Cognition, Development & Instruction (CDI) Ph.D. Specialization
- How do children acquire reading and mathematics skills?
- How does the language children speak and the culture they grow up in affect the ways they view the world and process information?
- How can children's natural search for understanding be utilized in classroom learning?
- What instructional interventions will improve 8th-grade pupils' understanding of gravity?
- How is the culture of race/ethnicity and gender played out in adolescents' lives and in their social worlds?
These and related questions motivate the research of the CDI faculty and their instructional programs. Within this specialization, a student can become expert on such topics as thinking, problem-solving, language development, argumentation, instruction, moral development, mathematical and scientific reasoning, social-emotional development, and the development of adolescent social cognition. Students draw from a wide range of faculty expertise and capitalize on the University's interdisciplinary cognitive science offerings.
This specialization is designed to create researchers and university-level teachers who can contribute to our knowledge about human development, learning, and instruction. Full-time study is required as students must be immersed in research experiences and collegial discussion and debate to become successful. This specialization, like the rest of our PhD specializations, is research based; although courses are required, the goal of a student's Ph.D. study is to become an expert in his or her area of interest. Upon entry, students are expected to become involved in faculty research and eventually to conduct their own research under faculty supervision.
Specialization Courses
The following specialization courses are required of all students in this specialization in addition to the Doctoral Core Courses:
- EDUC 821: Cognition and Instruction
- EDUC 823: Learning and Development
- EDUC 820: Contexts for Learning
In addition, CDI candidates must take two advanced research methodology courses, such as:
- EDUC 812: Regression and Structural Equation Modeling
- EDUC862: Design and Analysis of Experiments
- EDUC 863: Program Evaluation in Education
- EDUC 865: Educational Measurement Theory
- EDUC 872: Advanced Educational Measurement
- PSYC 867: Multilevel Models in Education (requires permission from instructor)
- EDUC 874: Applied Multivariate Data Analysis
Specialization Area Exam Policy
To be determined.
Affiliated Faculty
Faculty affiliated with this specialization area:
