Education

A course designed to help elementary and secondary teachers to informally assess literacy skills; plan and design appropriate literacy programs; and implement strategies to facilitate the acquisition of reading and writing skills.

This course relates philosophies of education and their application to current educational practices and problems. In addition, EDU506 relates historical milestones in education, both worldwide and American, to education practice and institutions of the present. This course is required for initial certification programs at the graduate level.

A study of standardized and teacher-made tests. Application of statistical methods will be addressed in relationship to the development and interpretation of these tests.

A course designed to help the elementary school teacher improve the techniques to facilitate the learning of elementary school mathematics.

This initial course in the Teacher Leader Master's program examines the role of the teacher leader in today's schools and engages candidates in self-assessment of relevant skills, providing a foundation upon which their professional development as teacher leaders will be built. Candidates examine the governance and process of schooling, as well as personal identity as professionals within a democratic and pluralistic society. The course supports the College's mission and tradition by giving each individual the opportunity to examine, evaluate, and develop a personal view of service to students, the teaching profession, and professional development within the context of developing teacher leader skills. Study of relevant professional literature, self-evaluation, introspection, reflection, and collegial dialogue are incorporated throughout the class. Candidates will learn to read, analyze and discuss scholarly, peer-reviewed literature and put it in conversation with the course readings so as to cultivate foundational skills for writing a capstone research project, in APA Style, at the end of their program. They will also develop a Professional Growth Plan (PGP) that identifies particular areas for professional growth of teacher leader skills and is consistent with needs within school contexts. ​ This will serve as a guiding document throughout their MATL program.

This is a basic course in advanced literacy methods taken prior to the clinical practicum experience. This course examines research in literacy instruction P-12 and will provide needed foundational knowledge.

In this course, graduate candidates will examine the relationship between political policy and trends in educational policy and practice. The course will include readings and assignments designed to assist in the development of a concrete understanding of how educational policy affects the classroom. Graduate candidates will then investigate the implications of current educational policy on a school.

Candidates study the historical background of the concept of gifted education; theories of intelligence and other abilities; growth and development of the gifted student; and special problems encountered by gifted children.

Candidates study current research in curriculum for the gifted; explore various curriculum models and relevant teaching principles, and produce a workable curriculum design. They also explore regional and local regulations pertaining to services to gifted and talented students, curriculum designs of various districts, and actual teacher practices.

Candidates in EDU522 learn and apply to the classroom effective methods for differentiating curriculum and instruction in the regular classroom for gifted students and others.

An exploration of various aspects of teaching science to elementary students: the philosophical bases of science, integration with other subjects, methodologies, classroom organization and management, analysis of science curriculum, and application of the principles covered.

This online course focuses on developing teachers’ use of technology to manage their professional lives as they collaborate with colleagues and serve in leadership roles that extend beyond their own classroom. It also allows the candidate to explore how technology can be used more effectively, or applied to problems, in the classroom, school, or district. Teachers will conduct research and explore various data sources to identify problems (technical and non-technical) that exist in their school or district. In light of these results candidates will then learn to explore technological solutions and advocate, in writing and through presentations, for their adoption. During this process candidates will also learn to critically evaluate the diverse political and philosophical views related to technology and apply these perspectives to their situation. They will also be introduced to the legal and educational issues associated with using technology in schools.

Caring and committed educators who are teacher leaders serve children and families through knowledge of best practices and instructional differentiation. This course is designed to enhance candidates’ commitment to diversity and to students and families by developing quality instructional opportunities for all students regardless of language, race, ethnicity, gender, exceptionality, socioeconomic status, religion, ability status, sexual orientation or geographic area. Culturally responsive teachers facilitate and support learning for all students regardless of their diversities. This course deepens candidate’s understanding of teaching and learning through examination of the diverse make-up of today’s communities, schools and classrooms. Through personal reflection and identification of theoretically sound and culturally responsive pedagogy, this course prepares the candidate to model, mentor and lead efforts in creating a school climate that effectively addresses the learning needs of all students. In this course, candidates will be assessed on their ability to design and implement an instructional plan that is research-based and differentially relevant for diverse populations.

A course designed for candidates in the alternative initial certification program that provides a foundation for designing and planning effective classroom instruction for middle and secondary students—using National and Kentucky curriculum documents, research, and best practices. Course activities are online and are differentiated and various majors/subject areas.

Final mentored teaching or clinical practice (student teaching) for candidates in MA with Initial or Alternative Certification program for middle and/or secondary teachers. Requires admission into final clinical practice (checkpoint 2) and advisor approval.

Study of selected issues and topics in education.

