Master of Education in Learner-Centered Systems Curriculum

Program Core Courses — 18 hours

EDU 645 Learner-Centered Approaches to Growth and Outcomes

This course examines examine competency-based education and the shifts in teaching and leadership necessary to see this framework in practice. This course explores the use of components of a competency-based framework that include competency statements, academic standards, 21st century skills and dispositions, and learning progressions.

EDU 648 Group Dynamics (3 credit hours)

Provides the student a background in the theory and practical application of how groups function and their influence on the individual. The influence of cultural diversity as it relates to ethnic minority and socioeconomic groups and the expectation and stereotypes associated with sexual and age-related role structures are particularly emphasized in this course as determinants of human behavior.

ETL 610 Philosophy, Interpretation, and Application of Research

Explores research and inquiry models and quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Students will investigate the inquiry methods of case study, student work sampling, collaborative research, critical friends analysis and action research, becoming comfortable with reading and criticizing research. Course will introduce candidates to the process of collecting and using data to identify goals, assess organizational effectiveness, and promote organizational learning.

ETL 615 Leadership Behavior and Promoting Change (3 credit hours)

Explores educational leadership theory as it pertains to school and teacher leadership. The course examines the role of change leadership in the classroom, school, and community. We will also investigate ethics, legal issues and resource management. The course emphasizes the importance of leadership as it pertains to various forms of collaboration in order to achieve academic success for all students. Additionally, this course will explore practical leadership methods such as mentoring and coaching as they apply to teachers and leaders.

ETL 625 Learner-Centered Design and Evaluation (3 credit hours)

Explores learner-centered instructional design and evaluation from the lens of teachers and school leaders. A thorough understanding of the instructional process and advanced levels of pedagogy will be developed. Topics include mastery learning, learner-centered designs, and understanding by design and assessment for learning. Developing effective instructional programs will be investigated. Evaluating instructional programs will also be a focus of the course. This vital component will provide teacher and school leaders with the ability to determine whether instructional programs are having their desired effect and what to do if they are not.

ETL 630 Leadership for Instructional Improvement/Deeper Learning

This course examines current concepts, research, and philosophies of teaching and leadership that promote acquisition of robust core academic content, higher-order thinking skills, and learning dispositions. The goal of this course is to provide candidates with the knowledge and skills to be leaders in classrooms and schools; make teaching and learning more effective throughout their school and district; and to successfully advocate for and influence local educational policies and programs. Explore instruction-related leadership principles and roles for classroom teachers, grade level team leaders, department heads, program coordinators, and administrators.

ETL 660 Capstone Seminar (0 credit hours)

The topic of teacher leadership/student achievement, student achievement and college readiness as well as the approach for the Capstone Project will be addressed. Selected thesis topic must also address an aspect of diversity. Thesis is outlined with accompanying rubrics. The candidate and the project supervisor will discuss the capstone project before the work begins. The chosen thesis supervisor has demonstrable expertise in the topic of the study and approach. An oral defense of the work before a panel composed of faculty and practicing school administrators is required.

Cognate Coursework — 12 hours

Learners will choose four (4) courses from the following list:

EDU 520 Assessment for Teaching and Learning

Offers an understanding of types of assessment with an emphasis on state required assessments of student learning; builds skills in the development of classroom assessments that assist students’ success on required tests and in the interpretation of test/assessment results to promote student success.

EDU 612 Achievement Through a Cultural Lens

Focusing on the theory of culturally-responsive pedagogy, this course will explore how student achievement is measured and analyzed for use in the classroom to increase student success. Students will investigate how culture impacts achievement and what research backed best practices are most useful in classrooms with a variety of cultures.

EDU 616 Assessment as an Equity Strategy

This course explores the role that assessment plays in enabling or inhibiting equitable teaching and learning and student outcomes through an examination of the role of and research behind standardized testing, the timing and frequency of assessments, and other ways to measure student learning. Thorough the use of an equity-centered assessment lens, learners will develop classroom and/or school specific assessment practices that support equitable classrooms and systems.

EDU 623 Critical Conversations in School Culture

Students will use research-based strategies to learn how to engage in difficult conversations with school stakeholders to create positive school environments for students and staff. Educators will analyze case studies to understand how these conversations can impact schools both negatively and positively and analyze what implication that has for schooling in a multicultural setting.

EDU 625 Teaching Seminar (3 credit hours)

Provides forum for discussion and learning from classroom experiences as well as extension of knowledge about teaching.

EDU 626 Theories in Equity in Leadership Practice

Educators in this course explore the concept of equity an analyze research on equity in schools. In addition, students will learn about what equity means, how scholars have defined equity leadership dispositions, and how to apply those dispositions through pedagogical and leadership best practices in a school-based setting.

