Jonathan Miller-Lane
Associate Professor of Education
- Office
- Twilight Hall 107
- Tel
- (802) 443-3459
- jmillerl@middlebury.edu
- Office Hours
- F23: Monday mornings 9:30-11:30am: Twilight Hall 106, Tuesday afternoons via Zoom 2:30-3:30pm & by appointment
- Additional Programs
- Education Studies
What makes education in a democracy different from education in a totalitarian state? How do we prepare students in a democracy for a democracy? How should a liberal arts education shape our responses?These questions form the focus of my teaching and scholarship.
I earned my Ph.D. in Secondary Education from the University of Washington in Seattle under the guidance of Professor Walter Parker. My research focused on the facilitation of disagreement in discussion and whether the principles and practice of Aikido might help foster facilitation skills.I also have a M.Ed. from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and a BA in Middle Eastern and African History from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Courses Taught
BLST 0115
Education in the USA
Course Description
Education in the USA
What are schools for? What makes education in a democracy unique? What counts as evidence of that uniqueness? What roles do schools play in educating citizens in a democracy for a democracy? In this course, we will engage these questions while investigating education as a social, cultural, political, and economic process. We will develop new understandings of current policy disputes regarding a broad range or educational issues by examining the familiar through different ideological and disciplinary lenses. 3 hrs. lect./1 hr. disc.
Terms Taught
Requirements
EDST 0111
Unlearning Colonial Habits
Course Description
Unlearning Colonial Habits
In this course we will explore habits of knowing and being (epistemologies and ontologies) that are legacies of settler colonialism and examine whether “unlearning” such habits expands the possibilities of a liberal arts education. To provide time for contemplative practices and place-based seminars, 12 contact hours will be held on Saturday September 17 and Sunday September 18, 2022, prior to the start of fall semester (six hours daily). The remaining six contact hours will comprise three, two-hour seminars during the first half of fall semester. Readings and practices will be drawn from the writings of Bayo Akomolafe, Karen Barad, Beth Berila, Cheryl Harris, Laura Rendon, Toni Morrison, Tharon Weighill, Kenny Xu and others. Sophomores Only. (This is a half credit course)
Terms Taught
EDST 0115
Current
Education In the USA
Course Description
Education in the USA
What are schools for? What makes education in a democracy unique? What counts as evidence of that uniqueness? What roles do schools play in educating citizens in a democracy for a democracy? In this course, we will engage these questions while investigating education as a social, cultural, political, and economic process. We will develop new understandings of current policy disputes regarding a broad range or educational issues by examining the familiar through different ideological and disciplinary lenses. 3 hrs. lect./1 hr. disc.
Terms Taught
Requirements
EDST 0237
Current
Educational Psychology
Course Description
Educational Psychology: Learning in Schools
In this course we will expand our understanding of learning and teaching while exploring principles, issues, and research in educational psychology. We will examine learning theories, complex cognitive processes, cognitive and emotional development, and motivation, and apply these constructs to effective instruction, the design of optimal learning environments, assessment of student learning, and teaching in diverse classrooms. (EDST 0115) 3 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements
EDST 0238
Upcoming
Ed Psyc: In the Community
Course Description
Educational Psychology: Learning in the Community
In this course we will expand our understanding of learning and teaching while engaging with the local school community, including professionals and stakeholders who support K-12 students in various roles. We will examine curriculum theory, teaching theories, and practices that support social-emotional as well as proficiency-based learning, trauma-informed teaching, and the use of personalized learning plans to support student growth and development. In this way, students will continue to understand and develop effective instructional practices, the design of optimal learning environments, meaningful assessment tools, and effective and engaging teaching strategies for diverse, inclusive, innovative, student-focused classrooms. (EDST 0237; Restricted to EDST Majors, and others by permission) 3 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements
EDST 0327
Upcoming
Field Exp Secondary/Special Ed
Course Description
Field Experience in Secondary Education and Special Education
In this course we will examine secondary teaching and special education at the middle school level. In this seminar we will explore, through selected readings and case studies, the policy and pedagogy of special education for students with learning disabilities. Further topics in middle/secondary education will be addressed. Required for students seeking a major in secondary education. (Pass/Fail) (Open to EDST Secondary Licensure candidates only)
Terms Taught
Requirements
EDST 0415
Sec Student Teach Practicum
Course Description
Student Teaching in the Middle School/High School
A semester-long practicum in a local middle or high school under the direct supervision of an experienced cooperating teacher. (Corequisite: EDST 0410) (Approval required)
Terms Taught
Requirements
EDST 0416
Sec Student Teach Practicum
Course Description
Student Teaching in the Middle School/High School
See EDST 0415. (Approval required)
Terms Taught
Requirements
EDST 0417
Sec Student Teach Practicum
Course Description
Student Teaching in the Middle School/High School
See EDST 0415. (Approval required)
Terms Taught
Requirements
EDST 0430
Upcoming
Senior Seminar in Education
Course Description
Senior Seminar in Education Studies
In this capstone seminar for General Education minors, students will engage, analyze, and offer solutions to real world problems in the current landscape of education. We will read extensively in the field, consider multiple research methods and approaches, and enlist community experts. Working across disciplines and collaboratively, students will create final projects that integrate and apply what they have learned in their coursework, developing and enhancing skills for creative problem solving and leadership in the field. Final projects will vary; all students will make oral presentations. (three of five required courses for the general EDST minor.) 3 hrs. Sem.
Terms Taught
Requirements
EDST 0500
Current
Upcoming
Independent Project
Course Description
Independent Project
(Approval Required)
Terms Taught
EDST 0505
Ind. Study-Sec Methods
Course Description
Independent Study - Secondary Methods
This course is for students who are pursuing a VT teaching license in a Secondary content area. Students are required to commit to a school placement under the guidance and supervision of a certified, secondary VT teacher. The content of the course will be developed collaboratively by the EDST professor overseeing the independent student, the VT secondary teacher who is overseeing the school placement, and the student. Regular meetings involving all three will take place throughout the semester. The exact meeting schedule will be determined on a case by case basis. Students will complete assignments that address the requirements of the VT Educator Portfolio. (EDST0115, EDST0215 and relevant courses in Psychology). By Approval only. Interested students must meet with the Director of Education Studies.
Terms Taught
EDST 1009
Soc Justic & Evol Spirituality
Course Description
Social Justice and Evolutionary Spirituality
In this “course” we will explore whether we can create intellectually dynamic spaces of regeneration and renewal while enrolled at an historically White supremacist institution. There are two central texts for our inquiry: (1) Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation (2016), by The Reverend Angel Kyodo Williams, Lama Rod Owens and Jasmine Syedullah, Ph.D.; and (2) American Awakening: Evolutionary Spirituality, Non-Duality & Free Thinking in the Tradition of American Philosophy (2020) by the spiritual philosopher, Jeff Carreira. Class meetings will involve contemplative practices, writing workshops and students will share in the leading of our seminar-based discussions.
Terms Taught
Requirements
FYSE 1567
Educ in the Anthropocene
Course Description
Education in the Anthropocene
Traditionally, a liberal arts education has placed humans at the center of study. But, what if we decentered humans in order to explore how to live not as overseer, but as an embodied expression of a much larger, shared Earthscape? What is the balance of liberty and social justice in such a paradigm? What if this new, required spacing between us is not a barrier to our engagement, but the opening possibility of a larger, shared consciousness? Using a conceptual framework of land-body-spirit-mind, we will engage learning at the crossroads of these questions. Is six feet really the distance between when your breath ends and mine begins? 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
Requirements