Educational Research Methods

There are many opinions about how to improve teaching from kindergarten through college. Without evidence from research about the results of educational innovation, individual teachers and institutions are left with personal opinion and anecdotes to guide their curricular and instructional choices. Students in this course learn social science research methods that come from a variety of research traditions. Methods used include classroom observation, interview, survey, and assessment of learning outcomes. Students learn to search effectively for and read different kinds of primary research articles and to design and carry out a small research project in a classroom. The final project includes a paper and class presentation.