Faculty- promoted Courses: Winter 2010

Linguistics 394/English 303 - Language and Gender

Robin Queen and Anne Curzan
Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:30-4:00 p.m.

The relationship between language and gender has been a widely researched and debated topic in sociolinguistics, English language studies, and linguistic anthropology since the early 1970s when Robin Lakoff published Language and Woman’s Place. And the topic sparks lively conversations outside the academy as well. At the most basic level, do men and women really speak differently? If so, why? Are men and women represented differently in the language itself? If so, is English sexist? In this course, students will examine these questions in light of recent scholarly findings and a range of theoretical models about the relationship of language and gender, and consider how patterns of language may be linked to our experience of gender.

Discussions will also address how gender interacts with sexual identity, ethnicity, age, occupational and social/familial roles, social dynamics related to power, institutional settings, and other factors in terms of how we speak, as well as whether gender is connected to language change. Participants in the course will unpack apparent gender biases in the language and think through the relationship of language and thought and what it means to advocate for conscious language change as part of socially situated political struggles. The work commitments will include short weekly written assignments, three papers (one of which will involve the transcription and analysis of a tape-recorded spoken conversation), and a final exam. No background in linguistics is required; a genuine interest in the workings and power of language is highly recommended.

English 505 - History of the English Language

Anne Curzan
Mondays and Wednesdays, 8:30-10:00 a.m.

This course will explore the dramatic ways in which the English language has changed over the past 1200 years—dramatic enough that we as Modern English speakers can barely understand those who first began to call their language “English” and created written records of poems such as Beowulf. In the broadest terms, this course will examine how English developed from a little-known West Germanic dialect spoken on an island off the coast of western Europe into a distinct, international language spoken as a native tongue by almost 400 million people. Throughout the course, students will strive to understand linguistic phenomena in the context of the social—from the effects of language contact to the difficult question of how changes spread through speech communities, from attitudes about American dialects and their history to pedagogical questions related to the rise of standard English and prescriptive grammar. Along the way, students will also address a variety of more specific, intriguing linguistic questions such as: Where did the pronoun “she” come from? (And why is it the Word of the Millennium?) When did double negation become non-standard? How did English spelling become, according to linguist Mario Pei, the “world’s most awesome mess”? Why and how do “living” languages change? This course will examine the traditional stages in the history of English: Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Modern English. We will focus on changes in the English sound system, lexicon, grammar, and literary style, as well as related cultural and historical events. Course work will consist of frequent short assignments, two papers, and a final exam. No background in linguistics is required; the critical prerequisite for the course is genuine curiosity about the details of language and how language changes.

Public Policy 631 - Economics of Education

Brian A. Jacob
Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:30-4:00 p.m.

This course examines a number of popular approaches to education reform, using an economic lens to understand the impetus and potential impact of each. The two primary goals of the course are (1) to familiarize students with the arguments and evidence relating to major reform strategies and (2) to provide students with the analytic framework and skills necessary to evaluate education (or other public) policies in general. Several themes will be emphasized throughout the course, including the role of evidence in evaluating policy options, input-based versus efficiency-based approaches to school reform, partial versus general equilibrium perspectives of reform, and the role of incentives, prices and markets. Substantive topics include (among others) the following: school choice, test-based accountability (i.e., high-stakes testing,
including No Child Left Behind), teacher effectiveness and teacher labor markets.

EDUC 704 - Contemporary Issues in Literacy:
The Challenges of Studying Effective Literacy Instruction

Joanne F. Carlisle
Tuesdays, 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Teacher quality is in the forefront of efforts to improve the literacy of students in the US. A major challenge is identifying characteristics of reading and language arts instruction that distinguish more and less effective teachers. Two major goals of this course are for students to develop analytic frameworks that they can use to evaluate literacy instruction and for them to become familiar with various methods for studying instruction. We will examine studies of literacy instruction from different theoretical perspectives (e.g., socio-cultural, ethnographic), and we will study different methods for gathering information about instruction (e.g., surveys, logs, observation protocols). Students will have opportunities to acquire first-hand knowledge about issues that arise in using different observation systems to analyze classroom instruction. We will also have opportunities to discuss measurement of instruction with faculty members who have been engaged in studying the characteristics of effective instruction. View catalogue course description.

