure out who murdered his neighbor's dog after he is falsely accused of the crime. Although Christopher is autistic, in some ways he is better able to cope with life than his parents and others around him.

Summer Reading: Week 6

This week I read the book, Room, by Emma Donoghue. The subject matter made it tough to read but the author does a great job of showing the special bond between a mother and her son. The book is told from the perspective of Jack, a five-year-old boy whose entire world is a 11 x 11 foot room. His mother does such a great job of creating a life for him that he doeesn't realize that they are prisoners and that his mother had been kidnapped years before.

 

Summer Reading: Week 5

This week I re-read The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. If you've only seen the movie, the book is much better. I'm not usually a fan of science fiction but loved this story of Henry, a librarian in Chicago, and his wife, Clare. Henry suffers from a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel without warning. He essentially gets to watch Clare grow up. The story is very creative and engrossing and the second read was as good as the first!

Summer Reading: Week 4

This week's choice was The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. The story is told in third-person plural to illustrate the closeness of the three sisters who love each other but for various reasons don't seem to like each other much. Rosalind, Bianca, and Cordelia were all named for Shakespearean heroines by their father who uses phrases from various plays to communicate with his daughters. This is an interesting approach although at times seems to slow down the story. The daughters are very much locked into their roles in the family-Rosalind (Rose) is the responsible one, Bianca (Bean) the pretty one, and Cordelia (Cordy) is the free spirit. However, this begins to change when they end up back home when their mother is diagnosed with cancer. The book is Eleanor Brown's first novel and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Summer Reading: Week 3

This week I read Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. It's a non-fiction account of Abdulrahman Zeitoun who decided to stay in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in order to protect his painting business and real estate properties. He uses a small canoe to feed dogs that have been left behind when their owners fled and to rescue people after their homes are flooded. However, he is arrested and accused of being a terrorist because of his race and religion and is held without bond, not allowed a lawyer, or even a phone call for three months. The book is eye-opening as a first-person account of the tragedy of Katrina.

 

Summer Reading: Week 2

The book I read this week was Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I found the book amazing. Even if you aren't the type of person who underlines quotes you like while reading a book, this book may change that (Check out this blogpost of great quotes from the book).

It's the story of a young boy trying to deal with his father's death in the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City. He finds a key hidden in his father's closet and is convinced that his father meant for him to find the lock the key fits and that this will provide him with answers to the tragedy. The author writes so well that I find myself wanting to read the book a second time already.

Summer Reading: Week 1

I love summer as it gives me a chance to catch up on some of the books I've been wanting to read. I'm always looking for recommendations and so thought I would share each week the book I've read and encourage you to share your favorites with me. 

This week's book: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lack.

You can read the New York Times review on the book here.

 

How To Get That Article Written And Published

 

Dr. Billie Hara (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) recently reviewed a book that would be useful for new faculty or graduate students on how to write an article for possible publication.

 

 

Free Ebook For Teachers On Using Technology In Your Course Design

If you're thinking of incorporating technology into your classes this fall, here's a free ebook with lots of "how to" info. I have used Twitter, weblogs, Skype, and Wikis so far in order to get more active participation from my students.

 

Books By Writers For Writers

I came across this list of 75 books that writers should read. I've read the following three books (all were great!) and am looking forward to reading some of the others on the list.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg

Bird by Bird: Some instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

New Book For New College Teachers

For those who are curious about college teaching or who are starting their first year of teaching this fall, you might check out this book from Atlantic Publishing Company entitled, How To Be Successful In Your First Year Of Teaching College: Everything You Need To Know That They Don’t Teach You In School. Here’s a review of the book here.

 

Here's my advice on how to get a part-time teaching position.

 

 

Free Books!

Just found this site for those of you who enjoy reading (that would be all of us right?). You list the paperback books you own that you would be willing to swap and then pick the ones you want sent to you. It only costs you the postage. They even have audio books in addition to fiction and nonfiction. I'm thinking I'll stock up for the summer!

Ex-Student Releases His Third Book, SWAT: Seize The Accomplishment

Timothy L. Johnson was one of my MBA students back in the early 1990s at Drake University. Sometimes you get to remember why you went into teaching in the first place...It's the ability to look with pride at the accomplishments of former students.

