Graduate Student Milestones

An examination of key theoretical and empirical studies about how people learn, focusing on the design of learning environments and implications for instruction. The course explores relationships among what is learned, how it is learned, and how learning is demonstrated, and looks at possible roles for technology in supporting contemporary approaches to instruction, learning, and assessment. The syllabus includes research on learning in traditional academic domains (e.g., mathematics, science, literature, history) as well as on the everyday learning of children and adults. Using sociocultural, cognitive, and design-based research lenses, the seminar examines teaching and learning from several research perspectives.

Two semesters.

The primary purpose of this course is to build a learning community in which students can develop a greater sense of themselves as professionals, joining a community of practice that shares norms, specialized knowledge, and ethical commitments. This happens through reading and discussing of journal articles.

Additional graduate-level courses in the disciplinary specialization, research methods, other disciplines, or special topics courses offered periodically in the Learning Sciences program. These courses will be selected in consultation with the student’s advisor in the Learning Sciences program and in consultation with the course instructor to determine relevance and appropriateness of course content to the student’s program goals and academic preparation for the course (minimum 16 credit hours).

This course is focused on understanding the components of scientific arguments as they apply to the diverse research problems that characterize the Learning Sciences. It includes analysis of the components of a scientific argument, development of a research question, and the appropriateness of different research designs for approaching varying questions about learning and learners. Special consideration is given to: (a) understanding the interplay between the design process and the research process in the emergent field of “design experiments” and (b) the influence of micro and macro policy contexts on the framing and execution of research agendas on learning. The course establishes a familiarity with issues of Research Process – being about evidence, warrants, purposes, objectivity and subjectivity and narratives. It should expose students to relevant concepts, terminology, and a menu of methodologies, making them aware of the range of tools and types of data for a variety of approaches to research.

The purpose of this course is to deepen understanding of the philosophical foundations of scientific inquiry and how such inquiry relates to teaching and learning processes when “inquiry methods” are used in classrooms. The course complements research methods courses as well as courses in teaching and learning theory. Major topics include: The Inquiry Universe, Inquiry in Science, Inquiry in the Classroom, Socializing Inquiry, Assessing Inquiry.

Two semesters.

The primary purpose of this course is to build a learning community in which students can develop a greater sense of themselves as professionals, joining a community of practice that shares norms, specialized knowledge, and ethical commitments. This happens through reading and discussing of journal articles.

This course focuses on the analysis of data gathered for the purpose of studying learning processes. It focuses on the processes that occur between data gathering and the confirmation of findings – i.e., the processes of making sense of complex sets of data that have already been gathered. This course is focused on the work of managing, re-representing, and becoming familiar with data during the analysis process. We focus on qualitative analyses, using grounded theory as a primary lens for understanding the process of developing an emergent conceptual framework. Theoretical issues explored in this course will be considered in the context of actual ongoing analyses of data.

Selected in consultation with the student’s Learning Sciences Faculty Advisor and an advisor in the disciplinary specialization. Students take courses offered through existing graduate programs at UIC such as

• • Chemistry
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Computer Sciences
  • Mathematics or Mathematics Education
  • Literacy, Language, and Culture or
  • Urban Educational Leadership.

This course examines the relationships between processes of individual learning and change and processes of organizational learning and change. The course focuses on theoretical and empirical work on core principles of change, including forms of leadership, individuals as agents of change within organizations, organizational properties that foster or impede change, and implications for innovation and sustainability of innovation. Of particular interest are organizational mechanisms that support individual change, and how these are sustained over time as well as changes in the upper levels of organizational management.

In this course, students study the design and evaluation of formal and informal learning environments from four perspectives: learner-centered, knowledge-centered, assessment-centered, and community-centered. Learning environments range from classroom to after-school, home, and museum. Special emphasis is placed on the role of technology.

One semester.

The primary purpose of this course is to build a learning community in which students can develop a greater sense of themselves as professionals, joining a community of practice that shares norms, specialized knowledge, and ethical commitments. This happens through reading and discussing of journal articles.

Additional graduate-level courses in the disciplinary specialization, research methods, other disciplines, or special topics courses offered periodically in the Learning Sciences program. These courses will be selected in consultation with the student’s advisor in the Learning Sciences program and in consultation with the course instructor to determine relevance and appropriateness of course content to the student’s program goals and academic preparation for the course (minimum 16 credit hours).

Disciplinary specialization course, selected in consultation with the student’s Learning Sciences Faculty Advisor and an advisor in the disciplinary specialization. Students take courses offered through existing graduate programs at UIC such as

• • Chemistry
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Computer Sciences
  • Mathematics or Mathematics Education
  • Literacy, Language, and Culture or
  • Urban Educational Leadership.

Minimum of 34 credit hours.

Each year, students submit an Annual Review, following a provided template, to show evidence of academic and professional progress. These are reviewed by the faculty and the Director of Graduate Studies generates an annual progress letter which is presented to the student by the advisor.An Independent Research Project that is to be included as one of the artifacts in the Progress Portfolio (Comprehensive Examination – see below). The focus of the project should be determined in consultation with the LS Faculty Advisor, and can be based on work done in one of the core courses, within a research assistantship, or independently under the guidance of the Advisor.

The following forms are necessary for the annual review:

• Form 1
• Form 2
• Form 3

An Independent Research Project that is to be included as one of the artifacts in the Progress Portfolio (Comprehensive Examination – see below). The focus of the project should be determined in consultation with the LS Faculty Advisor, and can be based on work done in one of the core courses, within a research assistantship, or independently under the guidance of the Advisor.

The following forms are necessary for the Independent Research Project:

• Form 1
• Form 2
• Form 3

The Comprehensive Examination takes the form of a Student Progress Portfolio and an oral defense based on it.

In each core course, students generate at least one product or document to be added to the Progress Portfolio. The point is to demonstrate understanding of the core theories, methodologies, and knowledge base in learning sciences and the disciplinary specialization. It is an opportunity to consolidate learning from the core program experience. It should reflect both mastery of this content as well as reflection on the student’s learning experience during the initial years of the program.

Upon completion, the student will orally defend the contents of the portfolio before a committee who will determine passing or failing of the comprehensive exam. The committee is comprised of at least three Learning Sciences or affiliated faculty.

The Preliminary Examination is an oral defense of the completed dissertation proposal before a committee comprised of a minimum of five members, with at least three LS or affiliated faculty. Ordinarily, this committee is the same one before which the student will defend his or her completed dissertation.

This exam cannot be undertaken until after the Progress Portfolio/Comprehensive Examination has been passed. The primary purpose of the Preliminary Examination is review and approval of the thesis research proposal and admission of the student to candidacy for the PhD.

The following forms are necessary for the prelims:

• Form 1
• Form 2
• Form 3

The completed dissertation must be defended orally and publicly before the committee.