Introduction to computers as an educational tool through study of application software packages for word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentations, and the use of the Internet and e-mail in the classroom. Assistive technology and universal design for learning is included for special education teachers.

Candidates study the ways that curriculum outcomes and assessment align. They will investigate the use of assessment to determine pupil needs and to evaluate the effects of instruction according to the desired outcomes. Beginning with general theories of curriculum and assessment, candidates will explore a variety of forms of assessment tasks, including those which may indicate learning problems, special abilities, and pupil achievement; identify criteria for determining appropriate and effective assessment; examine assessment from a student-centered perspective; gain competence in applying and interpreting assessments; and explore legal and ethical aspects of assessment. They will also simulate leadership formats with fellow candidates as they study, analyze, reflect on, and communicate curriculum/assessment features and problems. For the core assessment of this course, candidates will outline an overall assessment plan, carry out a clinical experience and analyze the results, and complete a final reflection. Classroom tasks in connection with the core assessment will include collaborative analysis of assessment results in groups of candidates with similar teaching certification as well as group critiques of assessment items.

Subjects for study will vary with the needs and interests of students (substitutions may be approved by the Dean of Education).

Candidates will work in a clinical setting (classroom laboratory) exploring the art and science of teaching including the design, implementation, and evaluation of instructional plans. (School-based clinical component required).

Course addresses issues related to administering a technology environment at a classroom and school level.

This course concentrates on developing and implementing web-based resources that can be used by P-12 teachers and/or students. We will be learning how to develop and use these resources by exploring a variety of web-based tools, including (but not limited to) blogs, wikis, web-based multimedia resources, communication tools (discussion forums, chat, etc.), research tools, course management systems, social networking, online gaming, and other new and emerging web-based technologies. We will be focusing on research and design considerations and best practices. This course counts as an elective in the new Instructional Technology Endorsement requirement in the old instructional Technology Endorsement, an elective (pedagogical content knowledge) in the MA for Elementary and an elective (Professional Knowledge) in the MA for secondary/P-12.

This course addresses issues in teaching children and adults how to use instructional technology to enhance learning and increase productivity. Topics will include, but are not limited to, learning theories related to technology skills acquisition, classifications of technology used in schools, identifying, evaluating, and designing technology professional development resources for teachers, and technology standards for students and teachers. Through the practicum, this course will provide experiences working with teachers who are implementing technology in instructional units and with students.

The first of two practicum courses that require teachers to assess continuously the literacy development of individual students over two semesters and implement specific intervention strategies that address student’s needs.

The second of two practicum courses that require teachers to assess continuously the literacy development of individual students over two semesters and implement specific intervention strategies that address student’s needs.

Study of normal growth and development, research in physical, social and emotional development, causes of behavior and learning theories.

This course balances developing knowledge of multiple strategies for individualizing instruction in the inclusive classroom with developing professional collaborative skills including consultation, training, co-teaching, mentoring, and engaging parent support. The course is based on job-embedded assignments that involve practical field experience and professional activities in the classroom and school environment. Reflection is an essential component of this course.

A course designed to provide non-ESL teachers with knowledge on how to effectively teach, assess, and integrate ESL students in mainstream classrooms and to become an advocate for immigrant populations.

Knowledge derived from the linguistic sciences about the nature of language and how it is learned will serve as the basis for the exploration and evaluation of various methods, techniques, and approaches to the teaching of English as a second language.

This course is a practical application of ESL methods and a continuation of ESL methods. This course will deepen the theoretical concepts of the methods course and will focus on the assessment process of ESL student achievement.

This course familiarizes candidates with key concepts of Linguistic research and human language. In addition, English grammar is reviewed and practiced.

This course will provide training to teachers to transition from being ESL teachers to becoming ESL managers and leaders in their schools or districts. This course will train the participants to guide their school communities to a successful integration of students and families with heritage languages and cultures other than American and to help classroom teachers to overcome achievements gaps in their classrooms. Participants in this course will discuss issues within a framework of sociocultural and leadership concepts.

This course will assist teachers to understand how the home language and culture may impact school achievement in ESL populations by the example of some language minority groups. The course will further deepen the knowledge of how culture and language interface and how they create reality for learners.

This course will provide training on newly developing professional issues, emerging topics, and developments in the field for ESL teachers, academies, and special projects.