EDUC 706 - Current Issues in Literacy Research:
English language learners in school settings: Theory and research

Mary Schleppegrell
Tuesdays, 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Meeting together with ED737—Topics in Educational Studies: English language learners in school settings: Theory and research. Students will review research on English language learners (ELLs) in school settings, focusing on identifying the theories that inform the research and the methodologies used to study these students. Students will read research from a variety of research paradigms and from contexts that include other countries as well as the U.S. Students interested in all aspects of issues related to ELLs are encouraged to enroll, including policy, assessment, curriculum, instruction, and identity perspectives. The seminar will be organized to enable participants to pursue their particular interests in ELLs and students will be encouraged to develop proposals for research that address ELL issues. View catalogue course description.

EDUC 737 - Mixed Methods in Education Research and Evaluation

Valerie Lee and Elizabeth Moje
Wednesdays, 9:00 a.m-noon

Although there are two basic approaches to conducting social science research (i.e., quantitative and qualitative), each has its strengths and weaknesses in “getting to the heart of” any social phenomenon. However, many (or perhaps most) research questions are quite broad, and how they are addressed could often benefit from inquiries designed from several traditions. Although the instructors' own research has been focused primarily on either the qualitative (Moje) or the quantitative paradigm (Lee), they both recognize the importance of mixed methods in educational research and the growing importance of a solid knowledge of both approaches -- and their blending -- to actually design and conduct meaningful research in education and other social sciences. Moreover, they have both used both qualitative and quantitative research in our own studies, as well as combining both into mixed-methods studies. Goals for the course:

  • to encourage students to think more broadly about the research they undertake
  • to read about methods across a range of traditions
  • to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of single method and mixed method studies
  • to engage students in mixed-methods analyses and design problems
  • to provide opportunities for public and respectful discussions across research traditions in the quest to address education questions and problems

The course focuses on both conceptual issues surrounding the use of mixed methods in social science research and analysis of data using mixed methods. Instructors will supply students with data from either national sources or their own research in the qualitative or quantitative format. The course will involve reading conceptual pieces, the scrutiny of published mixed methods research, some analysis activities, and a design project. Thus, the course will blend conceptualization, design, and analysis. View catalogue course description.

EDUC 771-001 - Current Research on Community College Students

Peter Riley Bahr
Thursdays, 1:00‐4:00 p.m.

There are few, if any, educational phenomena that are more complex than the contemporary community college and, specifically, the contemporary community college student. More than any other type of higher education institution, the community college draws students of varied backgrounds, pursuing academic objectives that are equally varied. In this course, students will explore a number of areas of ongoing research regarding community college students, including (but not limited to) credential completion and transfer, enrollment patterns, remediation of skill deficiencies, complexities surrounding students‚ goals/objectives, engagement, retention, the cooling‐out vs. warming‐up effect of the community college, and a variety of other topics. Students also will explore several datasets that are available for research on community college students. The ultimate goal of the course is for students to (1) develop familiarity with a broad range of pressing questions concerning community college students and (2) develop significant expertise in one or two current research topics for the purpose of advancing either the student’s research agenda or his/her professional development and opportunities. View catalogue course description.

EDUC 883/MEDEDUC 883 - Instructional Methods in Professional Postsecondary Education: Theory and Application

Casey White and Caren Stalburg
Mondays, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Professional education in the health sciences, law, and teaching focuses on introducing students to simulated and authentic environments in which they will be practicing. As such, it has historically employed active, practice-based learning formats that include internships, apprenticeships, clerkships, interactions with standardized patients/clients, computer- and mannequin based simulation, and case- or problem-based learning. The goal of this course is to introduce students to research and theory underlying these active, practice-based instructional methods, and to apply these methods across higher and professional education including teacher education, medicine, dentistry, nursing, law, and pharmacy. Along with this broad, multi-disciplinary approach to the course material, students will also study a particular discipline and the common instructional methods within that discipline. Learning methods will be active and student-centered, and will include peer teaching, peer feedback, and self-assessment.  View catalogue course description.

 

Click here for an archival list of promoted courses

 

 

vCSS | vXHTML | Accessibility Features | Contact Webmaster | ©  2009 Regents of the University of Michigan