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 examine the differences between the learning needs and abilities of the adult and the younger learner. The course will highlight the importance of differentiating instruction and course development between adult learners and K-12 learners. The adult learner may be viewed as a student who is a mature worker and approaching the achievement of a degree after they are more self-guided in their learning. The adult learner seeks learning to make sense and will rarely perform an activity that is not related or aligned. These adult learning attributes differ from the younger learner, who may need guidance in how to be self-directed and apply new information toward an important purpose and future direction.

The course will focus on the issue of ownership of certain types of intellectual property on the Internet, which has become a critical issue especially with emerging Web 2.0 technologies becoming so prevalent in our schools and culture. In this course the future online and hybrid educator will learn about the different types of potential copyright infringement and its implication for course development. There will be an attempt to dispel the common notion that since material is readily available on the Internet, it is now public domain and is free from copyright concerns.

In this course students will develop an understanding of the structure of the different types of software/genres (application, drill and practice, tutorial and simulation), and their effect on raising student achievement. Future instructors (degree students) will gain an appreciation for the types of online learning experiences that will enhance the online student experience. Scholarly literature that addresses student achievement gains via technology will be examined. Students will be introduced to a typology for software and interactive web experiences that predicts the effect of student achievement based on the unique features of interactive product.

In this course students will examine various approaches to the assessment of online learning. The assessment will be focused toward a specific singular online offering in that students will learn to evaluate whether the online course achieved its goals and that effective instruction has actually occurred. Comprehensive models of assessment such as Stufflebeam’s CIPP model will be applied to the evaluation of an entire program. This model will look at all aspects of instruction, such as frequent evaluation of textbooks and curriculum frameworks.

In this course students will explore and evaluate the different types of online learning platforms, as well study the different components of asynchronous and synchronous instructional delivery. Students will demonstrate an ability to develop a complete online course for delivery in the Blackboard, Sakai, eCollege, Moodle, or other LMS environment.

This course will examine the different technology applications that have emerged as a result of the development of Web 2.0. Students will learn about the potential for using social networking sites as vehicles for effective communication that can promote as well as inform. Students will be introduced to the new world of writing applications for Apple proprietary products such as IPhone and IPad and other smart phones and tablet devices. In addition students will be exposed to cloud computing and GoogleDocs, and WebQuest applications for blended learning in traditional K-16 content curricula and delivery.

This course will examine the current best practices for personalization for each individual student in our K-16 classrooms. Personalization is closely related to two additionally important terms; individualization and differentiation. All three terms require a shift in focus from a teacher centered approach to an authentic, student-centered approach. A true student centered focus requires that we tailor our lessons to the abilities, interests, preferences, future life dreams, socio-emotional attributes, and other needs of the individual student

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.