This course introduces action research as a powerful agent of educational change. The class will enhance candidates’ existing abilities to use action research principles in their roles as teacher leaders not only as critical consumers of research but as researchers themselves. Candidates will explore quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and understand the roles of various methodologies and data in action research that addresses issues of candidate achievement. Candidates will develop skills to be critical consumers of information and research in the field of education, exploring issues such as research design, population sampling, data collection instruments and methods, and data analysis in contemporary research. Working toward the implementation of their Capstone Research Project, candidates will refine their review of literature, design the study, develop research questions, and operationalize key terms and processes in an action research project to test their hypotheses. Candidates will explore research ethics and related regulations. Candidates will complete the Institutional Review Board application and submit their Capstone Research Project Research Proposal to the IRB for review. This course is designed to provide opportunities for candidates to demonstrate scholarship and leadership in educational settings by designing a research project around a concrete educational matter, and is consistent with the mission statement of the unit to develop scholars who are competent and caring educators, committed to a spirit of service and learning.

This class represents the capstone course for the MA in Leadership program and is to be taken immediately after EDU594 course and/or in conjunction with the candidate’s chosen endorsement or content focus area practicum. Candidates will implement the Capstone Research Project in their professional practice. They will collect, analyze, and report data; draw conclusions; prepare a written analysis of the conclusions in light of existing research; and make suggestions for future research. This course is designed to provide opportunities for candidates to demonstrate scholarship and teacher leader skills by reporting their findings in an educational setting such as a presentation at the school level and an educational conference proposal. Candidates who are completing an endorsement or special program will implement their Capstone Research Project in the final practicum course in their program. Since the Capstone will focus on student achievement, the endorsement and special program Capstones will integrate issues of student achievement with content and skills from the specialty area. Candidates collect and analyze data, draw conclusions, prepare a written analysis of the conclusions in light of existing research, and make suggestions for future research. The audience for presentation of these projects will include persons interested in the student achievement issue, the specialty area, or both. This course is designed to provide opportunities for candidates to demonstrate scholarship and leadership in educational settings by presentation at the school level and conference proposal, and is consistent with the mission statement of the unit to develop scholars who are competent and caring educators, committed to a spirit of service and learning.

This is the final practicum experience in the Reading/Writing Program, designed to prepare candidates for work as a literacy coach or specialist. Candidates use assessment data to plan literacy programs in their schools, collaborating with teachers and administrators to implement an instructional plan that is consistent with the school’s needs. The requirements for EDU598 are focused on designing and implementing specific literacy professional development activities. Thus, the assignments focus on individual and collaborative work to create, implement, and evaluate a variety of professional development experiences for teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals. This course addresses new and required state and national competencies for P-12 Reading Specialists.

In this course, candidates examine current educational issues, policies, and school realities within a historical and philosophical framework. Candidates reflect upon their own philosophical and ideological views, determine the theoretical perspectives that are reflected in a school’s mission and vision statements, and examine the coherence of school practices within this theoretical context. Candidates also explore the evolution of teacher leadership as it relates to school improvement.

This course targets the college readiness standards in the English Language Arts. Candidates learn how to embed effective literacy instruction in teaching content, leading to higher levels of academic achievement and student engagement. Reading strategies for promoting comprehension, persuasive and argumentative writing, and academic conversations are the major foci of the course. Promoting the academic language development of English learners is also addressed.

This course is designed to provide opportunities for candidates to explore what it means to be an effective instructional coach, gain field experience in various coaching methods, including co-teaching experiences, in a supportive and critically reflective environment, and help students develop a toolbox to support a range of coaching interactions.

This course will focus on using technology to meet the diverse learning needs of the 21st century student. Current topics, trends, and research on using technology in schools will be discussed, with special emphasis on using technology to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners.

Candidates examine demographic and achievement data in their school against a backdrop of current educational issues. They conduct classroom research, interviews, surveys, walkthroughs, literature reviews, and job-embedded professional development in addition to consulting professional web sites, organizations, and relevant funding sources (to be included in a school portfolio). Candidates then analyze these data given their school’s goals and mission statement, and develop a 30, 60, 90-day plan. Candidates also study current frameworks, theories, practices, and techniques used for school/teacher leadership.

Candidates implement their school leadership plan in this course and gather data on school improvement results. Candidates present results to school staff and the school’s site-based council following implementation.

An intensive field-based internship designed to assist teachers in implementing the various elements of the Culturally Responsive Instruction Observation Protocol (CRIOP) model.

This course explores the philosophical, historical, and cultural foundations of environmental education as well as the professional responsibilities of the environmental educator, and situates this knowledge in a local, place-based Praxis. In doing so, it calls us to think deeply and relationally about issues of ecoliteracy, justice, diversity, democracy, class, race, globalization, and indigenous and sustainable communities. We will explore methodologies, resources, and current issues and trends for environmental educators in formal or informal settings.

