Introduction to quantitative research techniques, examining their potential and limitations for investigating educational questions and issues. Topics include one- and two-sample tests of hypotheses, analysis of variance, multiple comparison procedures, regression, and effect size.

Critical examination of sampling distributions, analysis of variance models, planned and post-hoc comparisons, trend analysis, randomized block designs, within-subject designs, and higher-order factorials.

Intensive survey and application of methods and strategies in ethnography available to educational researchers; emphasis on fieldwork employing ethnographic data-gathering techniques that involve participant observation and interview.

Techniques for analyzing data gathered in nonexperimental studies, including matrix algebra, multiple regression, partial and semipartial correlations, variance partitioning, dummy and effect coding, and analysis of covariance.

Significant theory and research concerning the role of language in thinking and social life; variation in language use across social groups and situations; and the relationship between language and other aspects of human activity.

Focuses on a particular dimension of theory and research in language and literacy education. Explores the full range of disciplinary approaches to study issues and problems related to a specific area of focus.

Continuation of a two-course sequence. Contrastive survey of formal and functional grammatical theories relevant to education. History of English, language change, comparative and historical linguistics, language, and dialect.

Economic concepts and their application to education; topics include demand for and supply of education, measuring return on educational investment, productivity and efficiency in the educational sector, and the relationship between human capital and economic growth.

Evaluation of educational and social institutions, programs, and policies, including the social context of evaluation and the political aspects of conducting educational evaluations. Compares and contrasts evaluation and research. Hands-on data analysis and interpretation using a social policy data set.

Focuses on critical examination of studies that have used video data, design of new research that will use video data, and methodological techniques for analyzing video data. 

Examination of classical and contemporary theories of human development. Themes considered include the relations between evolution and development, nature-nurture, individual-society, and biology-culture in development. Focus on change and the processes through which change occurs over the course of the human life span.

Emphasizes major theories of human learning, cognition, and instruction. Topics include knowledge representation, learning and instructional strategies, domains of application, and research methods used to study these topics.

Theory and research in children's intellectual development from birth through adolescence. Neo-Piagetian, information processing, and sociocultural approaches to cognition explored. Current research, including children's memory development, social cognition, language, problem solving, spatial thinking, and theory of mind. Implications for schooling considered.

Current psychological theories of sex role development; evidence for and against sex differences throughout the life span; intellectual abilities, achievement, motivation, and behavior; dependence and aggression.

Theories of language acquisition and the functions of language for the child; topics include prelinguistic behavior, the nature of one-word utterances, the acquisition and development of early syntax and semantics, the relation of thought to language, and the development of communication and conversation skills.

Students engage in educational research under the supervision of faculty mentors.

Current research in literacy education and related areas of literacy; critical evaluation of published reports; development of mature ideas for writing a proposal, conducting research, and completing a thesis in these areas.

Examines how and where the education dollar is spent, as well as how it is raised. Definitions and measures of efficiency and productivity in primary, secondary, and postsecondary education; productivity trends in education, efficient allocation of school resources, school size and productivity, and efficiency implications of school financing methods.

Examines the development, implementation, and effects of federal and state education policies; examples of key policy issues as cases for the exploration of political, policy design, and implementation issues.

Introduces historical inquiry in education. Students explore U.S. historiography and the influence social science has had on historical research in general and on education in particular. Students gain experience in framing historical questions (or problems) of their choosing and develop responses.

Students engage in a research project that involves formulation of one or more research question(s); discussion and analysis of their theoretical perspective; collection of data. Applicable as a research course.

Selected topics in the learning and teaching of mathematics. Presupposes strong knowledge of content domain.

Systematic study of chi-square techniques for analyzing educational data. Distribution-free rank tests for independent and dependent samples, confidence intervals, and measures of association.

In-depth analysis of classical measurement theory, including variance decomposition into true and error components; development of the Spearman-Brown formula and Cronbach's alpha; reliability and generalizability theory; test design and equating; and comparison of multiple-choice items and performance assessments. May include basic derivations for factor analysis and item response theory.

Introduction to structural equation modeling, including latent variables; confirmatory factor analysis; diagnosing model fit and testing alternative models; and multisample designs. Multilevel (or hierarchical) linear models as related to multisample designs (such as identifying hierarchical structures, random compared with fixed effects); variance components; and designs with repeated measurements.

Introduction to item response theory (IRT), which encompasses a group of probabilistic measurement models widely used in standardized testing programs. Foundations and assumptions underlying IRT, comparison of various IRT models, application of IRT to practical testing situations, and implementation of IRT using the BILOG computer program.

Overview of theory and research related to cognitive and motivational learning strategies. Includes the theoretical basis for learning and motivational strategies, assessment of strategies, problems related to learning from different sources of information, and individual differences in strategy use.

Evaluating teaching quality is a cornerstone of current educational reform efforts. Over the last two decades, new models of evaluation have been introduced that include value-added modeling based on student test scores, classroom observations, student perception surveys, teacher portfolios, classroom assignments, instructional logs, and new measures of teacher knowledge. This course explores the policy context, methods, and research around the evaluation of teaching quality.