This fall, McDaniel faculty members authored educational books and articles, presented original research, and even gave an international theatre troupe the help it needed to land rave reviews for its performances at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center.

Adjunct Education Lecturer Alan DeGennaro co-authored an article in the November issue of  “Principal Leadership” entitled “Where Everybody Knows Your Name." The article focuses on the success of the advisory program at Winters Mill High School (where DeGennaro is a science teacher). Each student has an advisor who sees them every day, monitors their grades, and teaches lessons about character education, school skills, and academic planning.

Foreign Languages Professors Tom Deveny, Mohamed Esa, and Martine Motard-Noar presented a team lecture on Islam in Western Europe at the Conference for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Assistant Professor Amy McNichols made a presentation about student Web sites used in the classroom. Associate Professor Colette Henriette made a presentation about how students can use films for composition. Seniors Niklas Troxel and Stephanie Reed presented “Films, Music and Literary Works by Minorities in Germany.” The conference was held in Baltimore Nov. 18-20.

Associate English Professor Robert Kachur and Assistant Communication Professor Jonathan Slade prepared an interdisciplinary paper for the South Atlantic Modern Language Association Conference in Atlanta. It's called "Writing a Fresh Script: Agency, Identity and the Making of the College Documentary ‘Fresh,’" based on the video project Slade undertook with his first-year students in Fall 2004. The South Atlantic Modern Language Association is an organization of teachers, scholars, and graduate students dedicated to the advancement of teaching and to literary and linguistic scholarship in the modern languages.

Ramona Kerby, associate professor of Education and coordinator of school library media for graduate and professional studies, is under contract for her book, “School Library Collection Development: A Practical Guide.” The book, published by the American Association of School Librarians, will be available by summer 2006. Kerby’s recent article, "Online Teaching: Tips and Pitfalls" appeared in the September/October 2005 issue of ”Knowledge Quest: Journal of the American Association of School Librarians.”

Professor of Mathematics Emeritus Jim Lightner presented “Remembering Howard Eves,” at the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University in New York on Sept. 28. Eves was a geometer, algebraist, analyst, and one of the foremost American historians of mathematics of the 20th century. Eves gave several talks at McDaniel College, including a discussion of "The Book and the Beacon," which chronicled Euclid's Elements and the impact that this famous mathematical work had on the development of Western civilization. In 1990, the College awarded Eves the honorary Doctor of Science degree.

Janet Medina, assistant professor of education, will be the guest speaker Dec. 2 at Howard Community College. The topic is “Universal Design for Instruction and Learning: Reaching Every Student.” Universal Design for Learning strives to incorporate educational strategies through multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement to meet the educational needs of all students - from cultural background to disability. Workshop participants will have a chance to learn about the basic concepts and theory behind Universal Design for the classroom and have an opportunity to experiment with Universal Design Strategies. The presentation is a fundraiser for Project Access, Howard Community College’s program designed to facilitate the transition of high school students with disabilities into postsecondary education, improve retention and success rates of freshmen with disabilities, and to improve career counseling and job placement services for students with disabilities.

Anxious about going to the dentist? Music in the background, pictures on the walls, and a stack of magazines could help, according to an article by Associate Sociology Professor Lauren Dundes and alumna Lyndsay Bare ’04. “Preferences of Anxious Dental Patients,” published last year in “The Journal of Dental Education” 68 (11): 1172-77) has been selected as a highlight in the field. It is being reprinted in “Dental Abstracts,” 50 (4) 2005: 239-240. Bare is currently studying at the University of Maryland Baltimore College of Dental Surgery.
 
Karen Sheely, a South Western High School teacher in Hanover, Pa., and a student in McDaniel’s Education Administration certification program, was named the grand-prize winner of a contest sponsored by Visa USA and Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda. Sheely, who teaches personal finance and career awareness, was chosen for her creativity and effectiveness in educating teens about such important practical money skills as banking, credit, investing, and risk prevention. She won a new laptop computer for herself, five new desktop computers for her classroom, a year’s subscription to USA Today to keep her students informed about the economy, and a $2,500 gift certificate for Amazon.com, some of which she has already used to buy software, a digital camera and a color printer for the classroom.

Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts Elizabeth van den Berg taught English accents to the Russian acting troupe “Synetic Theatre Company” for their production of Dracula at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The production earned a rave review from the Washington Post. Read it here: http://www.classika.org/Synetic/news_press_drac_post_marks.html
The Washington Post also favorably reviewed “A Number” by Caryl Churchill, produced by The Studio Theatre. Van den Berg taught two actors in the production three different types of English dialect. Additionally, for a production of “Guantanamo: Honor Bound For Freedom,” at the Studio Theatre, van den Berg taught actors Arabic, British, and British Midlands dialects.

Factor Press published Florence Wootten’s ’58 new book, “Those Who Can, Teach.” It tells the story of young high school teacher Kay Abbott, who struggles to make a difference in the lives of those who were entrusted to her. Wooten is a former high school and college teacher who has published 50 short stories and articles in various magazines.