Looking at Classrooms: Educational Research, Program Evaluation, and Improvement

Looking at Classrooms: Educational Research, Program Evaluation, and Improvement is a Cognitive Science class taught by Laura Wenk.

Course Description
There are many opinions about how to improve teaching from kindergarten through college. Without evaluation of classes and programs, individual teachers and institutions are left with personal opinion and anecdotes to guide their curriculum and instructional choices. Students in this course learn methods for evaluating teaching and learning by designing and carrying out a small research project in a classroom and make recommendations for improvement in curriculum, instruction and/or other institutional variables. Methods used include classroom observation, interview, survey, and assessment of learning outcomes. This course is particularly helpful for students interested in education who are in their last semester of Div II and wanting to start thinking about a Div III project. This course has a community engaged learning component and students must have a 2 hour block of time during school hours (8:30-3:00).