Teacher Education (MEd, Graduate Certificate, Post-Master’s Certificate, Teacher Licensure) — Courses

Education Courses

EDC G 603
Creating Effective Learning Environments

This introductory course is designed to provide students with knowledge of current early childhood curriculum theory, research, and methods. The course also introduces methods for the creation of effective learning environments in classrooms that are increasingly diverse, culturally and linguistically. Students explore a variety of methods to facilitate planning, classroom organization for cooperative and active learning, curriculum development, student evaluation and assessment, team and co-teaching, and the uses of new educational technologies. Attention is given to challenges posed by inclusionary classrooms and to the ways in which student cultural and linguistic differences can be recognized and respected in order to enhance the educational and linguistic experiences of all students.
3 Credits

EDC G 606
Sociocultural Perspectives on Education

This course examines the interrelationships among students, schools, and society. Participants learn about the ways in which race, class, language, and ethnicity influence how we define ourselves and each other in our various encounters within the broader culture of US society. The course examines the historical antecedents influencing how the lives of the immigrant and colonized peoples in the US are defined. It is designed as a foundation for understanding the policies, goals, assumptions, strategies, and practices of multicultural approaches to education. It draws on a variety of models to construct educational curricula that are multicultural and socially reconstructionist. Readings are placed within the context of public schooling today in order to develop students’ “cultural consciousness” and awareness of the individual and shared societal assumptions we bring to our teaching experiences.
3 Credits

EDC G 610
Computers, Technology, and Education

An introduction to using computers and technology in education. The various uses of computers and technology in education are examined in depth as participants are introduced to a wide variety of K-12 educational software and the Internet and explore the pedagogical issues raised by the use of computers for students, teachers, and school administrators. These include consequences for learning, problem solving, organizing data, creativity, and an integrated curriculum. Finally, the course looks at ways in which technology may help facilitate changes in the ways teachers teach and students learn and ultimately may stimulate reform in education. The course has a field component where students observe computer use in the classroom.
3 Credits

EDC G 612
Evaluation and Design of Educational Software

This course provides participants with methods and strategies for evaluating and designing educational software and other applications of advanced information technology.
Prerequisite: EDC G 610 or permission of instructor or graduate program director.
3 Credits

EDC G 614
Interactive Media Instruction

This course examines the process of developing and producing interactive video programs, using computers and videotape, for instructional purposes. Special attention is given to the study of interactive design principles and the evaluation of interactive media.
3 Credits

EDC G 616
Applied Research in Mathematics

This course explores critical issues related to implementation of NCTM Standards and reviews selected research findings and theories of learning. Participants examine various methods and materials for teaching mathematics in grades N-6; engage in problem-solving and problem-posing activities; observe and work with children in a pre-practicum field site; and critically examine how their experiences relate to the teaching and learning of mathematics. Field observations are required.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

EDC G 617
Literacy Diagnosis and Instruction

This course explores and challenges generally held assumptions about teaching and learning of literacy for students N-8. It provides an opportunity to study research findings, best practices, and current trends in the teaching of literacy acquisition; to develop practical methods for applying those findings and encouraging thoughtful reading, writing, speaking, and listening; and to become familiar with resources that support these activities. Particular attention is given to working effectively with culturally and linguistically diverse students in urban settings. The field component of the course provides for observation and critique of various kinds of classroom practices in urban schools in the Greater Boston area.
3 Credits

EDC G 619
Designing Instruction: Science

This course explores techniques for teaching science concepts to students in grades N-6, examining materials, methods, and curricula currently in use. The course focuses on the development of participants’ skills in science and on the use of questioning methods that help develop higher-order thinking skills in the young child. Participants have the opportunity to be both learners and instructors in a wide range of science activities.
3 Credits

EDC G 620
Designing Instruction: the Arts

This course offers an experiential model of arts integration based in classroom practice. The course combines current theory concerning the role of art in cognitive development with hands-on workshops and exercises geared to enhance participants’ skill and confidence with diverse media. Topics include an examination of constructive processes, integrative curriculum design, the use of the arts to foster learning and intellectual growth, different learning styles, fine and gross motor activity in the classroom, and the importance of play and physical activities in the classroom.
3 Credits

EDC G 621
Teaching Writing in the K-12 Classroom

This course deals with the teaching of writing, the teacher as writer, and the interactions between reading and writing. Readings and presentations offer up-to-date information, theory, and practical techniques for teaching reading and writing in all subject areas. Students meet regularly in reader-writer response groups to work on their own writing and to respond to one another’s writing about reading. There are a number of guest lecture-demonstrations by elementary and secondary teachers who are teacher/consultants with the Boston Writing Project. The course combines writing process theory with practical methods.
3 Credits

