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.

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 of educational issues by examining the familiar through different ideological and disciplinary lenses.

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.

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)

Student Teaching Seminar Concurrent with student teaching, this course is designed to provide guidance in curriculum development and its implementation in the classroom, and to explore issues related to the teaching process and the profession. Students will construct a Teaching Licensure Portfolio as well as exchange ideas about their student teaching experiences. Topics including technology, classroom management, special education, and assessment will be featured. The Vermont Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities, the five Standards for Vermont Educators, the Principles for Vermont Educators, and ROPA-R will guide the development of the Teacher Licensure Portfolio. (Corequisite: EDST 0405, EDST 0406, EDST 0407 or EDST 0415, EDST 0416 EDST 0417)

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)

Student Teaching in the Middle School/High School See EDST 0415.

Engaging Diverse Worldviews in Contested Times: Theory and Practice In this course, we will critically examine theories of “worldviews” – defined as systems of beliefs that inform how we come to understand, and live in, the world. We will engage contemplative pedagogy to explore the nature of our own worldview and how it may shape what we personally value and the sources of information we find legitimate.  We will also deepen our capacity to facilitate complex moments of disagreement and tension as part of re-affirming how schools in a diverse, democratic republic can be places where student worldviews of all kinds are welcomed.

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.

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. (Restricted to EDST majors, others by permission.)

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.

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.

Jonathan Miller-Lane

Reviews and ratings for Jonathan Miller-Lane at Middlebury College.Jonathan Miller-Lane teaches Education in the USA, Education In the USA, Ed Psyc: In the Community and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Jonathan Miller-Lane good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

Prof JML is awesome and super engaging. He makes the class fun and interesting. Readings are not too hard, and not much graded work. The professor is super accommodating and easy to talk to. Highly recommend this course for a laid-back but informative class. 

My experience in Education in the USA with Professor Jonathan Miller-Lane was really positive, and I would definitely recommend this class to future students. The course covers a lot of important topics about how the American school system works, why it looks the way it does, and how different policies affect students and teachers. Even though some of the readings deal with big issues like inequality, school funding, and free speech, the class makes these topics feel understandable and connected to real life.

I absolutely loved JML and his passion for what he taught. This class was so important and shaped how I view my education and how I approach school, and I think it is a class everyone should take at least once. I really appreciated how JML focused not only on the american education system, but also on how things like race play into it and its flaws. Very thought provoking.