Laura Wenk

Dean of Curriculum and Assessment, Associate Professor of Cognition and Education

Cognitive Science

lwNS@hampshire.edu

Personal Website

Mail Code DO

Laura Wenk

Adele Simmons Hall 136

413.559.5364

Laura Wenk, associate professor of cognition and education and dean of curriculum and assessment, is a founding faculty member of the Childhood, Youth, and Education Program at Hampshire College supporting college students in examining the relationships among cognition, development, and instruction.

She is also the curriculum director for the Collaboration for Excellence in Science Education at Hampshire College, an outreach program that assists high school faculty in teaching science conceptually. Professor Wenk taught high school biology and physical science for six years before pursuing her doctorate in curriculum studies. She teaches courses in cognition and instruction, curriculum and instruction, and educational research. Her current research interests include the connections among pedagogy, personal epistemology, and higher-order thinking.

Recent and Upcoming Courses

Curriculum Design for Learning in Formal and Informal Contexts
Where does good curriculum design come from? What is the relationship between curriculum and pedagogy? How do good educators promote deep learning despite the current political climate that emphasizes content mastery and efficient instruction? Should curriculum and instruction differ between school and non-school contexts? In this course, you will learn research-based curriculum design practices, how to focus on conceptual understanding and the development of higher order thinking in a number of domains (e.g. critical thinking, integrative thinking, innovative thinking) and across multiple contexts. Each student or group develops a curriculum unit on a topic of their choice. In addition, students get some practice teaching their materials to one another. This course is designed for Division II and III students who are interested in teaching in formal or non-formal settings or who are developing curriculum as part of their independent work.
Mentoring in the Knowledge Commons: Practicum in Peer Mentoring
This course will prepare students to be peer mentors in the Knowledge Commons in the library. We will meet weekly as a group to discuss some readings, make decisions about Commons staffing, hone our practice and debrief from our experiences. The bulk of the course and its assignments take place through work as peer mentors in the Knowledge Commons space and/or in the media labs as appropriate. Each student will select to work in one of these areas: Research and Technology, Holistic Learning Program, the Community Commons, Quantitative Resource Center, the Media Labs, or more generally in academic programming (e.g. supporting a college-wide program, organizing skill shares or writing jams, etc.). Students will develop an understanding of what it means to be in a mentoring role and hone their practice. In addition to functioning as Peer Mentors during this semester, there will be opportunities for continued work as a Peer Mentor in future semesters. Students should expect to work approximately 10 hours outside of class on readings, assignments, and work in the Knowledge Commons.
How People Learn: Introduction to Cognition and Instruction
In recent years, as a result of interactions between cognitive psychology and education, we now have many ideas about learning, and approaches to teaching and assessment in formal and informal settings. We also have strong evidence that implementing these ideas could really improve learning for all children and youth, including those who from under- resourced communities. In this seminar we will work to understand the findings by reading and discussing a selection of theoretical works from cognitive psychology and examine their practical applications to education through discussion and time observing/assisting in a classroom, tutoring/mentoring, or partnering with a Hampshire faculty member to examine their teaching. We will also learn how to evaluate educational claims. Students will be evaluated on a series of short reaction papers, 2 longer papers, a presentation, and their general participation. This course can be used to satisfy the Educational Psychology requirement for licensure students.