Laura Wenk

How do we create environments that lead to good learning? What is the relationship between curriculum and pedagogy? How do good educators promote deep learning despite the current political climate that emphasizes content mastery and efficient instruction? Should curriculum and instruction differ between school and non-school contexts? In this course, you will learn research-based curriculum design practices, how to focus on conceptual understanding and the development of higher order thinking (e.g. critical thinking, integrative thinking, innovative thinking) and create true learning communities in a number of domains and across multiple contexts. Each student develops a curriculum unit on a topic of their choice. In addition, students get some practice teaching their materials to one another. This course is designed for Division II and III students who are interested in teaching in formal or non-formal settings or who are developing curriculum as part of their independent work. Prerequisite: prior course in education (e.g. "How People Learn," environmental education, educational psychology, or other education coursework Keywords:Education, curriculum

As a result of cognitive psychology and education research, we have excellent understanding of human learning, its social and cultural nature, and the varied approaches to teaching, testing and assessment that lead to success. There is strong evidence that implementing these ideas would improve learning for all, including those who are under- resourced. In this seminar we will work to understand the findings by reading, discussing, and evaluating a selection of theoretical works and primary research from cognitive psychology and examine their practical applications to education. We'll use theory to reflect on our own educational experiences and the experiences of others. We will critique video-recorded classroom teaching and learn how to change classroom environments so that they are inclusive, with high levels of achievement for all. Students will do a final project on a question of their own related to the course. KEYWORDS:Educational psychology, education

We each have our own sources of inspiration and situations that support our work and achievement. We might struggle with motivation at times and sail through our work effortlessly at other times. What are the factors that affect our motivation and our achievement? What is the role of effort in our success? And what might be a question of luck? We'll look at factors internal to us as well as the ways we are affected by our environment. We will explore these topics through readings and podcasts; we'll have exercises to try and reflective journals. One possible final project is a collaborative website supporting ourselves and our peers in making positive change in our work habits. KEYWORDS:Motivation, education, educational psychology

There are many opinions about how to improve educational environments from kindergarten through college. Without evaluation of outcomes, teaching, and programs, individual teachers and institutions are left with personal opinion and anecdotes to guide their choices. Students in this course learn educational research methods by designing and carrying out a collaborative research project at Hampshire. We'll engage in design research in order to learn both qualitative and quantitative methods including interview, focus group, content analysis, survey, and classroom observation (in part dictated by your choices). The course culminates in an individually designed research proposal that makes use of the methods we learned through our collaborative work. The course is particularly helpful for students interested in education who are in their last semester of Div II and wanting to start thinking about a Div III project. Keywords:Education,Research Methods