Timothy's third book, SWAT: Seize the Accomplishment, has just been released. The book, written as a business fable is an excellent read on systems thinking and is being touted highly by top leaders such as the following:

SWAT is a compelling book on a subject that could be dry and brittle. Tim presents his topic by telling a story that everyone in business can relate to. It’s easy to read, and also realistic, humorous, and a great learning experience. I have worked with systems for over 30 years and I even learned some new things. If you want to get a better handle on business systems and processes, you won’t go wrong with this book! ...Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, President, Watermark Learning

SWAT is a must-read for every aspiring (and practicing) business analyst, process manager, and project manager. It is the best business novel/fable/non-nonfiction business book around (this from someone who lists The Goal, It’s Not Luck, and Critical Chain as 3 of the 5 best business books he’s read). It is a clear, concise, entertaining, and EFFECTIVE introduction to systems thinking.   ...Mike DeWitt, Chief Operating Officer, Cyberactive Marketing LLC

SWAT takes an important topic, systems thinking, that has been avoided by many and makes it relevant and useful. This important knowledge is wrapped in a great story which is fun to read and provides an incredible opportunity to learn about the exciting world of SWAT teams. It is a combination that leaders and learners won’t be able to put down.    ...Kevin Eikenberry - Author, Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time

Timothy is also the author of Race Through the Forest: A Project Management Fable and Gust: The "Tale" Wind of Office Politics.

Congrats, Timothy. I'm looking forward to the next book!

 

 

 

 

Timothy Johnson Has Another New Book!

I received a signed copy of Timothy Johnson’s latest book, SWAT: Seize the Accomplishment today in the mail and I’ll have to say I think it’s his best one yet although Race Through the Forest (on project management) and GUST (on office politics) were excellent also. SWAT has a January 2010 release date on it.

 

Timothy was one of my MBA students back in 1990 and he likes to tell the story of the day when I came into class, give back everyone's research papers, said they were all garbage (his wording-I'm sure I was much more politically correct), and told them they had to do them over again by the following week. On the other hand, maybe Timothy's book success is partly due to learning to rewrite and edit? Just saying...

 

Congratulations, Timothy. You done good!

Special Price On Book On Teaching

TIBERIUS PUBLICATIONS has a special quantity discount on my book, Taking Back the Classroom: Tips for the College Professor on Becoming a More Effective Teacher. The price is as low as $18 for 10 or more books if ordered by September 15, 2009. You can access the order form here:

Download TAKING BACK THE CLASSROOM Summer special

Just in time for the new academic year!

Patti Digh To Do Booksignings in Florida

Patti Digh will be speaking to my MBA class at the University of South Florida in Sarasota on Saturday, December 6 about Leadership and Diversity. While in Florida, she will do an author reading and booksigning for her new book, Life is a Verb, at the following bookstores:

• 7:30pm Thursday, December 4 at Barnes & Noble, 11802 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa.

NOTE: Barnes & Noble will donate 10% of ALL sales at ANY B&N store on December 4-9 (not just Patti's book) to a local charity, Metropolitan Ministries, that helps the poor and homeless.

Download Flyer-with-vouchermm  to take to any Barnes & Noble store.

• 12:30pm Friday, December 5 at Barnes & Noble campus bookstore, 500 3rd Street South, University of South Florida, St Petersburg

• 6:30pm Saturday, December 6 at Sarasota News and Books, 1341 Main Street, Sarasota

More info on her book can be found at: www.pattidigh.com 

Books make great holiday presents!!

Book On Collaborative Learning Techniques

Collaborative Learning Techniques by Barkley, Cross, and Major is a well-written handbook that contains 30 group work techniques that you could use in your classes.  These include ways to get your students involved in class discussion, techniques for problem solving, and various writing exercises.  In addition, the authors include examples of how teachers have used the techniques in a variety of classes.

Zoomii Allows You To Shop By Book Cover

While I love Amazon for how easy it is to order books that I know I want, it isn't convenient to use to find a new book or author to read.  Zoomii.com has changed that by developing a virtual bookstore where you browse by book cover.  I especially like the bestsellers and new releases shelves.  Great for those days when I don't want to actually go to a bookstore (come to think of it, that doesn't happen too often!)

Advice For Professors: What They Didn't Teach You in Graduate School

Professors Paul Gray and David E. Drew offer advice from their new book, What They Didn't Teach You in Graduate School: 199 Helpful Hints for Success in Your Academic Career (Stylus Publishing, 2008). As they note:

“Most new Ph.D.'s who accept faculty positions are shocked to discover that no one told them what their day-to-day jobs would really entail. They struggled as graduate students to master the literature, theories, models, and analytical techniques in their fields and wrote dissertations of which they are proud, but they quickly realize that this knowledge is separate and distinct from understanding and dealing with the challenges and obstacles that face a beginning professor.”

Some tidbits from the book: 

Finish your Ph.D. as quickly as possible. Don't feel that you need to create the greatest work that Western civilization ever saw. Five years from now the only thing that will matter is whether you finished.

