Not offered this year

This course introduces students to a broad range of theories and research on education. What models of teaching work best, and for what purposes? How do we measure the success of various education practices? What is the best way to describe the psychological processes by which children gain information and expertise? What accounts for individual differences in learning, and how do teachers (and schools) address these individual needs? How do social and economic factors shape teaching practices and the educational experiences of individual students? The course will draw from a wide range of literature (research, theory, and first hand accounts) to consider key questions in the psychology of education. Upon completion of the course, students should be familiar with central issues in pre-college education and know how educational research and the practice of teaching affect one another. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Under faculty supervision, student-teachers will prepare and conduct scheduled weekly extra sessions for Mathematics 103, for smaller, assigned groups of students. For these sessions they will prepare presentations, assign and grade homework, and answer questions on the course material and on the homework. They will be available to their students outside of class, attend and assist at Mathematics 130 (formerly 103) lectures (3 hours a week), and visit and evaluate each other's sessions. There is a weekly meeting, for an hour or two, including organizational matters, deeper study of the mathematics discussed, and practical teaching skills. In addition, there will be other special meetings as needed. There will be assigned readings, discussion, drills, and weekly homework or papers. This is a seminar whose focus is both on education and transforming lives, as well as on mathematics and the mechanics of teaching it. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Epistemology is one of the core areas of philosophical reflection. In this course, we will study the literature in contemporary philosophy on the nature of knowledge and rational belief. Epistemologists seek answers to the following kinds of questions: When is it rational to have a particular belief? What is knowledge (as opposed to mere opinion)? In order to be justified in holding a belief, must someone know (or believe) that she is justified in holding that belief? What, if anything, justifies our scientific knowledge? These questions are typically asked within a framework where the overarching goal is attaining truth and avoiding falsity. Beyond this common ground, however, epistemologists are much divided. Some maintain that these issues are solely the provinces of philosophy, using traditional a priori methods. Others maintain that these questions will only yield to methods that incorporate our broader insight into the nature of the world including, perhaps, feminist thought or science. Both stances face severe difficulties. Further, even where there is agreement as to the proper way of answering epistemological questions, there is a stunning variety of possible answers to each question. [ more ]

Not offered this year

In this course we consider how mental abilities, such as language, memory, thinking and imagination develop during the childhood years. We begin by asking how infants, who do not have language, make sense of their world and then move on to examine the development of language, memory, reasoning, and imagination. Throughout these discussions, we consider the impact of biology (e.g. changes in the brain) and culture on cognition, as well as the similarities and differences in the cognitive abilities of normally developing children and children with developmental problems (e.g., autism). All students will design and conduct an empirical research project. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Why do we define adolescence as a distinct stage of development? What are its perils and accomplishments? What internal and external forces make adolescence such a volatile and formative stage of life? The course considers a range of empirical and theoretical material, as well as fiction and film, in order to identify and understand the behavior and experience of adolescents. Topics include: identity, sexuality, romantic love, intellectual growth, family relationships, psychological problems, education, and variation between cultures. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course explores the rapidly evolving field of psychological disorders in childhood and adolescence. We will examine the intertwined effects of individual characteristics (e.g., genetics, neurobiological factors), relationship processes (e.g., parenting, family functioning, peers), community settings (e.g., schools, neighborhoods), and the broader cultural context (e.g., poverty, stigma, media). Using a developmental framework, we will examine the emergence and maintenance of specific psychological disorders, as well as variations in how children cope with cataclysmic stressors (chronic illness, physical and sexual abuse). The goals of this course include (1) appreciation of the dynamic interplay between biology and experience in the unfolding of psychopathology, (2) exploration of diagnostic criteria and phenomenology of specific disorders, and (3) exposure to a wide range of research-based strategies for prevention and intervention. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This advanced seminar will give students an opportunity to connect theory to practice. Each student will have a teaching placement in a local school, and participate in both peer and individual supervision. In addition, we will read a range of texts that examine different approaches to teaching, as well as theory and research on the process of education. What is the best way to teach? How do various theories of child development and teaching translate into everyday practices with students? Students will be encouraged to reflect on and modify their own teaching practices as a result of what we read as well as their supervision. Questions we will discuss include: What is the relationship between educational goals and curriculum development? What is the relation between substance (knowledge, skills, content) and the interpersonal dynamic inherent in a classroom setting? How do we assess teaching practices and the students' learning? What does it take to be an educated person? [ more ]

Not offered this year

Despite the fact that, according to a recent poll by the National Constitution Center, 8 in 10 Americans believe that democratic government requires an informed and active citizenry, fewer than 4 in 10 can name the three branches of the federal government. Whether or not we regard this particular encyclopedic fact as especially important, few disagree with the idea that, when it comes to politics and citizenship, Americans are an ill-informed people. But what exactly would we want Americans to know more about? And how exactly might we get them to learn it? Taking these questions as its starting points, this senior seminar will tackle the state of civic education in America -- its promise and its pitfalls, its past iterations and its practice in contemporary times. In the first half of the semester, we will look closely at a series of debates about the goals, substance, and effect of civic education, including whether (and why) we should want it, what exactly it can and should look like (perhaps looking to civic education in other nations for meaningful points of comparison), and what sorts of effects it may have on citizens individually and the polity at large. In the second half of the semester, we will seek to put what we have learned into action, with students selecting a particular subject (an institution, a value, a process) and developing a civic education curriculum around it for introduction at several distinct grade levels in local schools. Embodying the idea that you never know something as thoroughly and meaningfully as you might until you have taught it, this seminar will seek simultaneously to deepen our own civic knowledge and practices and to cultivate more meaningful knowledge and practices in others. [ more ]