D.J. Higgins, a filmmaker and assistant teaching professor of film/video and music at Penn State Schuylkill, has directed and produced award-winning films, including his feature film "The Documentary," which won The Mike Vezza Experimental Award. Additionally, he is leading a community course on mental health in cinema, fostering dialogue on social issues. Higgins’ work in teaching, filmmaking, and local arts underscores his influence in both education and the arts.

All Classroom Q&A posts sharing advice on Facing Gender Challenges in Education (from the past nine years!) are described and linked to in this compilation post.

Penn State Great Valley has unveiled a mural depicting the Penn State Nittany Lion, created from upcycled plastic bottle caps by mosaic studio artist Judith Hokky.  

Two Penn State Great Valley graduate students are collaborating with faculty — who received a University Presidential Public Impact Research Award — to conduct a research project that will use artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze demographic data to help predict and prevent opioid deaths. 

Graduate students attended the Global Careers Institute on Sept. 27 and 28, co-hosted by Penn State Global and Penn State Great Valley. At this professional development event, prominent Penn State alumni shared about their work experience in various countries and networked with students to help them prepare for success in the global marketplace.

As a graduate student in software engineering, Chandan Shivalingaiah said he values the wealth of opportunities he has at Penn State, including research, an internship and teaching underserved high school students. 

Daniel Kumankumah, a Penn State Great Valley software engineering student, was thrilled to land a competitive summer internship with Amazon. When he faced obstacles, he sought help from his team and succeeded in solving coding problems while gaining valuable experience, he said.

Oneida historian Heather Bruegl will discuss her Indigenous tribe's connection to the Continental Army's encampment at Valley Forge during a free community event at 7 p.m. on Nov. 12 in Penn State Great Valley's conference center. The event is part of Valley Forge Park Alliance's Speaker Series. 

Anivesh Sinha is one of the graduate research assistants working with a team of faculty and students from five Commonwealth Campuses, with funding from a University Presidential Public Impact Research Award, to help Pennsylvania nonprofit organizations improve their cybersecurity practices.

Linda M. Gojak and Sara Delano Moore, two of the co-authors of "Visible Learning For Mathematics: What Works Best to Optimize Student Learning", agreed to answer a few questions about the book.

Makeda Brome, Pia Hansen, Linda Gojak, Marian Small, Kenneth Baum and David Krulwich share their thoughts on the biggest challenges facing math teachers.

A new grading system, developed by math teachers at High Tech High, enables students to look at what they've learned, rather than ranking themselves against one another.

The National Math and Science Initiative's new tool aims to help the field look for patterns in STEM data, so educators and policy folks can fill in holes.

At Battle High School in Columbia, Mo., students in geometry class have swapped their compasses and protractors for hammers and hard hats. And they're doing it for a good cause.

Comic books and graphic novels, popular in many language arts and social studies classes, are just now tiptoeing into the world of K-12 math.

Educators are changing instructional priorities, altering lessons, and working on ways to help teachers grow professionally, all in an effort to raise math achievement.

A coalition of education organizations wants Congress to waive a provision in federal law requiring districts to keep special education funding level from year to year regardless of budget pressures.

If and when Congress creates another relief package for schools, two academics say lawmakers shouldn't rely on the traditional Title I formula for helping disadvantaged students.

Districts could face a rising tide of special education-related lawsuits and complaints when schools resume, experts say, if they still cannot offer the services that students with disabilities missed out on for months.

Inadequate monitoring and a lack of qualified staff left the bureau unable to ensure that thousands of special education students received the services they were due under federal law, a Government Accountability Office reports finds.

Special education advocates argue the push for liability protection is a veiled attempt to seek waivers from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the nation's primary special education law.

An illness, accident or aging can take away a person’s ability to manage their own affairs.

If you are unable to settle a debt after a creditor obtains a court judgment against you, the creditor may seek an emolument attachment order.

Legislation that could assist a rapidly growing number of South African families deal with relatives living with dementia who have lost the mental capacity to manage their finances is missing in parliament.

Gold remains at record highs, but there are various ways to get exposure to the metal that are less cumbersome and more investor-friendly than holding physical gold.

Roddy Carter, a US-based doctor who is now a personal coach, says using neuroscience to understand the brain can help you to gain personal mastery. Carter spoke at the recent Humans Under Management conference, writes Laura du Preez.

If you are uncertain whether you are dealing with a scammer, use these checklists to see your potential risk profile, and warning signs of possible scams.

Managers are taking different views on their exposure to offshore equity, to credit and to private equity.

Complaints about denied claims often concern the treatment the scheme will cover for a prescribed minimum benefit.

An overview of the biggest business developments in SA and beyond.

Delays in the payment of withdrawals from the two-pot retirement system have led members of the Government Employees Pension Fund to voice their concerns on social media.

Gone are the days when a cash offer got you a better price, writes Maya Fisher-French.

There are ways to reduce the cost of death, writes Maya Fisher-French.

No method is infallible when trying to reduce Bible poverty among the least reached, an OM worker discovers as he distributed Bibles.

If God can speak to a national faith believer, and move him to cross continents to share his love for Jesus with other refugees, despite dangers and difficulties, what more might He achieve with more workers prepared to take the same risks for the gospel?

Medical imaging is no longer in Kansas, Toto, as a team led by Penn State researchers brings traditional black and white diagnostic images of X-rays and traditional CT scans into technicolor. The researchers developed novel contrast agents that target two proteins implicated in osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease commonly characterized as wear-and-tear arthritis.

Keisha Oliver, who is pursuing a dual-title doctoral degree in art education and African American and diaspora studies, was named a fall 2024 artist-in-residence at the Penn State College of Engineering’s Learning Factory.

Stefano Terlizzi joined the Ken and Mary Alice Lindquist Department of Nuclear Engineering as the John and Jean M. Brennan Clean Energy Early Career Professor on July 22. In this Q&A, Terlizzi talks about his research background and interests, why he chose Penn State and more.

Faculty, staff and students from across Penn State and especially in the College of Engineering and Materials Research Institute are mourning the loss of Russ Messier, graduate alumnus and professor emeritus of engineering science and mechanics, who died on Oct. 11 at age 80 in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Richard Wilson has been named the fall 2024 student marshal for the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) at Penn State. He will receive a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Penn State College of Engineering with a minor in military studies.

Marc Tucker's most-read blog posts in 2016.

A state court ruled that Virginia must turn over growth data by school and classroom teacher, without redacting the teachers' names.

Two high-powered N.Y. officials have put out a blueprint for overhauling teaching in the state, aiming for more-coherent policies for the profession.

More than half of the state plans fail to publicly report data on educator equity gaps, the National Council of Teacher Quality found in its analyses.

Marc Tucker responds to Checker Finn's recent critique of the new international teacher quality study from NCEE and Linda Darling-Hammond, Empowered Educators.

The current system for accrediting schools of education isn't working, argue two former senior U.S. Department of Education officials. They think school districts and philanthropists can help.

As teacher strikes sweep the nation, Marc Tucker compares the trajectory of teaching to that of the nursing profession, one of high standards of entry and rigorous preparation.

This week, you'll hear from guest blogger and longtime reader favorite Heather Harding. Heather kicks off the week by discussing reforms to identify, retain, and prepare high-quality teachers—and why it's still important that we pay attention to these things.

Marc Tucker's most-read blog posts in 2017.