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Professor
of Education and co-director of the Delaware-Johns Hopkins Project for the
Study of Intelligence and Society
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Welcome to the Homepage of
Linda S. Gottfredson
Syllabi
for Current and Recent Courses:
By 2003, just 50
years after discovering of the double helix, scientists had mapped the entire
human genome. This is one of the scientific triumphs of the Twentieth
Century, yet it also poses some deeply unsettling political and moral
challenges. Some people welcome its possible benefits to human health and
well-being, but others fear that the new genetic knowledge and technologies
will threaten our freedoms and degrade our humanity. This course will examine
the wide range of ethical issues associated with genetic research and
technologies. Students will first get a basic grounding in different ethical
philosophies, from early Greece to modern times, as well as in the genetic
science involved. From that foundation, they will then analyze specific
questions often debated in the press, movies, literature, and Congress, such
as privacy, discrimination, stigmatization, new medical therapies and
reproductive technologies, genetic engineering, and cloning.
Is intelligence just a narrow academic skill, as some
critics claim, or does it provide practical advantages in everyday life? What
is life like for people of low, average, or high intelligence? And just what
is intelligence anyway, and why do people (even siblings) differ so much in
intelligence level? This course examines old discoveries as well as new
surprises in the scientific study of intelligence. We will also closely
examine various IQ tests to help understand why the differences they measure
have practical value in virtually all arenas of social life, but especially
education and work. There is a wide dispersion in intelligence within all
societies, and we will ponder the special challenges that such variation
poses for democratic societies such as ours. Please visit the course
syllabus.
Educational
Assessment for Classroom Teachers (EDUC451)
Tests and assessments are a major part of a teacher's job.
They are also major tools of educational reform today. We will examine the
various aims and techniques of assessing student learning. You will learn how
to create and evaluate different kinds of classroom assessments, as well as
how to interpret standardized tests administered by the school district to
all students or by school psychologists to individuals students. We will
discuss the strengths and limitations of different kinds of tests, as well as
the lively politics surrounding them. We will also discuss how to give
feedback on student performance, including how to assign grades and conduct
parent-teacher conferences. Please visit the course syllabus.
Educational
Assessment for Classroom Teachers (EDUC 451-080, Honors Section)
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