Foundational Course

This course examines historical and contemporary forces shaping American K-12 education policy. It also reviews research and commentary on contemporary issues: class size, fiscal policy, teacher recruitment, compensation and tenure, accountability, school...

What if schools were for learning instead of education? You will be involved in education your whole life. As a taxpayer, voter, or parent, you will be connected with formal schooling. You will almost certainly be in the role of teacher at various points...

How do we learn and why? From birth, we embark on a lifelong journey of learning that shapes nearly everything we know and do, and ultimately who we become. Yet, we often fail to examine the implicit assumptions and approaches underlying our learning. In...

Education is a universal human activity, but how it is understood and practiced vary widely across cultures. When immersed in our own upbringing and educational experiences, we can easily take our beliefs and practices for granted, while overlooking cross...

This course invites students to think deeply about teaching. Questions that we will be exploring include the following: Is teaching an art, a science, or some combination of both? Why do people want to teach? How does our (and our students’) background...

What is education? What are its goals? Why is education of value? Are these questions that can be settled once and for all, or do their answers depend on historical and cultural factors? In an effort to answer these questions, we will study works of...

This course is an introduction to the theories and findings in developmental psychology. It covers the period of early childhood, but discussion will often extend to older children and adults. The course will cover attachment, pretense and imagination...