Master of Education: Teaching

This course is intended to provide individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the Master of Education program. Students will explore what it means to develop as a professional educator and how this impacts teaching and learning. The course examines the significance of various educational theories, historical developments, philosophies, pedagogical approaches, basic research designs, and educational paradigms. Students will discover how different social, emotional, physical, and ethical issues impact various aspects of K-12 classrooms, and other instructional settings. Effective use of technology as a tool in educational situations will be emphasized, as well as how educational research can alter classroom practice.

This course, designed for educators, examines issues related to promoting equitable learning opportunities in the classroom, including effective approaches to encourage collaboration among colleagues, staff, parents, and students who are culturally, ethnically and socio-economically diverse. Interpersonal communication skills – to include speaking, listening, reading, and writing - and their effect on individuals, organizations, and communities will be discussed. Topics examined include ethnic, cultural, gender, class, religious, and linguistic diversity.

This course is designed for the education professional and focuses on positive classroom management approaches and strategies. This course reviews models of classroom management as well as the fundamentals of behavioral change. Students will explore the impact of legislation such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) including Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). In this course, students will focus on implementing strategies for class-wide, small group, and individual intervention as well as methods for monitoring student progress. (Prerequisite: EDUC 503)

Pre Reqs: The Professional Educator(EDUC503)

Educators learn the appropriate methods for selection, administration, and interpretation of assessments in K12 education, and other instructional settings. Research and statistical concepts such as reliability, validity, and standard error of measurement are reviewed. Educators also become familiar with the most frequently used personality, educational, intelligence, formative, and summative assessments. Discussions include historical perspectives regarding assessment, testing ethics, and use of instruments with diverse populations. (Prerequisite: EDUC 503)

Pre Reqs: The Professional Educator(EDUC503)

This course examines the role of the educator working collaboratively with other school and instructional personnel in an inclusion model. This approach to effective instruction will focus on the classroom factors relating to the nature of the student and the essential meaning of the curriculum. Particular emphasis will be placed on classroom elements that educators can differentiate – or modify – to increase the likelihood that each student will learn as much as possible, as efficiently as possible. This would include the areas of content, process, products, affect and learning environment. The idea of differentiating instruction to accommodate the different ways that students learn often involves working with others to reach this goal. (Prerequisite: EDUC 503)

Pre Reqs: The Professional Educator(EDUC503)

This course provides an overview of approaches to research; rationales for methodological choices; uses and abuses of research processes and findings; tools and techniques for finding or generating data; tools and techniques for analyzing data; decision-making and interpretation; making conclusions public; and ensuring that research participants are respected and valued throughout the process. Thorough coverage of these topics is designed to equip practitioners with the knowledge and skills necessary to select, evaluate, and apply findings from extant research related to issues at the individual, classroom, school, or district levels. Additionally, the course is designed to prepare practitioners to conduct high quality action research projects aimed at the individual, classroom, school, or district levels, or additional educational environments. PREREQUISITE COURSE: EDUC503, EDUC505, OR EDUC506.

Pre Reqs: The Professional Educator(EDUC503),The Professional School Counselor(EDUC505),The Professional School Leader(EDUC506)

This course explores how technology may be used as a tool to facilitate changes in the ways teachers teach and students learn, and ultimately to examine how teachers can use technology more efficiently and effectively to improve student achievement. The course also examines how educators can increase their productivity by using technology for communication and collaboration among colleagues, staff, parents, students, and the larger community. This course addresses the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS•T), developed by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (Prerequisite: EDUC 503)

Pre Reqs: The Professional Educator(EDUC503)

This course explores legal, ethical, and political issues governing K-16 education in America and the legal responsibilities, powers of state, and local governing bodies that arise in elementary and secondary schools. Topics include confidentiality, testing, liability for student injury, due process, search and seizure, staff appraisal, employment discrimination, church/state conflicts, control over the curriculum, the expression of controversial views, issues related to the financing and adequacy of state school finance plans, and the schools' authority to make rules governing student and teacher conduct. Issues surrounding in-school and in-district politics will also be discussed. Contracts, dismissals, tenure, retirement, liability of personnel and district, school district boundary changes, and bonding are also explored. Emphasis is given to federal and state statutes and case law affecting due process, liability, equal protection, and the rights of teachers and students in order to better understand the risks in education management and possible strategies to reduce those risks. Prereq: EDUC503

Pre Reqs: The Professional Educator(EDUC503)

This course will study the ways in which teachers and educational professionals incorporate instructional leadership into their organizational behavior and create instructional practices that raise levels of teaching and learning. The course focuses on teachers as leaders, the importance of teacher leadership to improve outcomes in educational settings, and Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). Prereq: EDUC503

Pre Reqs: The Professional Educator(EDUC503)

This course provides educators with an opportunity to critically examine major contemporary issues related to field of special education to include legal, curricular, and instructional procedures appropriate for students at the elementary, middle, and secondary school levels, or in other instructional settings. (Prerequisite: EDUC 503)

Pre Reqs: The Professional Educator(EDUC503)

This course examines a framework to address the emerging issues and trends in administration and supervision that have the potential to significantly influence the future direction of education. It describes how the educational leader can address emerging issues and trends, build the necessary leadership competence to respond to these issues and trends, and develop into a more accountable leader who can deal effectively with the need for school reform. Time will be spent studying the effects of media on student learning, taking into account that the K-12 and adult students of the 21st Century are “digital learners” whose learning styles are likely to be quite different from those of K-12 teachers and adult instructors. Research, study, discussion, and writing assignments will enable candidates in this course to systematically analyze various issues and trends such as accountability, privatization, national standards, voucher plans, organizational change, the diverse educational community, community resources and partnerships, marketing strategies and process, and other topics. Prereq: EDUC503

Pre Reqs: The Professional Educator(EDUC503)

Accomplished teachers have a rich understanding of the subject(s) they teach and associated content area pedagogical practices. In this course, candidates will assess their teaching practice in the context of previous coursework, observational experiences, and teaching. They will apply content area knowledge to contemporary theory through the development of artifacts and reflective pieces related to praxis. Candidates will also engage in discourse related to emerging social and philosophical issues in teaching to prepare them to be informed practitioners. This course will focus on action research in a classroom situation. Its purpose is to inform candidates with respect to ongoing pedagogical practices.