Teaching

My teaching interests are in the related areas of classroom processes, teaching for understanding, and learning to teach. I am committed to sharing theoretical and empirical scholarship on teaching with people who are studying to become teachers and teacher educators. My doctoral seminars on "Research on Teaching" and "Research on Teacher Education and Learning to Teach," graduate courses for preservice and practicing teachers, and doctoral advising address this goal.

Courses frequently taught:

EDUC 5105: Teaching for Understanding
Course Overview and Objectives
Course Overview and Objectives This course is designed to provide an introduction to the knowledge base on effective teaching practices, and the theories and research that support them. Through readings, class sessions, and independent projects, students will: 1. Examine major theories, research findings, and issues related to teaching and classroom processes; 2. Explore the impact of theory and research on educational practice; 3. Examine several programs of instruction with respect to their theoretical assumptions, instructional practices, and intended outcomes; 4Consider the role of theory and research-based practices in their own classrooms.

EDUC 8135: Research on Teaching
Course Overview and Objectives
Course Overview and Objectives In comparison to many other fields of study, the study of teaching is relatively young. Many scholars mark its beginning with the appearance of the first edition of the Handbook of Research on Teaching in 1963. Yet, in such a short time, research on teaching has become a major focus of educational scholarship. Four editions of the handbook have now been published. Each edition reveals a greater appreciation for the complexity of teaching, an expanded set of theoretical frameworks and research methods used to study teaching, and a richer set of substantive findings about the nature of teachers and teaching and the impact of teaching on student learning. Our challenge in this course is to begin to understand the complexity of this field of research. More specifically, the course will provide an historical perspective on research on teaching and will address substantive and methodological issues that underlie current research on teaching. Through readings, discussions, presentations, and projects, we will examine:

1. theoretical perspectives on research on teaching;
   
2. the variety of research designs and methods that have been used in the study of teaching;
   
3. major findings in research on teaching and the impact of these findings on educational practice.
   

EDUC 8145: Research on Teacher Education and Learning to Teach
Course Overview and Objectives
The purpose of this course is to help students acquire an understanding of the substantive and methodological issues that underlie current research and program development efforts in teacher education and learning to teach. The course considers the learning and development of experienced and novice teachers, with an emphasis on learning to teach in ways that conform to reform-based educational ideas. We will examine theory, research, and practice related to topics such as models and methods of teacher education, the process of learning to teach, teachers' acquisition of professional knowledge, and preparing teachers for a diverse society. In addition, we will explore several major programs of research on teacher education and learning to teach.

EDUC 8210: Perspectives on Classrooms, Learning, and Teaching
Course Overview and Objectives
Classrooms are complex places, and the learning and teaching that take place in classrooms are complex processes Ò too complex to be viewed or understood from any single perspective. Not surprisingly, classroom life has been studied from multiple perspectives, by researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. Our challenge in this course is to begin to understand the complexity of this body of research. More specifically, the course is intended to introduce students to a variety of perspectives that educational researchers have used to explore classrooms, learning, and teaching. Class sessions and readings are organized to reflect these major research traditions: behavioral, cognitive, sociological and anthropological, and situated. Through readings, discussions, projects, and other activities, we will consider the following general questions for each research tradition:

• What theoretical perspectives, assumptions, questions and methodologies guide scholarship within this tradition?
• What is the nature of research on classrooms, learning, and teaching conducted within this tradition?
• What is the impact of this research on educational policy and practice?