EDU 632 Cultural Competence in the School Community

This introductory course focuses on understanding how culture and identity impact the way practitioners navigate and work in school settings. Practitioners will study theories of culture formation and explore case studies on the impacts of culture on school communities in order to gain a greater understanding of the way various cultures intersect in school communities and the impact of that intersection on the work of schooling.

EDU 634 School Leadership and Community Engagement

In this course, practitioners will gain a historical understanding of the systemic policies in schools and communities that have contributed to the disenfranchisement and marginalization of individuals and their implications on community engagement. Practitioners will analyze how theories of leadership and engagement have been implemented in schools.

EDU 635 Visionary School Leadership

This course explores theories of change management, how research-based change management practices have been previously implemented in schools, and the results these endeavors have produced in P-12 schools. Through utilizing distributive leadership models that promote learner-centered design, students will develop an understanding of how to implement change management processes for their school communities in a manner that establishes a clear mission and vision for student success.

EDU 636 Blended Learning

This course explores digital strategies to achieve a learner-centered experience. Emphasis is on unpacking researched-based best practices to enable remote learning or enhance blended learning. Application based demonstration of learning will ask participants to leverage digital strategies to support differentiation, student voice, choice, agency, and rigor. This course is for educators who have a general understanding of blended learning and are ready to explore models that further integrate technology into instruction and assessment, deepen opportunities for learner agency, and infuse rigor in their lessons.

EDU 646 Promoting School Belonging

This course examines research on community building and how the creation of positive relationships that extend between schools and the broader community impact the feelings of belonging for all stakeholders. Educators will evaluate research-based strategies to build learning communities that extend beyond the school. Levering case studies of both positive and negative examples, educators will analyze existing levers and barriers to establishing a culturally responsive learning community to support their learners.

EDU 652 Building Student Agency Through Assessment

Educators will evaluate examples of highly agentic student-driven assessments such as capstones, exhibitions of learning and portfolio defenses as options for achieving deeper learning outcomes for all student. After unpacking the conditions necessary to support learner success in these experiences, educators design and implement experiences and tools to develop learner agency and readiness for student-driven assessment. With a focus on research-based best practice, educators will complete a critical analysis of authentic implementation of early shifts in structures and routines in order to make recommendations for needed systemic shifts.

EDU 653 Student/Staff Identity and Equitable Leadership

Through the examination of research on identity, bias, and stereotypes, students will focus on gaining an understanding on how identity is formed and how that formation impacts the way students and staff experience schooling. Students will read literature from scholars across a spectrum of disciplines to gain a deep understanding of identity socialization and how it affects school leadership at the micro- and macro-levels

EDU 673 Instructional Design

Examines the role of computer based education. Evaluates appropriate learning theory in instructional design. Uses a systematic approach to create an instructional design and written support material. Explores current instruments for courseware evaluation. Develops standards for courseware evaluation.

EDU 675 Coaching in Learner-Centered Systems

This course explores the role of coaching as a tool to empower and support teachers and colleagues in K-12 contexts. Through the examination of multiple frameworks, this course examines the role of coaching and mentorship in learner-centered schools and classrooms. An emphasis will be placed on connecting coaching to meaningful educational experiences for the students that educators serve.

EDU 687 Curriculum of the Schools (3 credit hours)

Addresses the challenges in the curriculum that confront educators in the school today. Students will analyze various subject area issues, examine curriculum options and possibilities, and probe the design of scope and sequence for interdisciplinary planning. This course delves into the assessment of curriculum outcomes at the classroom level and reflects on the impact of school reform. Class discussions will cover the procedures for curriculum improvement and methods of evaluating programs and student achievement, as well as theories and practices at the classroom, team, and department levels.

ETL 620 Professional Learning for School Transformation

This course examines the components of high-quality professional learning for teachers. A special emphasis is placed on how teachers and school leaders can design, implement and evaluate professional learning in their school setting. Topics include components of high- quality staff development, professional learning communities and their use in professional development, and how to use Professional Learning Communities to implement Lesson Study and competency- based approaches to teaching and learning.

ETL 650 Assessing Learning for Student Achievement (3 credit hours)

The goal of this course is to help candidates develop the understandings and skills needed to validly and reliably assess student learning. Understandings and skills include: Developing and using classroom assessments; basic psychometric statistics; grading; communicating assessment information; testing ethics; locating and evaluating measures; and assessments used for educational policy decisions. The emphasis in the course, however, is implementation, data collection, analysis, and reporting of results on classroom assessment projects. This course presents a rationale for learning-centered assessment and an overview of the tools, techniques, and issues that educators should consider as they design and use assessments focused on learner needs.