EDC G 622
Integrating Curriculum

This course provides participants with opportunities to create thematic curriculum units across academic disciplines such as science, math, language arts, reading, social studies, and the arts. Approaches to curriculum design model the kinds of connected knowing and integration being called for by the current educational reform movement. Participants analyze actual classroom interdisciplinary units and work collaboratively to design and construct original curriculum units. Readings, discussions, group projects, hands-on workshops, and educational technologies provide the resources and skills students will need to develop successful integrated curriculum units in their own classrooms.
3 Credits

EDC G 624
Cultures of the High School

This course explores the cultures of high school and the nature of high school experiences. High schools are the point of intersection of many cultures—adolescence, teaching, schooling, administration, various ethnic and racial backgrounds, and the local community—and the experiences of all involved. Within a school day, there is very little time to consider these differing perspectives and to understand the relationships among participants. This course provides the opportunity and the time to consider these complex dynamics and their impact on the lives of teachers.
Prerequisites: EDC G 606, 641 or 644.
3 Credits

EDC G 625
Designing Instruction in Mathematics and Science

This course explores theoretical and practical perspectives on teaching mathematics and science in Grades K-6. It aims to enable participants to create classroom environments that promote inquiry and make mathematics and science accessible to all children. Principles of curriculum and instruction, issues of equity, and the processes of learning mathematics and science are central themes of the course. Participants engage in extended investigations in order to deepen their understanding of mathematics and science. They also design and evaluate curriculum materials for K-6 classrooms using national and state standards and critically analyze their own roles in helping children learn mathematics and science.
3 Credits

EDC G 626
Integrating Social Studies, Language Arts, and Arts

This course is designed to engage prospective teachers in developing philosophical perspectives and practical approaches to teaching art, social studies, and language arts. Critical thinking about issues in art, social studies, and language arts education, including curriculum, instruction, and assessment, is integral to this course. Special emphasis is given to practices that are responsive to the needs and strengths of elementary students in social groups, classrooms, and schools.
3 Credits

EDC G 629
Foundations of Middle School Teaching

This course is the foundation of the middle school program. It covers middle school philosophy, curriculum, and instruction; pre-adolescent development; and assessment. In the fall, it is held at a cooperating middle school, co-taught by school and GCE faculty. Students may combine the seminar with 75 hours of directed field work at our partner middle school, gaining direct experience with middle school children, curriculum, and instructional methods. In the spring, the course is taught on campus, as a regular 3-credit graduate course.
6 Credits (with field experience) or 3 Credits (for the course alone)

EDC G 630
Inclusion, K-12

This course examines the theoretical and practical issues that teachers must address as they implement the effective inclusion of children with disabilities in general education classrooms. Topics include the legal foundations of inclusion; appropriate strategies for supporting the academic, behavioral, and social aspects of inclusive teaching; and strategies for productive interactions with other educators and parents. The course’s central premise is that inclusion requires collective attention to individual needs within the general education program. Participants become familiar with the roles of the general education teacher in special education, develop learning and behavior plans to address student needs, and acquire practice in analyzing school activities to maximize effective participation by a range of students. The course includes a field experience component.
3 Credits

EDC G 636
Individually Guided Education

This course stresses the adaptation of various instructional methods to individual differences and the continuous improvement of such instruction. The course examines new forms of behavior for teachers, various learning options for students based on their mapped cognitive styles, and alternative modes of school organization and administration.
3 Credits

EDC G 640
Reading in the Content Areas

This course familiarizes participants with developmental reading techniques appropriate for students using various textual materials. Attention is given to the integration and application of reading and study skills in a number of content areas. Field-based observations are required.
3 Credits

EDC G 641
Contemporary Issues in Education

Through readings, discussions, case analyses, and written assignments, this course examines many of the issues and dilemmas that affect teaching and learning in today’s schools and classrooms. Topics include the implications of educational reform at the state and national level; desegregation and education for a multicultural society; equity; tracking and ability grouping; curriculum and assessment; teacher supervision and evaluation; negotiations, unions, and conflict; privatization; family, community, and the influence of the neighborhoods; violence; morality; and power and leadership.
3 Credits

EDC G 642
Organization of School Curriculum

This course analyzes the development of a variety of models of elementary, middle, and secondary school curricula. Emphasis is given to discipline-based and thematic, integrative, and multicultural curricula. Participants become familiar with curriculum sources and materials and current approaches to assessment; they also explore the dynamic interactions among teachers, administrators, families, and communities in conceptualizing, implementing, and evaluating curriculum. Field observations are required.
3 Credits

EDC G 643
Behavior and Classroom Management

This course explores a diverse range of strategies and techniques that may be used to eliminate or alleviate dysfunctional and/or disruptive behavior in the contemporary mainstreamed classroom.
3 Credits

EDC G 644
Developmental Stages: Childhood to Adolescence

This course examines current research and theory about human intellectual, social, and affective development from infancy through adolescence. Topics include the development of linguistic, symbolic, and quantitative systems; cognition; creativity; the developmental interactions of culture, thought, language, and learning; and the implications of current developmental theory and research for educators.
3 Credits

EDC G 646
Understanding Reading: Principles and Practices

This course introduces theoretical and instructional issues in the development of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. It engages participants in reflective, critical consideration of students’ diverse needs in the acquisition of literacy. Strong emphasis is given to assessment-driven instruction in a comprehensive literacy program requiring eight hours of daytime field experience. Topics include a study of oral language as it affects emergent literacy development via use of the running record; literacy lesson planning; strategies for beginning reading and writing; classroom management issues related to responsive, differentiated literacy instruction; and ideas for strengthening the home-school connection. A consistent focus is the teacher’s role as a knowledgeable decision-maker and skilled practitioner in facilitating literacy learning in a caring, principled, respectful manner.
3 Credits

EDC G 647
Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults

This course examines current research, theory, and practice for the integration of multicultural literature into the pre K-12 curriculum. Students read a broad range of literature representative of the diverse cultural groups represented in today’s classrooms. Field-based observations are required.
3 Credits

EDC G 660
Designing Secondary Curriculum and Learning Strategies

This course examines current principles of curriculum and instruction, as well as state and national standards for the teaching of the disciplines at the middle and secondary school levels. Students review teaching materials and methods, design curriculum units, develop strategies for communicating with students from diverse backgrounds, do micro-teaching, design assessment and evaluation instruments, and critique their own and one another’s efforts. This is a field-based course in which students are asked to reflect on the learning and teaching they see in a variety of school sites and apply what they observe as they design curriculum units.
3 Credits

EDC G 661
Developing Understanding in Physical Science

This seminar engages students in the process of deepening their understanding of some basic concepts of physical science, together with the relevant mathematics (basic algebra, geometry), and then has them reflect on the learning process. Topics include the seasons, pulleys, levers, and buoyancy. Concepts evolve from an intuitive qualitative understanding to a precise mathematical formulation, through small group experiment and discussion, class demonstration/discussion, and readings, both about the science itself and about the educational issues involved. Students write up experimental results, solve problems, teach a topic, and write papers reflecting on the learning process.
3 Credits

EDC G 663
Assessment in Teaching

This is an introduction to the theoretical and practical issues of classroom assessment. Participants develop competence in selecting and using appropriate and educationally sound assessments. They compare and analyze different forms of authentic and standardized assessment (including the MCAS and MCET exams); gain practice in evaluating and responding to student work; compare and design rubrics and rating scales; consider the premises and effects of high-stakes testing; and develop assignments and assessment tasks. The focus throughout is on assessment strategies that enhance the learning of all students and that make creative use of the cultural diversity that characterizes urban classrooms.
3 Credits

EDC G 665
Methods in Secondary Science Instruction

This course focuses on the teaching of science at the middle and secondary levels. It explores strategies that support the implementation of current standards in science education, addressing inquiry and experimentation as well as the role of technology in science teaching. The course examines various approaches to teaching selected topics and core concepts in the content areas of earth and space science, life science, physical science, the history and nature of science, and science as it relates to technology and social perspectives. The course introduces participants to resources and legal obligations relevant to the teaching of science and provides experience in designing standards-based lessons and assessments.
3 Credits

EDC G 671
Practice in Tutoring: Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum

This course features monitored tutoring of individuals and small groups in the CLA Reading, Writing, and Study Skills Center and participation in a weekly seminar. Seminar topics include critical reading, writing about texts and literature, thinking about assessment, and other issues central to the teaching of reading and writing across the curriculum. Selected readings from scholarly literature and reflective teaching journals are also assigned. The course provides experience primarily applicable to secondary-school teaching, although it may also be helpful to those preparing for elementary-level teaching.
3 credits

EDC G 672
Race, Class, Gender: Education Reform

This course explores issues of race, class, gender, and linguistic and cultural diversity within their broad sociopolitical and philosophical contexts and examines their implications for anti-racist, multicultural educational practice. Focus is on the goals and premises central to public education from a historic perspective; new perspectives in multicultural teaching and learning, as informed by important recent developments in cognitive psychology, anthropology, sociolinguistics, and cultural studies; and the integration of curriculum design, instructional practice, and assessment approaches. Through critical examination of their own classroom situations, students sharpen their own educational philosophy and pedagogical techniques.
3 Credits

