Home
WebCampus
Blackboard
Contact Us
Search
Course Descriptions
Education
MED 5000
School Leadership Content Area Assessment
0 credits
This no-credit course involves the completion of the CAA (Content Area Assessment), or proof of passing scores on a state-mandated certification examination for school principals such as New Jersey and Maryland's SLLA (School Leader Licensure Assessment, ETS #1010), or Pennsylvania's ETS PRAXIS II Administration and Supervision (ETS #10410). Successful completion of one of these assessments is a requirement for the M.Ed. in School Leadership. Successful completion results in a Satisfactory grade for the course, and is necessary for program completion and degree conferral. A lab fee is required.
MED 6490
Education, Ethics, and the Law
3 credits
This course explores legal and ethical issues that arise in elementary and secondary schools. It provides school leaders with the knowledge necessary to understand and prevent legal problems, and helps school leaders think through questions of educational policy and ethics that legal disputes raise but don't resolve. Topics include 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, legal and ethical issues related to the financing and adequacy of state school finance plans, and the schools' authority to make rules governing student and teacher conduct. The course also reviews legal/ethical issues related to equal opportunity, including: school desegregation, bilingual education, sexual discrimination and harassment, affirmative action, and the education of exceptional children.
MED 7201
Fiscal Operations and Resources
3 credits
This course examines fiscal policy, control systems, and effective teaching methods of budget planning related to resource-allocation and improving the quality of teaching and learning. The course is designed to prepare school leaders for fiscal planning, operations, control responsibilities, financial decision making, and problem solving. The course will address state financial structures and policies, legal and ethical issues, financial management systems, and budget-building/implementation at the school and district level. The course also explores major unsolved problems related to financing of public education, including: equalizing educational opportunity - a goal that has not been achieved on a nationwide scale; providing high-quality education that is equitable for all students regardless of place of residence or degree of parental affluence; and providing adequate funding in a manner that is fair to all taxpayers.
MED 7503
School and Community: Building a Shared Vision
3 credits
This course explores two areas of school leadership that are essential for improving student achievement: (a) developing a vision of teaching and learning that is shared by all stakeholders, and (b) school-community relationships. The course examines ways to develop, communicate, implement, and monitor/evaluate a shared vision; and examines the importance of understanding and responding to community needs, valuing diversity, striving for equal educational opportunity and equity, and improving the quality and nature of school/community interactions. Students will assess, reflect on, and improve their own interpersonal skills; explore basic principles of effective communications and public relations; and apply those skills and principles in authentic settings. The course emphasizes the school leader's role in developing and maintaining sensitive, ethical, and open communications with and among all individuals, communities, and constituencies served by the school.
MED 7590
School Leadership: Theory and Practice
3 credits
This course explores theory and practice related to organizational behavior, development, models, and change; decision-making; and instructional leadership. Major topics include the new roles of school leaders, issues related to school reform, community and stakeholder involvement, improvement of the teaching and learning environment, enhancing student achievement, and ethics. The structured external assignment for this course is also the Candidacy Qualifying Paper for the M.Ed. in School Leadership.
MED 7701
Supervisory Leadership: Staff Selection Appraisal, and Renewal
3 credits
This course explores intellectual, moral, and practical dimensions of supervisory leadership, and links theory and practice related to staff selection, performance appraisal, and teacher renewal. The course examines how supervisory policies and practices define the working and learning environment in the school, how they reflect the values and culture of the school, how they relate to the broader community, and how they relate to school restructuring and change. The impact of supervisory leadership on student learning is a major focus. The course will include an introduction to the Framework for Teaching and a careful review of DPAS II. Students will have the opportunity to apply supervisory leadership principles and techniques in both simulated and authentic settings.
MED 7702
Classroom and School Culture: Creating Environments for Learning
3 credits
The focus of this course is on the central role of the school leader in establishing and maintaining a school culture that is safe, attractive, and positive; where all students are treated with respect and dignity; where barriers to opportunity and student achievement are removed; where rules and procedures honor student integrity and autonomy; where teachers and students share the sense that their work is important and relevant; and where the school functions as a learning environment for the staff and a center of learning for the larger community. The course takes the position that students learn from the total school environment and from the structure of the school itself; and explores ways for the school leader to ensure that all aspects of school culture and environment are designed to support teaching and high-level learning.
MED 7703
Curriculum and Teaching: Research, Theory, and Practice
3 credits
Students analyze theoretical models, research, and best practices relating to the improvement of teaching and learning. Topics include strategies to engage marginalized, at-risk, or low-achieving students; techniques for improving the teaching and learning environment for all students; removing barriers to student achievement; the role of teacher expectations in shaping student learning and behavior; using assessment results to inform teaching methods; designing effective feedback strategies; implementing learner-centered and active-learning practices; time-on-task tactics; and implementing grouping arrangements that promote successful learning and positive student interactions.
MED 7704
Education for Equity and Social Justice
3 credits
This course explores issues, problems, and opportunities related to education in a diverse, democratic, pluralistic society. The course promotes anti-racist pedagogy and the value of diverse learning communities, and is designed to help educators develop teaching strategies and learning environments that are equitable and just for all students. The course explores strategies for removing barriers to student achievement and promotes equal educational access and opportunity regardless of family income, skin color, religion, gender, social group, ethnicity, sexual orientation/preference, age, cultural identity, language, or ability.
MED 7705
Measurement, Accountability, and Student Learning
3 credits
This course will prepare educators in three areas related to assessment and accountability; (a) understanding and using statistically sound procedures to collect, simplify, and describe data, and making inferences and decisions that can be supported by a knowledgeable analysis of data and/or relevant research; (b) understanding the usefulness and limitations of standardized and/or state-mandated test results in terms of improving curriculum and the school environment, assessing the learning strengths and needs of individuals and sub-groups, generating community involvement and support, and developing school-wide school improvement strategies; especially in relation to NCLB mandates; and (c) gaining the knowledge and skills necessary to assist teachers in developing and using a variety of assessments, rubrics, and instructional strategies that can contribute to improved teaching effectiveness, improved stakeholder communications, and higher-level student learning. The structured external assignment for this course is used to fulfill one of the portfolio requirements for MED 8900.
MED 7706
The Principalship, PreK-8
3 credits
This course examines the role of the building principal in terms of four central themes associated with effective school leadership: developing a shared vision and planning for continuous school improvement, maintaining a constant focus on teaching and learning, involving all school/community stakeholders, and demonstrating ethical behavior. Each of these themes is explored in relation to the building principal's major areas of responsibility (listed in research-based rank order of importance): leadership; strategic planning; facilitating student learning; developing, implementing, and evaluating curriculum and instruction; selecting, supervising and evaluating staff; interpersonal relationships; staff development and renewal; community relations; management duties; maintaining the physical security of students, faculty, and staff; and school operations. Although the primary focus is on preK-8 schools, key issues relevant to secondary schools will also be addressed.
MED 7707
The Principalship, 9-12
3 credits
This course examines the role of the building principal in terms of four central themes associated with effective school leadership: developing a shared vision and planning for continuous school improvement, maintaining a constant focus on teaching and learning, involving all school/community stakeholders, and demonstrating ethical behavior. Each of these themes is explored in relation to the building principal's major areas of responsibility (listed in research-based rank order of importance): leadership; strategic planning; facilitating student learning; developing, implementing, and evaluating curriculum and instruction; selecting, supervising and evaluating staff; interpersonal relationships; staff development and renewal; community relations; management duties; maintaining the physical security of students, faculty, and staff; and school operations. Although the primary focus is on 9-12 schools, key issues relevant to preK-8 schools will also be addressed.
MED 7708
Curriculum Leadership
3 credits
This course examines some essential but still unanswered questions related to curriculum leadership, including the following: what should be taught; how, when, and in what environment should it be taught; who should teach it; how do we know that it has been learned; and who decides? The course will explore several key topics: developing a vision of teaching and learning that is shared by all stakeholders; the power of the hidden curriculum; history and its influence on the curriculum; society and culture, teacher and learner characteristics, environment, and academic content as curriculum influencers; working with curriculum standards; the influences of philosophy, learning theory, and sociology; people and roles in curriculum work; design alternatives and needs assessments; selecting, sequencing, organizing, and prioritizing content; making and documenting curriculum decisions; implementing curriculum changes; and evaluating the curriculum.
MED 7709
Personnel Administration
3 credits
This course addresses human resource knowledge, values, practices and skills that enable school administrators and staff to interact effectively in schools and school systems. Topics include, but are not limited to: certification and licensure issues; pension and other employee benefits; workers' compensation; staff recruitment, selection, appraisal and renewal; collective bargaining; employment policies and laws related to Equal Employment Opportunity, Title IX, NCLB, etc.; labor relations strategies; and community relations.
MED 7710
Technology and the School Environment
3 credits
This course addresses the six Technology Standards for School Administrators (TSSA) developed by the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). Those standards expect school leaders to: Inspire the development of a shared vision of comprehensive integration of technology and foster a school environment and culture conducive to the realization of that vision.; Ensure that curricular design, instructional strategies, and learning environments integrate appropriate technologies that maximize learning and teaching; Apply technology in ways that enhance professional practice and increase the school leader's personal productivity as well as the productivity of others.; Provide direction for the integration of technology tools into productive learning and administrative systems; Use technology to facilitate a comprehensive system of effective assessment and evaluation; Understand the social, legal, and ethical issues related to technology and apply that understanding in practice. Topics will also include a review of current state programs and long-range plans for school-related technology applications; computer basics; emerging technologies and their applications; productivity tools; using technology to enhance communications and manage information; using technology to change classroom/school learning environments, teacher roles, and traditional power relationships; software review, selection, and licensing; and issues related to equity and open access.
