Five Penn State faculty to be featured on ‘The Academic Minute’

Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
Credit: Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Five Penn State faculty will be featured in a week’s worth of episodes of “The Academic Minute,” presenting on teaching and learning techniques.

The Academic Minute” is a 2 1/2-minute module released every Monday-Friday featuring guest faculty from universities across the U.S. The week of April 12 will feature Penn State educators Bill Goffe, Justine Lindeman, Katherine McLean, Daniel J. Mallinson and Jeffrey Stone. It is available in written and audio form, read by each guest presenter.

"Almost three years ago, we created a new position at the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence to support faculty who are interested in doing research on their teaching practice," said Laura Cruz, associate research professor with the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence. "As listeners will hear in 'The Academic Minute,' that position has served as a catalyst for rigorous, interesting and innovative research on the learning that takes place in our classrooms at Penn State."

Bill Goffe, teaching professor of economics, College of the Liberal Arts, will present “Deliberate Practice and Teaching,” which will dig deeper into the meaning of “active learning,” its implementation through the approach of deliberate practice and the previous work of notable scholars in the field.

Justine Lindemann, assistant professor in community development and resilience, College of Agricultural Science, will present “Mapping the Classroom as Community” and delve into what can be learned about student engagement and participation in a classroom space.

Katherine McLean, associate professor of criminal justice, Penn State Greater Allegheny, will present “Crime on Campus” and cover McLean’s “course-based project that encourages students to think critically about crime and its representation.”

Daniel J. Mallinson, assistant professor of public policy and administration, Penn State Harrisburg, will present on an app-based platform called Nearpod in “Engaging Citizen-Students through Technology.” Mallinson will discuss how the app-based platform Nearpod improves engagement, based on data gathered from 10 courses across several disciplines and levels.

Jeffrey Stone, assistant professor of information sciences and technology, Penn State Lehigh Valley, will round out the week on Friday with “Sustainability in Introductory Computing Courses.” Stone will discuss research into how students can learn about integrative skills necessary for sustainability by infusing sustainability problems into introductory computer and information sciences courses.

The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence is part of the Penn State Office of Undergraduate Education, the academic administrative unit that provides leadership and coordination for University-wide programs and initiatives in support of undergraduate teaching and learning at Penn State. Learn more about Undergraduate Education at undergrad.psu.edu.