Dr. Arthur Leon, Kinesiology professor of exercise physiology, announces three book chapters published with current and former graduate students.
Arthur Leon and Scott Brown published “Physiological adaptation to moderate-intensity aerobic exercise,” in Barbara Ainsworth and C.A. Macera, editors, Physical Activity and Public Health Practice, CRC Press, 2012. Arthur Leon and Ulf Bronas published “Cholesterol, Dyslipidemia, and Lifestyle,” and “Hypertension: Role of Lifestyle in Etiology, Prevention, and Management,” in J.M. Rippe, editor, Encyclopedia of Lifestyle Medicine and Health, Volumes 1-2, Sage Publishing, 2012
Current PhD candidate Scott Brown has previously served as Dr. Leon’s teaching assistant. Ulf Bronas was a PhD advisee of Dr. Leon, and graduated in 2007.
Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies is a top field for future workforce
Many of the University of Minnesota’s fastest-growing academic disciplines fall into industries predicted to thrive. The School of Kinesiology’s popular Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies undergraduate program, directed by Dr. Connie Magnuson, was highlighted in this category yesterday by the Minnesota Daily in the article “Top U fields have a future in the workforce.”
Along with biological sciences and construction trades, recreation and fitness studies saw the highest percentage growth in graduates within the past decade. This is promising news for Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies undergraduate students Brittany Turnis and Tyler Joing, who are featured in the story.
“This major puts you out there and gets you connected to people who can help you in the future or maybe get you a job,” Turnis said.
Read the full article here.
C&I Professor Cynthia Lewis receives mentoring award.
Professor Cynthia Lewis (Department of Curriculum and Instruction) is co-winner of the AERA Division G – Social Context of Education Mentoring Award for 2012. This award recognizes those who have made distinguished contributions in the mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as junior scholars, contributing to the development of a new generation of scholars who focus on social contexts of education.
The American Educational Research Association (AERA), founded in 1916, is concerned with improving the educational process by encouraging scholarly inquiry related to education and evaluation and by promoting the dissemination and practical application of research results.
OLPD well represented at U of MN’s Inaugural International Research Conference
The Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development (OLPD) was well represented at the recent University of Minnesota Addressing Global Challenges through International Research Inaugural International Research Conference on February 17, 2012. The following faculty, students, and staff presented at the event:
- Karen Seashore, Regents Professor, Global U Forum, “How Should Global Governance Shape the International Research Agenda? What Are the Opportunities and Where Are the Gaps in Solving Problems on a Global Scale?”
- Melissa Anderson, Professor, Presentation, “Ethics in International Research: Unique Issues and Case Studies”
- Chantal Figueroa, Ph.D. Student, Presentation, “ClaraMente: Constructing Mental Health and Stigma in Guatemala City”
- Hui Bi, Research Assistant, Poster Session, “Women’s Entrepreneurship, Learning, and Empowerment: Assessing the Impact of Microfinance on Women in Rural China”
- Darwin Hendel, Associate Professor, and Takehito Kamata, Ph.D. Student, Poster Session, “The Five Domestic University Ranking Systems and National Higher Education Issues in Japan”
- Nelson M. Nkhoma, Graduate Student, and Takehito Kamata, Ph.D. Student, Poster Session, “Asia Aids Africa? An Assessment of Japan’s Official Development Aid to Malawi through Mathematics and Science Education”
Russian international education administrators visit OLPD class
Eight senior administrators from higher education institutions across Russia visited Michael Goh’s (associate professor, Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development) OLPD 5132 Intercultural Education and Training class. The Russian visitors shared the cultural diversity they represented across Russia from the northern Arkhangelsk Region to Moscow and Siberia and they engaged in intercultural activities and dialogue with students. They are part of the Russian International Education Administrators (RIEA) program, a Fulbright program funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Institute of International Education in which international education professionals from Russia visit the University of Minnesota to learn about the development of international education in the U.S. as well as develop ideas to bring back to their institutions in Russia.
OLPD graduate student receives NARST grant
Brent Ruter, Ph.D. student in Comparative and International Development Education (CIDE) in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development (OLPD), received a $5000 travel grant from the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST) to support his research on science education in Tanzania.
Ed Psychology grad student Stanke develops Win Index for NCAA tourney
With “March Madness” in full swing, Luke Stanke, a graduate student in the Department of Educational Psychology, Quantitative Methods in Education track, suggests there may be a better way to select and seed teams for the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Currently, a selection committee chooses teams based on a Rating Percentage Index (RPI) and other data. At the recent MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, March 2-3, in Boston, Stanke introduced a Win Index that ranks teams based on their regular season performance. Using eight years of data, he showed that the Win Index predicts outcomes of NCAA tournament games better than does the RPI Index or the selection committee’s seeding of teams. Results suggest that the new Win Index may better inform selection committee decisions than does the RPI Index.
For more, read the Star Tribune story on Stanke’s research or read his paper here.
Continue reading “Ed Psychology grad student Stanke develops Win Index for NCAA tourney”
Park investigates Multiple Representations in Mathematics
Mi Sun Park is a Graduate Research Assistant in the STEM Education Center, and a Ph.D. candidate in Mathematics Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. For her doctoral dissertation, Park is researching how teachers’ beliefs about using multiple representations potentially change through a professional development program and how those changes impact teaching.
Continue reading “Park investigates Multiple Representations in Mathematics”
Outstanding doctoral student honored in president’s State of the U address
Candance Doerr-Stevens, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, was featured in President Kaler’s first State of the University address on March 1. Doerr-Stevens is studying collaboration and conflict during digital media composition among students in an urban English high school class as they create documentary films and radio broadcasts. She was one of 150 University Ph.D. students to receive doctoral dissertation fellowships last year, a 40 percent increase over previous years.
“These fellowships are competitively awarded to allow our best students to finish their graduate work in a timely way,” said Kaler. “It allowed [Doerr-Stevens] to devote herself full-time to an innovative project analyzing how high school students use digital media to make arguments, to work together in teams and, ultimately, to assist their teachers in making the educational experience better for today’s learners.”
If not for her $22,000 fellowship—and tuition and health care benefits—Doerr-Stevens, a mother of two, would have needed at least another year to complete the analysis of her research and write her dissertation.
She said the fellowship allowed her to be “in the trenches” with teachers to study the students. It allowed her “to walk through an intellectual garden,” unencumbered with other teaching or work responsibilities.
“Such a fellowship supports our students and our scholars, and it effectively invests in people who will mold the future,” said Kaler.
Read the president’s State of the University address here.