Applied Research and Reporting: Generating Evidence to Inform Educational Practice (akin to a doctoral lab course)

• Perhaps now more than ever before, there is a significant need for the generation and communication of rigorous educational research to inform contemporary practice and policymaking. Advanced graduate students at SLU are well-equipped to enact meaningful contributions to research-informed conversations, applying their research methods training to timely content areas in education. In this context, this course will engage students in the complete process of applied research in education from the creation of research ideas to their presentation and publication. Course topics will focus on identifying research topics, managing the research process, generating research findings, and communicating results in academic and professional presentations and in reports and journal articles, identifying and conversing purposefully with particular audiences. Intended for students soon to commence dissertations, this course also will help prepare students to effectively drive independent research agendas.

General Research Methods for Education (graduate student training)

• This course endeavors to engage students on a survey of research tools in the behavioral and social sciences, with an emphasis on education. Students will be trained to define research questions related to program and policy analysis, map questions to appropriate research methods, assess evidence quality and thoroughness, and contribute to the design of research evaluations in a wide range of settings. The course will engage participants in overarching study and discussion of research processes followed by examination of quantitative and qualitative research methods to support future course taking in research methodologies.

Inferential Statistics in Education (graduate student training)

• This course is intended to build your methodological research abilities through the introduction of statistical methods applied to education. It will endeavor to provide you: 1) A solid understanding of basic statistics to improve your abilities to critically consume education research; and 2) A substantive opportunity to apply course concepts to data both by hand and through the use of statistical software. As an introductory course, there are no formal prerequisites beyond an appetite to learn and grow our skillsets. Topics in this course will build upon one another at times in increasing complexity; therefore it is critical that you ask as many questions as are necessary to become confident in your understanding and application of course concepts. It is your role to stay actively engaged with all course content in class and on assignments and it is my role to provide you the support necessary to overcome any difficulties along the way.

Doctoral Proseminar on Education Research (doctoral seminar)

• This seminar is designed to help doctoral students develop their individual skills, perspectives, and identities as researchers in the field of education and to foster a scholarly doctoral student community. The course will model research processes, demystify research dissemination, and prepare students for future professional opportunities in education research, policy, and practice. Students will strengthen their abilities to communicate their research while becoming familiar with best practices in the field. The course is intended to complement additional coursework in research methodologies and topical content as students grow in their capacities to conduct original research.

Equity and Economics in Education: Inequality in American Schools (undergraduate seminar)

• A robust system of education often is touted as a primary means by which American society may ameliorate longstanding entrenched inequality. The path to achieve this system, however, is much disputed. For example, how much does school funding matter in the production of long-term student outcomes? Do school choice policies improve educational opportunity? Do school accountability and teacher evaluation policies improve student achievement? This seminar will grapple with these questions and more to introduce the subject of equity in education as it is informed by economic thought. A background in economics is not necessary nor is expected. We will survey key economic principles to analyze a wide range of critical questions in contemporary education policy including: 1) equity, adequacy, and effectiveness of school funding; 2) externalities and peer effects; 3) teacher evaluation, pay, and mobility; 4) charter school growth and effectiveness; 5) school accountability practices and academic standards; 6) post-secondary education access; and more. In each of these topics, we will consider how economic theory and empirical evidence may inform our understanding of inequality in educational attainment. Students will be expected to think critically about how education policy is informed by research and the fundamental principles of economics. By the end of the course, students will be better equipped to apply economic principles to contemporary issues in education and social policy and to their respective courses of study.

Economics of Education (doctoral seminar)

• This survey course provides an overview of selected theoretical, conceptual, and empirical perspectives on topics in the economics of U.S. P-12 education policy. The aim of the course is threefold: (1) introduce fundamental themes in the economics of education; (2) engage empirical research on major education policies; and (3) encourage critical thought about how economic research and principles informs education policy. Key economic principles will guide analysis of a wide range issues in education policy including school funding, human capital, school choice, accountability practices, school segregation, educational externalities, and non-schooling inputs to student outcomes. Prior student background in economics is not required or necessary; though instruction is not focused primarily on research methods, the course assumes student familiarity with quantitative methods for causal inference.

As a doctoral student at Penn, I taught and assisted (TA'd) a number of courses both in the Graduate School of Education and in the Urban Studies department of the School of Arts and Sciences:

Instructor

• Undergraduate Urban Research Colloquium: Research Seminar in 21st Century Urbanism 

• Economic Aspects of Education Policy (co-taught with Haisheng Yang)

• Stata software methods workshops

Teaching Assistant

• Introduction to Applied Quantitative Methods for Education Research: Pre-K to 20 (assisting Phil Sirinides)

• Applied Research and Reporting (assisting Rebecca Maynard & David Seidenfeld)

• Economics of Education (assisting Matthew Steinberg)