MED 7799
Seminar in Supervision and Curriculum Improvement
3 credits
This seminar enables educators to explore, research, and collaborate in areas of particular professional and/or scholarly interest related to supervision and curriculum. Topics will include curriculum decision making, refining supervisory skills, and improving school environments in order to remove barriers to student achievement. The seminar will examine several different comprehensive school reform projects, including such efforts as Expeditionary Learning Schools, Annenberg Challenge Schools, the Coalition of Essential Schools, the Comer School Development Project, Co-nect, the Accelerated Schools Project, Success for All, the Bay Area Reform Collaborative, DODDS (Department of Defense Dependents Schools) initiatives, and state-sponsored "reculturing" efforts.
MED 7802
Psychology of the Gifted and Talented Learners
4 credits
This course is designed to help educators identify and apply sound educational practices based on psychological principles and theories related to learners with gifts and talents. Course content and activities address knowledge and application of principles and theories relating to human learning and motivation; definitions, characteristics, and incidences of giftedness; how to develop a classroom management plan to ensure intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development; and how to select, use, and interpret data from a variety of psychological and informal assessments to guide instructional and curricular decision making. Clinical components of the course require at least 15 documented hours of observation/participation in an approved, authentic setting that is designed for gifted/talented students. The observations are reported in a journal using the D.A.R. format (describe, analyze, reflect).
MED 7803
Creative and Critical Thinking
4 credits
The perspective of this course is that creative and critical thinking are essential components of any gifted education program. Students will explore the nature of creativity, characteristics of highly creative people, and the importance of creativity for individual growth and development as well as for the overall health of schools and society. The course will examine ways to encourage creativity and critical thinking and ways to create challenging and nurturing learning environments. Students also learn to administer and interpret the TTCT (Figural A: Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking). Clinical components of the course require at least 15 documented hours of observation/participation in an approved, authentic setting that is designed for gifted/talented students. The observations are reported in a journal using the D.A.R. format (describe, analyze, reflect).
MED 7804
Curriculum Design and Instructional Strategies for Gifted and Talented Learners
4 credits
This course is designed to help educators identify and use appropriate curricular, instructional, and assessment strategies to meet the needs of gifted and talented learners at both the school and district level. Educators will explore curriculum models, develop and implement instructional strategies, and design assessments for gifted and talented programs. Appropriate information/communication technology will be used in researching, preparing, presenting, and implementing lesson plans and units. Clinical components of the course require at least 15 documented hours of observation/participation in an approved, authentic setting that is designed for gifted/talented students. The observations are reported in a journal using the D.A.R. format (describe, analyze, reflect).
MED 8800
Integrative, Independent Study Project
3 credits
This is the semester-long capstone course for the M.Ed. degree in Instruction: Teaching and Learning and the M.Ed. degree in Instruction: Gifted and Talented Education. The course involves planning, conducting, and presenting the findings of an approved practitioner (action) research project in the context of a deliberately instructional and authentic setting. This supervised, independent research project enables students to apply knowledge and skills acquired in prior course work to practical or theoretical questions. MED 8800 orientation sessions are held each semester to explain project parameters and expectations. MED 8800 consultation/collaboration seminars are held regularly throughout the semester.
MED 8900
Practicum in School Leadership
3 credits
This course provides opportunities for M.Ed. candidates to engage in leadership-related, authentic, supervised field experiences in approved school settings. The course requires the M.Ed. in School Leadership candidate to perform, analyze, and reflect on a specific set of tasks involving real responsibilities of school leaders. Completion of these tasks normally requires 120 - 200 hours of field-based work. The course culminates in the preparation of a professional portfolio that includes task-related documents, artifacts, and reflections. Learning activities are field-based and standards-driven, reflect the Division of Education Conceptual Framework, and are linked to the leadership paradigm advocated by the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC). The course involves collaboration with a school-based mentor, other M.Ed. candidates, and with a college-based mentor. Advising seminars are scheduled at regular intervals throughout the semester. A lab fee is required.
MED 8901
Administrative Internship
3-5 credits
This course requires a minimum of 180 documented hours of work with a school-based mentor (principal or assistant principal), the completion of a variety of real school leadership tasks, and the assumption of real school leadership responsibilities. The hours are documented in an Internship Journal/Log. The journal also requires descriptions, analyses, and reflections related to at least 14 "critical incidents" that occur during the internship period. Internship hours do not need to be full-time or consecutive. The course involves collaboration with a school-based mentor, other M.Ed. candidates, and with a college-based mentor. Advising seminars are scheduled at regular intervals throughout the semester. This course is normally taken in conjunction with MED 8900, but may be taken separately by those candidates who need an Administrative Internship to satisfy state licensure/certification requirements. The course may also be taken for 4 or 5 credits, with internship hours adjusted accordingly (240 hours for 4 credits; 300 hours for 5 credits). A lab fee is required.