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Evidence
EDU EVI101 01

Course Information

Description

The dilemmas we face as education professionals seeking to advance equity and opportunity require us to make sense of, evaluate, and prioritize different kinds of evidence. This course equips students with the foundational skills and knowledge they’ll need to interpret the most common forms of evidence in education settings and apply them to their practice. We ground our exploration of these issues in a persistent, pervasive, and provocative challenge:  improving achievement in foundational academic subjects for lower secondary students in São Paulo, Brazil.  We will use evidence to frame the problem, evaluate the quality and relevance of the evidence about possible solutions, and consider what additional evidence we would need to strengthen our conclusions. The course uses an innovative team-based learning pedagogy, including “flipped” lectures, whole- class discussion, and small-group activities. By the end of the course, students will be able to weigh the unique affordances of different types of evidence in making decisions about complex educational dilemmas and will acquire a powerful set of tools for analyzing and applying evidence to improve education systems. 

Class Notes

EVI101 Section 1 will meet on the following dates. 

January 5-22, 2025

1/5, 4:30-6:00pm- Remote
1/6, 4:30-7:00pm- In-Person
1/7, 4:30-7:00pm- In-Person
1/8, 4:30-7:00pm- In-Person
1/13, 4:30-7:00pm- In-Person
1/14, 4:30-7:00pm- In-Person
1/15, 4:30-7:00pm- In-Person
1/20, 4:30-7:00pm- Remote
1/21, 4:30-7:00pm- Remote
1/22, 4:30-7:00pm- Remote

Students who wish to drop Evidence must first confirm their eligibility by reaching out to foundations@gse.harvard.edu. Once confirmed, the Registrar’s Office will process the drop request. All communication must be sent before 3:30pm on 1/6/2026.

School Graduate School of Education
Credits 4
Cross Reg

Not Available for Cross Registration

Department Education
Course Component Regular Course
Instruction Mode In Person
Subject Education
Grading Basis HGSE Satisfactory/No Credit
Learning Goals <p> Distinguish between types and sources of evidence and the criteria used to evaluate the quality of each; Assess the value of types of evidence — from experimental studies to examples of student work — for different stakeholders in educational decision-making; Determine the limitations, dependence on assumptions, and possibility of alternative explanations of particular kinds of evidence; Reason appropriately in the face of incomplete information; Synthesize and weigh sources of evidence to address dilemmas or make decisions in complex situations.</p>
Career Focus N/A
Competency N/A
Content N/A
Pedagogy N/A