This course addresses materials, resources, planning, implementation, assessment and evaluation of environmental education across the curriculum and applies them to one’s own site-based setting and culture. Candidates will implement NAAEE standards as well as state standards for teaching environmental education in P-12 schools. The course will culminate in the creation of a standards-based learning unit in which environmental literacy is integrated with traditional content areas.

In this course we will engage Integral Ecology’s interdisciplinary model as a framework and methodology for organizing and integrating many different perspectives and content areas in order to cultivate systemic understandings of environmental problems and their solutions. Using this methodology, we will research and map an environmental concern in Kentucky. We will also consider theories of change to see what they may offer us in terms of fostering constructive conversations, cultivating innovation, and preparing young people to solve environmental problems. With these frameworks, methods and theories in mind, candidates will translate their findings into a curriculum map.

This course seeks to bring the fields of environmental science, ethics and religion together in rich conversation in order to discern how they might speak to and inform one another on issues relating to education as well as ecologically just and socially responsible living. Candidates will examine their own faith traditions in light of what they teach regarding environmentalism in order to critically examine how their own belief systems influence their practice as educators. They will also explore secular humanist writings and faith traditions outside of their own in order to better understand diverse worldviews regarding the environment. Finally, with the diversity of their students in mind, candidates will design a standards-based service learning project related to environmental education and reflect upon it in light of the religious and ethical value systems they have explored.

This course will provide the opportunity for study of environmental education issues not necessarily covered in other courses. In addition, candidates may receive credit for participation in approved environmental education professional development opportunities as a partition of this course.

This course is a lab-based class for initial certification students who need to obtain 50 pre-clinical hours in OELE-approved field experiences.

This course is a lab-based class designed for alternative certification candidates to receive 15 hours of mentoring through the college and school mentor.

This course introduces action research as a powerful agent of educational change. The class will enhance candidates’ existing abilities to use action research principles in their roles as teacher leaders not only as critical consumers of research but as researchers themselves. Candidates will explore quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and understand the roles of various methodologies and data in action research that addresses issues of candidate achievement. Candidates will develop skills to be critical consumers of information and research in the field of education, exploring issues such as research design, population sampling, data collection instruments and methods, and data analysis in contemporary research. Working toward the implementation of their Capstone Research Project, candidates will refine their review of literature, design the study, develop research questions, and operationalize key terms and processes in an action research project to test their hypotheses. Candidates will explore research ethics and related regulations. Candidates will complete the Institutional Review Board application and submit their Capstone Research Project Research Proposal to the IRB for review. Candidates will implement the Capstone Research Project in their professional practice. They will collect, analyze, and report data; draw conclusions; prepare a written analysis of the conclusions in light of existing research; and make suggestions for future research. This course is designed to provide opportunities for candidates to demonstrate scholarship and teacher leader skills by reporting their findings in an educational setting such as a presentation at the school level and an educational conference proposal.

Candidates examine demographic and achievement data in their school against a backdrop of current educational issues. They conduct classroom research, interviews, surveys, walkthroughs, literature reviews, and job-embedded professional development in addition to consulting professional web sites, organizations, and relevant funding sources (to be included in a school portfolio). Candidates then analyze these data given their school’s goals and mission statement, and develop a 30, 60, 90-day plan. Candidates also study current frameworks, theories, practices, and techniques used for school/teacher leadership. Candidates implement their school leadership plan in this course and gather data on school improvement results. Candidates present results to school staff and the school’s site-based council following implementation.

This course focuses on acquiring technology skills and best practice use of technology in designing and implementing online learning resources. By focusing on research and design considerations and best practices, students will learn about different technical aspects of teaching online, technology-related skills and tools used in online teaching, course management systems and communication technologies, online accessibility issues, and online-related legal and ethical considerations. This course counts as an elective in the Instructional Technology Endorsement, and an elective in other advanced programs.

Through the use of P-12 appropriate computer programming tools, this course introduces fundamental programming concepts. Tools relevant to specific age levels will be used to create age-appropriate programs, games, and/ or apps. Research-based practices will be examined regarding teaching coding, and practice working with a P-12 student on a programming project is an integral part of the class.

The clinical practicum required for all literacy specialist candidates. The course requires candidates to assess the literacy development of individual P-12 students and implement specific intervention strategies that address students’ needs.

This course will focus on the roles and responsibilities of the Director of Pupil Personnel services. Emphasis will be focused on attendance, truancy, student accounting, dropout prevention, student health, and other student services. Learning to identify barriers to learning and working with appropriate support staff to address these barriers is addressed.