A speaker gifted in his ability to discuss complex biology in engaging terms will be the next presenter in Pennsylvania College of Technology's William C. Butler Lecture Series.
Robert Sylwester, an emeritus professor of education at the University of Oregon, will present a public lecture at 7 p.m. March 14 in the Klump Academic Center Auditorium. The topic, "Present at the Maturation of Our Brain," will discuss how the brain's organization and development explain adolescent and adult behavior and the implications for teaching and learning.
He also hosted a question-and-answer session for students at Penn's Inn, on the second floor of the Bush Campus Center, from noon to 2 p.m. The interactive session, "Movement: The Central Concept of Cognition and Technology," explored the implications of biological and technological movement on education and culture.
Sylwester has written 20 books and curricular programs and 150-plus journal articles about the educational implications of new developments in science and technology.
His most recent books, "A Biological Brain in a Cultural Classroom" (2003, Corwin Press) and "How to Explain a Brain: An Educator's Handbook of Brain Terms and Cognitive Processes" (2005, Corwin Press), will be available for sale and signing during the evening lecture.
The Education Press Association of America has given Sylwester two Distinguished Achievement Awards for his syntheses of cognitive science research, published in Educational Leadership.
He has made more than 1,400 conference and in-service presentations on educationally significant developments in brain/stress theory and research. He writes a monthly column for the acclaimed Internet magazine, Brain Connection.
The lecture series is a tribute to William C. Butler, who served as Penn College's dean of hospitality from 1994 until his death in December 2002.