Profile of <span>Stephen Hoffman</span>
Office
Twilight Hall 108
Email
hoffman@middlebury.edu

Courses Taught

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

Fall 2021, Spring 2023, Spring 2024

Requirements

AMR, SOC

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Course Description

Understanding Educational Testing
Achievement testing is now a cornerstone of education policy. It is also complex and routinely misunderstood by educators, policymakers, and the media. In this course students will use statistical methods to explore and address testing issues that arise in both policy and practice. We will examine the uses and abuses of educational assessment. We will examine and interrogate trends and group differences in achievement. And we will broaden our understanding of essential concepts of measurement, such as reliability, validity, and bias, by analyzing both large and small datasets. Prior experience with the statistical package “R” is not required, as learning this package will be part of the course. 3 hrs. lect.

Terms Taught

Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023

Requirements

DED, SOC

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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

Spring 2021

Requirements

SOC

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