The class format will be a reading seminar, where each student is expected to participate in intensive class discussions. You will also have ample opportunity to present your work on your selected paper or project topic as the course proceeds. The Twin Cities is one of the most segregated metropolitan areas in the nation. The concentration of poverty and not race is the cause of the poor performance of students of color. Workshop participants will review and analyze policy analysis reports from a variety of areas and interview community leaders, activists, journalists and policy makers in an attempt to uncover and understand the gulf between solid empirical analysis on race vs. perceptions, beliefs and policy decisions.
Students also have the option of doing work based on an individual study plan.
Material covered relates to all levels and types of education. Disciplinary focus is derived from the problem at hand, employing insights and tools from psychology, economics, statistics and philosophy. Class discussions explore project methodologies and elucidate the broader contexts of students individual topics. Particular learning situations are evaluated according to current knowledge about how people learn and develop. Education is seen as a behavioral system whose makeup is sensitive to such influences as the politics of educational finance.