Research is a major aspect of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. As trends in globalization and innovation continue change, it is important to ensure teaching and learning processes adapt to students’ needs. Our faculty work closely with students to examine trends in education that will better prepare teachers to become engaged and motivational educators. We examine topics such as teachers and teaching, sociocultural conditions in schooling, inequities in education, project based learning, computing and technology education, and learning theories.
In addition to our ongoing research, our department is affiliated with programs such as the Black Male Education Research Collection (BMERC) and the Center for STEM Education.
Black Male Education Research Collection
The Institute for Public School Initiatives (IPSI)
The Office of Bilingual Education
Features
Mirrors and Windows
Pre-service teachers use read-alouds to promote anti-racist curriculum. “I like to read about people different from me because I get to learn about different cultures,” says one student.
More Than Just a Walk Around the Block
A group of pre-service bilingual/bicultural education students go on community walks near Zavala Elementary School in Austin each semester. Students learn about the various resources in the neighborhood as well as the history and people that exist in the communities in which their students live.
A Boisterous Classroom May be Better for Kids than You Think
Child-centered learning is a departure from classrooms in which children are compelled to sit at desks and receive information rather than be active participants, and it can challenge the way some educators have been taught to instruct young students.