T909 – Research Seminar on Teachers and Teaching

Co-taught with Heather Hill

Offered periodically (Spring 2022, Fall 2024)

This seminar is for doctoral students who (aspire to) study teachers and teaching in their own research. The primary goal of the course is to develop skills and knowledge relevant to producing research. The course has several overlapping themes: (1) Understanding relevant history and institutions, e.g., past efforts to improve teaching, current policy debates, labor markets and employment relationships, etc. (2) Contrasting different theoretical perspectives used to motivate and organize research. (3) Application of research methods, e.g., measuring teacher contributions to student outcomes, (quasi)-experimental tests of changes to teachers or teaching practices, etc. Readings and class discussion will include both seminal papers and recently-published or working papers. Grading is credit/no credit. The final paper will be a research proposal on a topic related to teachers or teaching.