Learning Sciences and Policy (LSAP) Courses

Spring 2010

Educational Policy (CRN 37194)
Mary Kay Stein & Richard Correnti
3 credits, Mondays from 1 to 3:50pm, WWPH 4301

Research Methods for Learning Sciences and Policy
Kim Gomez & Phillip Herman
3 credits, Tuesdays from 9 to 11:40am

Building Network Improvement Communities as an Agent of Reform
Louis Gomez & Anthony Bryk (President, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching)
3 credits, Tuesdays from 3 to 5:40pm

Learning Sciences and Educational Change (CRN 37212)
Kevin Crowley & Jim Greeno
3 credits, Tuesdays from 12 to 2:40pm, WWPH 5901

Fall 2009

Professional Learning in the Content Areas
Lindsay Clare Matsumura and Richard Correnti
3 credits, Tuesdays from 1 to 3:50pm, 5700 WWPH

We will be exploring different approaches to professional development for actors across the levels of the school system and the research and theories that inform those approaches. Various members of the Institute for Learning (IFL), and people affiliated with the IFL, will be engaging the students in professional development sessions (e.g., a session designed for middle school principals that focuses on learning to identify features of rigorous math tasks led by Melissa Boston; a session for district leaders that describes effective, coherent, professional development led by Vicki Bill, a session for principals and coaches focused on Questioning the Author led by Donna Bickel, etc.). The idea is for the students to experience the professional development as opposed to only reading about it, and to have the opportunity to talk with the developers of these sessions about why they made their specific design choices. The students will work in teams to develop a professional development session of their own, and will each write a final paper describing the theory and research underlying the design of their session drawing on the course readings.

Organizational Perspectives on Educational Improvement (LSAP 3595-1010, #35893)
Jennifer Russell and Louis Gomez
3 credits, Wednesdays from 1 to 3:50pm,  5700 WWPH

The class will examine theoretical and empirical work on educational organizations, with an emphasis on the features of organizations and organizational systems which present opportunities and barriers to improving teaching and learning. We will apply concepts from the literature to cases of real organizations. And students will work in teams to collect some data in an organization examining efforts to introduce a new innovation or implement some improvement effort.

Spring 2009

Assessment & Accountability (PSYED 3589)
Lindsay Clare Matsumura and Laura Hamilton
3 Credits 1/5-4/25; Thursdays 9:30am - 12:10pm

The topics this course addresses include the use of assessments to lever instructional change, the assumptions about learning that underpin different types of assessments and test-based accountability, and research investigating the influence of high-stakes testing on instruction and learning. This course also  considers the variable quality and alignment of state tests, standards, and curricula, and the "fairness" of the Adequate Yearly Progress targets mandated in No Child Left Behind (2001).

Design of Educational Systems (cross listed in psychology)
Jennifer Russell and Christian Schunn
3 Credits 1/5-4/25; Monday and Wednesdays 3:00 - 4:15pm

Students will work in teams to enact an innovative educational design process with real projects and real clients. The educational systems being (re)designed may include a museum exhibit, a high school robotics unit, a college lab course, or a professional development sequence for mathematics teachers.  Throughout the process we will be learning about and addressing constraints from (1) organizational and policy contexts; (2) learning sciences; and (3) disciplinary content. The course will be interdisciplinary in that it will draw students with diverse backgrounds to form the design teams.

Instructional Policy
Richard Correnti and Mary Kay Stein
3 Credits 1/5-4/25; Tuesdays 2:00 - 4:40pm

This course focuses on current theories of effective K-12 instruction in the content areas (language arts, science and mathematics) with a specific focus on the nature and implementation of curricula (tasks) and the quality of classroom discourse. The (often implicit) assumptions about teaching and learning that underlay instructional policies at the state and federal levels will be identified and challenges associated with implementing policies that are constructed solely on out-dated behavioral learning theories will be discussed.

Fall 2008

EDUC 3594: Learning Sciences 1 - LSAP
Mary Kay Stein and Kevin Crowley
3 Credits 8/25-12/13; Tuesday 1:00 - 3:50pm CLOO 335

This course explores the role of the learning sciences in designing and sustaining educational change. In the first third of the course, we will do an overview of what counts as learning science, exploring issues such as basic vs. applied science, the role of hunches vs. hypotheses in educational design research, and the theoretical and methodological principles that characterize good learning science research. In the remainder of the course, we will take deep dives into the connections between learning science, the content disciplines, and policy in two subject matter areas. This year we are focusing on K-8 mathematics and science. In developing the two examples, we will highlight the latest empirical findings about learning and teaching in science and mathematics, the ways these findings do or do not inform policy and public debate about education, and how science, education, and policy might be more effectively coordinated to create sustainable educational change.

EDUC 3595: Learning Policy and Educational Change
Lindsay Clare Matsumura and Jennifer Lin Russell
3 Credits 8/25-12/13; Thursday 4:30 - 7:10pm WWPH 5511

School quality is at the forefront of public concern. Numerous (and at times conflicting) educational policies have been enacted at the federal, state, and district level all aimed at improving students’ learning opportunities. The difficulty of substantively improving teaching and learning through externally imposed policies, however, has been well-documented. In this course we examine theoretical and methodological approaches to understanding educational policymaking and the processes by which policies are (and are not) translated into practice. The course is organized around central policy topics including curriculum, special education, market-based reforms, and scale-up. Specific questions we address in this course include: How are “problems” framed to constituents and how does this influence policy implementation? How do educators “make sense” of policies in the context of their prior beliefs and experiences? How does variation in human and social capital resources in schools and districts influence policy implementation? What are the “learning demands” for individuals and organizations entailed by specific policies? And, how can policies be designed to more effectively support improvements in teaching and learning.

Register for Courses

The School of Education allows its students to register for courses through an online registration form.

This online registration process is provided as a convenience for our students who may find it difficult to travel to campus to register in person. Online registration is NOT real time, and may take up to two consecutive business days to process. A member of our Student Service Center staff will review your submission and contact you on the status of your registration.