Timothy Zimmerman

Office Hours - with Signup Sheet
Office hours for Spring 2015 are: Wednesdays 2:30pm-5pm Thursdays 1:00pm-3:00pm (if you cannot meet during these times, please email me: tzimmerman@hampshire.edu) IMPORTANT: my office hours are by appointment. You must sign up NO LATER than 5pm the day BEFORE you wish to meet. To sign up please click the link:

Tim Zimmerman's Office Hour Signup

Courses
Fall 2013

Environmental Education: Foundations and Inquiries CS-0194-1

In this introductory course, students will explore the history, practices, career options, and problems of environmental education - educational efforts promoting an understanding of nature, environmentally responsible behavior, and protection of natural resources. Shifts in environmental education research foci, relationships to current and past environmental challenges (e.g., air pollution, species loss, climate change), and differences between U.S. and international efforts will be discussed. We will compare and contrast topics such as education for sustainable development, environmental education, conservation education, environmental behavior change, ecoliteracy, and interpretation. Students will be exposed to three lines of inquiry: critical pedagogy, educational research and experiential learning. In addition to assigned readings, students will choose a line of inquiry and follow that line of inquiry to: 1) design, in teams, an environmental education intervention and 2) write an individual paper on a topic of interest to the student related to environmental education.

Museums as Learning Contexts: Designing and Assessing Museum Spaces for Learning CS-0251-1

In this course, we will explore the explicit and implicit assumption that learning occurs in museum spaces. Many museums (art, science, etc.) and designed museum-like spaces such as aquariums, sculpture gardens, and historical centers, often collectively called "informal learning institutions," frequently include educational components in their mission statements or goals. Yet, how are these components enacted or realized? Several questions will drive our inquiry: How do we define learning in these settings? How do we measure learning in these settings? What design or program elements foster learning in these settings? How do culture, social norms and notions of privilege influence learning in these spaces? We will discuss foundational readings and critical research on museum learning. Students will conduct museum learning activities, conduct a short museum learning study and write a paper on a topic of interest related to museums as learning contexts.

Spring 2014

How People Learn CS-0208-1

In recent years, as a result of interactions between cognitive psychology and education, we now have many ideas about classroom learning, and approaches to teaching, testing and assessment. We also have strong evidence that implementing these ideas could really improve learning for all children and youth, including those who are under- resourced. In this seminar we will work to understand the findings by reading and discussing a selection of theoretical works from cognitive psychology and examine their practical applications to education through discussion and time observing/assisting in a classroom or tutoring/mentoring. We will also learn how to evaluate educational claims. Students will be evaluated on a series of short reaction papers, a final paper, and their general participation. This course can be used to satisfy the Educational Psychology requirement for licensure students. This course will require field trips that are the responsibility of the students.

Educational Research in Theory and Practice CS-0251-1

Many people have opinions about the best ways to improve education, yet few people have conducted research in educational settings. However, improving education requires evidence gathered systematically through research. In this course, students will learn methods for conducting research on learning and teaching that yield evidence leading to program improvements. Methodologies include classroom and field trip observations, interview, survey, pre-post assessment, and discourse analysis. Students learn these methods while collaboratively participating as part of a research team with the professor on an on-going, NSF-funded, design-based research project. We will read and discuss relevant literature on learning, design of learning experiences, and how to help more students succeed. This course is designed to teach various learning research methods and is particularly helpful for students who are in their last semester of Division II, are interested in education and wanting to start thinking about a Division III project. Field trips will be a part of the students' research and course experience. Prerequisite: Some basic statistics (t tests, descriptive statistics, etc.).