Now You See It: How the Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work and Learn
The Viking Press $27.95
Cathy N. Davidson uses cutting-edge research on the brain to describe how “attention blindness,” that is, perceiving only a fraction of everything going on around us, can pave the way to new ways of working and learning. She suggests that we need to adapt and restructure ourselves and our institutions to be successful in the digital age. The text is built around an experiment in 2003 when Davidson and Duke University gave free iPods to Duke's freshman class, and students turned learning upside-down by developing academic uses for the music player.
Surpassing Shanghai: An Agenda for American Education Built on the World’s Leading Systems
Harvard Education Press $29.95
Edited by Mark S. Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), with a foreword by Linda Darling-Hammond, this book offers educators insight into the world’s best education systems. Five countries are spending less than the United States on education per student, yet they have achieved excellence. Each country’s education system is broken down into main elements, which include standards, examination systems, instructional systems, school finance, teacher quality and incentives that affect student motivation.
The Pre-K Debates: Current Controversies and Issues
Brookes Publishing $36.95
Editors Edward Zigler, Walter S. Gilliam and W. Steven Barnett gathered more than 40 leading thinkers to debate pre-K from all sides and to help administrators make well-informed decisions when implementing pre-K programs. The text explores tough questions, such as whether pre-K should be targeted or universal, what the minimum educational requirements for preschool teachers should be, and whether the primary focus of instruction should be academics or the whole child.
Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership
Basic Books $19.99
Education expert Howard Gardner and collaborator Emma Laskin, his research associate at Harvard Project Zero, offer captivating revelations about the minds of leaders and the people who follow them. They examine the messages and methods of 11 modern leaders, including Pope John XXIII and Martin Luther King Jr. This 2011 edition includes a new introduction by Gardner.
Cell Phones in the Classroom: A Practical Guide for Educators
Author Liz Kolb, a mobile enthusiast and adjunct assistant professor at Madonna University (Mich.), encourages school leaders to allow students to bring cell phones into the classroom for projects, homework assignments and communication with parents. Her book features case studies that illustrate practical ways to allow students to use cell phones in the classroom, lesson plans for mobile learning and strategies for involving students without cell phones.