EDC G 686
Graduate Practicum: Student Teaching

(Elementary Education)

EDC G 687
Graduate Practicum: Student Teaching

(Middle School Education)

EDC G 688
Graduate Practicum: Student Teaching

(Secondary Education)

Each practicum provides students with the opportunity to put theory and technique into practice at the level of their specialization. Students demonstrate their teaching skills in a school, with supervision by both a certified cooperating teacher and a member of the University faculty. They also attend a seminar led by the latter. The seminar provides an opportunity for student teachers to share their practicum experiences, to try out and critique plans and ideas, to air and solve problems, and to reflect on the process by which they are becoming education professionals. A formal application to do a practicum must be filed with the Advising Office by October 1 for a spring practicum or by March 1 for a fall practicum.
Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of all other requirements for licensure and permission of the program director.
6 Credits

EDC G 689
Teacher Research

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the methodology and methods of teacher research. Teacher research is characterized by a careful documentation and analysis of teaching practice over time. Participants ask critical questions, analyze methods, and develop a teacher-research project. This course lays the groundwork for the professional licensure clinical experience.
3 Credits

EDC G 696
Independent Study

This is a directed study of a particular topic in education. The work is guided and assessed by the instructor. A proposal or outline of study, signed by the instructor, must be submitted for approval to the Graduate Program Director before the beginning of the semester in which the project is to be undertaken. On approving the proposal, the Graduate Program Director will authorize registration.
3 Credits

EDC G 697
Special Topics in Education

This advanced course offers intensive study of selected topics in the field of education. Course content and credits vary according to topic and are announced prior to the advance pre-registration period.
3-6 Credits

EDC G 698
Internship in Education

An intern is an employed teacher, fulfilling the practicum requirement for licensure in his or her own classroom, under the joint supervision of a University-based faculty member and a designated mentor at the school. As a regularly employed teacher, the intern works with children and applies practical and theoretical knowledge. Interns plan lessons, teach classes, and evaluate students. They also review student records and apply their knowledge of curriculum by selecting materials and designing learning activities. They draw on current ideas and research to develop and demonstrate their own classroom teaching. Interns meet regularly with the University supervisor and other practicum students in a seminar to reflect on the practicum experience. Applicants for an internship must take two steps: 1) a special internship application form must be approved by the Department of Education, the school-based supervisor, and the University Licensure Officer; and 2) a program practicum application form must be approved by the Graduate Program Director. This application must be filed with the Advising Office by October 1 for a spring practicum or by March 1 for a fall practicum.
Prerequisite: Permission of the program director, the Massachusetts Department of Education, the school-based supervisor, and the University Licensure Officer.
3 Credits

Exercise Science and Physical Education Courses

ESPE 526
Designing Instruction: Physical Education

This course examines the impact of technological and social changes on curriculum development in physical education for the 21st century. Participants use current research in motor learning and movement analysis to examine curricula. Students develop and evaluate techniques for teaching physical education to diverse populations. The course also studies the role of fitness education and the integration of physical education with other academic disciplines. Observing and analyzing teacher-student interaction is also an aspect of the course.
3 Credits

ESPE 537
Philosophical Issues in Curriculum Development

This course explores traditional Western philosophies and the application of these philosophies to physical education, sport, and dance. The influence of non-Western views is also critiqued and evaluated as to their impact on physical education, sport, and dance. Discussions compare these philosophies relative to curriculum, teaching methodology, and evaluation. Participants are encouraged to develop a personal philosophy for selecting, organizing, and implementing physical education, sport, and dance programs.
3 Credits

ESPE 548
Moral and Ethical Issues in Physical Education and Sport

This course involves a comprehensive analysis of moral, legal, and ethical issues in physical education and sport. Throughout the course, theoretical insights are applied to an examination of programs and practices in physical education and sport. Students analyze behavior in various physical activities and in athletic settings, as to how such behavior relates to moral, legal, and ethical issues.
3 Credits

ESPE 557
Research Methods in Physical Education

This course is designed to help participants develop successful strategies for research in the field of physical education. The focus of this course includes development of a research hypothesis, the choice of treatment design to address the research hypothesis, and the experiment design choice to facilitate efficient data collection. Participants also analyze their research findings and present them orally and in writing.
3 Credits

ESPE 560 (Subject to final University approval)
Clinical Practice with Seminar and Research Project

This course offers a field-based capstone experience for matriculated MEd students seeking Professional Licensure in Physical Education. The seminar offers weekly discussions of actual classroom experiences by teachers of physical education and helps participants develop effective teaching methods, strategies, and curricula responsive to the needs of diverse populations. Participants revise and redefine the research project developed in ESPE 557.
Prerequisite: ESPE 557.
3 Credits