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Luther Spoehr

Senior Lecturer in Education and History;
Director of Undergraduate Studies

Barus 201
(401) 863-9236 (phone)
(401) 863-1276 (fax)
Luther_Spoehr@brown.edu

Areas of Specialization: History of American Higher Education, School Reform, Teaching History.

Description of Research and Teaching Interests: In my work on the history of education, I am focusing primarily on the history of American school reform in the 20th century and, in the history of higher education, on changing definitions of academic freedom. I am also working extensively on issues involved in teaching history: how to use primary sources to help students learn to "think historically;" setting up performance-based, "authentic" assessment in standards-based curricula; developing interdisciplinary approaches; and taking advantage of new classroom technologies.

Office Hours

Tuesday 11-12, Thursday 1-2, or by appt


Degrees

Stanford University Ph.D., 1975
    History  

Stanford University M.A., 1970
    History  

Haverford College B.A., 1969
    History  

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Publications

-"A First Rough Draft of History" (co-edited with Alan Fraker; Newsweek Educational Program, 1994)   

-"Learning to Think Historically" (co-authored with Kathryn T. Spoehr; Educational Psychologist, Spring 1994).   

-Over 150 book reviews on US history for the Providence Journal, the History News Network, and other publications   

-Doing the DBQ: Teaching and Learning with the Document-Based Question on the Advanced Placement US History Examination (co-authored with Alan Fraker; published by The College Board, 1995)   

-Where Do Principals Come From? in Boston University Journal of Education, Vol. 184, No. 1 (Spring 2004).   

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Interests

Teaching US History, History of Higher Education, History of American School Reform

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Areas of Expertise

click an area title to see other department faculty with expertise in the same area
Curriculum Development
Higher Education
History of Education
   

School Reform Issues
Standards
Teaching Practice


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Courses

EDUC0400 - The Campus on Fire: American Colleges and Universities in the 1960s

EDUC0850 - History of Intercollegiate Athletics

EDUC1200 - History of American School Reform

EDUC1590 - Teaching Topics in American History and Literature, 1917-1945 (History 196, Sec. 32)

EDUC1620 - TeachingTopics in American History and Literature, 1945-1980

EDUC1730 - American Higher Education in Historical Context

EDUC1740 - Academic Freedom on Trial: A Century of Campus Controversies

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