Cognitive Science 0287 - Educational Research

Many people have opinions about how to improve education, yet few know about education change research. Improving education requires evidence gathered systematically through research. Students will learn methods for conducting research on learning and teaching, methods that yield evidence leading to educational change. This course is for Div II/III students; prior education coursework is necessary. Methodologies learned will include field notetaking, interviewing, surveying, pre-post assessments, and overall design-based approaches. Students learn these methods while collaborating with the professor on an emerging design-based research project at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment. Students will read and discuss primary source research literature, participate in research design activities, assist with constructing research instruments, write their own research proposal on a topic of interest to them, lead class discussions, and perform class presentations. This course will be particularly helpful for students interested in educational change, especially those in their last semester of Division II.

Independent Work Writing and Research Field trip fee of $10 at most. Prerequisites: Div II or Div III status and prior coursework in education. Students are expected to spend approximately 7-10 hours of preparation and work outside of class time.