Faculty Profile
Kirk Anderson
Assistant Professor of Educational Studies (2018)
Contact Information
57 S College St Room 2
Bio
Kirk is broadly interested in how racial and economic inequities shape educational institutions. His research utilizes ethnography to explore the daily realities of diversity policy and practice in higher education, examining diversity as something institutions do rather than something people are. He is also interested in how practices ranging from student activism to mindfulness can help educational institutions recognize and challenge systemic and institutional inequities.
Education
- B.A., Texas A & M University, 2007
- M.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2013
- Ph.D., 2018
2024-2025 Academic Year
Spring 2025
EDST 140 Educational Psychology
An examination of physical, cognitive, and psychological developmental theories and research as well as theories of learning. The course includes theoretical perspectives on: age-stage characteristics, exceptionality, achievement versus aptitude, as well as how developmental, sociocultural, and motivational factors influence student learning in classroom contexts.
EDST 250 Curriculum Theory
An examination of how the curriculum of educational institutions is shaped as well as how curriculum serves as a shaping force for educational institutions. This includes an examination of various conceptions of curriculum and of knowledge as well as curriculum ideologies and structures. Finally, the course examines how diverse student populations may experience the curriculum.Prerequisites: 120 or 130, and 140.
EDST 391 Teaching Community
Teaching Community will provide opportunities for Dickinson students to learn the theory behind dialogic educational strategies, converse with practitioners who utilize these strategies, practice using these tools, and, finally, apply these tools to pressing concerns in our community. Our overall approach to learning these different pedagogical skills will be framed using bell hooks' engaged pedagogy, a relational and dialogic approach to constructing educational spaces rooted in both Paulo Freire's critical dialogues and the Buddhist practice of mindfulness. Dialogue thus comprises both the content and the form of the class.