Don't take a tenure-track faculty position without the Ph.D. in hand. We estimate the odds are two to one against your ever finishing your degree. Furthermore, without a Ph.D. you will be offered a significantly lower salary, and you may never make up the difference.

Know that publications are your only form of portable wealth. Prioritize accordingly.

Never, ever choose sides in department politics. The side you are on expects your support and will give you no reward for it. The side(s) you are not on will remember forever.

Never become a department chair unless you are already a tenured full professor. Yes, it will reduce your teaching load. Yes, it will give you visibility. No, it will not confer power on you.  Most department chairs do less research and publish less while in that position than they would as a faculty member. Thus you are producing less portable wealth per year, and you are reducing your chances for tenure or for promotion.

Write most of your articles for refereed journals. Papers presented at meetings get you funds to be a world traveler. However, even if refereed, conference papers don't really count for tenure, promotion, or salary raises.

Do, however, serve as a reviewer for journals, particularly top journals. Treat this job seriously. You will see much junk being submitted and appreciate why some journals reject 80 percent or more of their submissions. You will develop an aesthetic for what is good and what is not. You will correspond with some powerful people. When you do get a good paper to review, you will receive much earlier knowledge of an important new development. And the information gained is worth more than the time you take reviewing.

I've been teaching at the college level for 26 years and would agree with their advice.  Unfortunately, some of this I had to learn the hard way my first few years.

Free ebook Has Good Suggestions For Our Students

Ted Demopoulos has updated his ebook, Effective Internet Presence (Now Required For Success In Business And Life) and is offering it for free.

He has some good points for our students in thinking about what personal information is on the web that could affect their job search.  Many companies are now googling their applicants' names as part of the recruiting and selection process.  We need to remind our students to be careful what they post on the internet.

Book Tag

Angela Maiers of Maiers Educational Services, Inc. has tagged me with the following questions:

Last book read: 

• The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs

Last book bought:

• Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

5 meaningful books (I chose my favorites on teaching):

• Classroom Assessment Techniques by Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross
• What The Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain
• McKeachie's Teaching Tips by Wilbert J. McKeachie
• Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis
• Tips & Thoughts on Improving the Teaching Process in College by Joe Ben Hoyle (free ebook)

Can I include my own book on teaching?  Taking Back the Classroom: Tips for the College Professor on Becoming a More Effective Teacher

I'm tagging Timothy Johnson, Vicki A. Davis, Tammy Lenski, Liz Strauss (all people involved in educating others)

Giving Feedback To Your Students

Recently I reviewed Dr. Peter Filene's book, The Joy of Teaching (University of North Carolina).  In his chapter on evaluating and grading, he gives some excellent advice to all of us on how to teach through the comments we make on students' papers.  He advocates:

• Identify what the student has done well.  Thus, follow up your comment, "I like this part" with "because..."  Be specific.
• If you label problems in the paper such as "this part is confusing," give the student suggestions as to how to overcome the problem.  In other words, tell the student why you are confused.
• Instead of asking questions on the paper that the student could respond to with a simple "yes" or "no," use why, how, or what questions that require the student to rethink what he/she wrote.
• Be careful of writing too much in the margins as at first glance the student will feel overwhelmed with the sheer impact of a paper covered with scribbles.  Concentrate on the major problems with the paper.
• Consider writing your comments as a letter to the student.  The 1st paragraph would "describe what the student has done well."  The 2nd paragraph would present one or two major weaknesses of the paper and suggestions for the student to overcome this in the next paper assignment.
• Make a copy of the student's paper and your comments so you can see how the student is progressing when grading his/her next paper.

Dr. Filene gives the following examples:

Lydia:  This essay has some good ideas, but they aren't very clear.  You didn't spend enough time organizing them or finding evidence to support them.  Commas and spelling need work too.  You consistently misspell "sucession."

OR

Allen: You have produced a lucid and interesting explanation of the Civil War.  I particularly like the examples you cite on page 2 because they clarify the importance of John Brown and "fanaticism" in pushing the South to secede (By the way, it's "secede," not "succeed.") 

The essay would be stronger if it had said more about Lincoln's policy toward slavery.  On page 3 you say "he hated it," but that doesn't clarify what he proposed to do about it.  Do you see how there's a missing link in the story?  Moreover, the thesis paragraph doesn't do justice to the rest of your essay.  It repeats the question instead of alerting the reader to your subsequent argument (which you capsulize neatly in your conclusion). 

I'll be glad to talk about this.

As you can see, his second example continues teaching beyond the classroom itself and would be more likely to result in a better paper from the student next time.