600

This course introduces students to the study of curriculum theory. Students explore the nature of curriculum theory, differentiate curriculum theory from curriculum planning, place the study of curriculum theory within the larger history of the American school curriculum, and explore a variety of models of curriculum theory including alternative models. This course is delivered 100% online.

This course is designed for educators who want to explore frameworks, materials, and strategies that will help them translate the rationale for culturally responsive teaching and learning into effective educational practices with learners of any age, level or background. Content focuses on the importance of embracing all diversities as evidenced by implementing activities and behaviors with goals of total inclusiveness through cultural, ethnic, and cognitive frames of reference. This course is delivered 100% online.

This graduate level course explores the concepts of human development, educational neuroscience, and social dimensions of learning. Human development is a branch of psychology that explores how people develop, grow, and change throughout their lives. Understanding this discipline helps individuals better understand themselves and their relationships with others. Educational neuroscience brings together related research from cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and pedagogy to provide insights that can help educators make effective curricular, instructional, and assessment choices to positively impact student learning. Social dimensions of learning will cast a light on components of an education that lay the very foundation of student success in school and life. This course is delivered 100% online.

Innovation, entrepreneurship, technology and grant writing are key resources for education and school reform initiatives. They not only provide an avenue to access 21st-century learning and teaching practices, but also define and shape the way schools operate. Managed properly, innovations are a primary source of competitive advantage for school systems; they also enhance the educational well-being of a nation and anchor its global know-how. The challenge of how best to manage educational innovation has expanded beyond its traditional home in departments like instructional technology or media centers, to the point where it now permeates nearly every aspect of teaching and learning in modern schools. Schools are increasingly turning to creative innovations as funded through entrepreneurship and grants to enable new forums of engaging with knowledge; to change the way we think of teacher-learner roles; to improve quality and school/home/community communication patterns; and to create and retain student motivation. In addition, teachers now face an accelerating pace of changes supporting the processes involved in school management, assessment and instruction. This course will explore the strategic role of innovation and how to promote innovation through entrepreneurial activity and grant writing in the survival and success of schools and schooling. This course is delivered 100% online.

This course is an introduction to historical, investigative, methodologically-sound research that is pursuant of solutions to problems of practice within the field of education. Analysis of the purposes and uses of research is explored, and is inclusive of investigation into theoretical perspectives, research methods, findings, and measures to ensure trustworthiness and credibility. This course guides classroom teachers through the process of reviewing, evaluating, conducting, and disseminating educational research. Specifically, it is designed to support teachers to apply and produce research, to effectively respond to the complexities and vulnerabilities of our profession, and the contemporary classroom setting. This course is delivered 100% online.

For graduate students only. This is a 4 credit hour 100% online course. The goal of Social Justice Education (SJE) is to prepare educational leaders who can promote social diversity and social justice in educational settings through the development of theoretical and practical knowledge, empirical research, and the use of effective social justice education practices. This course focuses on the integration of SJE as pedagogy and SJE as content to promote youth engagement and transformative education across learning environments. Its purpose is to help students develop a combination of historical, theoretical, conceptual, scientific, and pedagogical foundation for SJE in youth-based settings such as schools and community-based organizations. this course is delivered 100% online. Graduate two-week intensive summer course.

Effectively using technology across all functions of a school system is, in itself, significant systemic reform. There is a wealth of evidence showing that facilitating change in schools, and especially maintaining that change, depends heavily on capable leadership. It is imperative, therefore, that we in higher education focus on leadership for technology in schools if we are to optimize its benefits in learning, teaching and school operations.

This graduate level course is about children's and adolescent literature and how it can enrich, extend, and enliven the curriculum. It is designed to provide candidates with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for effectively integrating children’s and adolescents’ literature into their teaching. Course content provides a survey of literature for children and adolescents with an emphasis on reading, analyzing, and evaluating various literary genres and examining literary elements and values presented in classic and modern picture books, chapter books, and novels. Candidates will explore the positive correlation between children’s and adolescents’ literature and reading achievement and will learn how to apply their knowledge of literature to help young people grow in their social, emotional, cognitive, language, and reading abilities. The study of children’s and adolescents’ literature will consider factors that influence cultural patterns and values. Further, this course will consider issues, strategies, structures, and frameworks related to using literature in the classroom that encourage conversations, and build dialogue through reading aloud, independent reading, and literature circles. This course is delivered 100% online.

For graduate students only. This is a 4 credit hour 100% online course. This course examines the numerous school law and legal issues that affect the public school system. Educators will become knowledgeable about the various social and political issues that are manifested in school systems. The course will provide educators with a general understanding of how various legal issues have been decided. Specific legal principles relating to church/state issues, tort liability, teachers’ responsibilities, students’ rights, and administrative concerns will be covered. Students will be required to apply these legal principles to analyze actual case scenarios. Topics included: freedom of speech and expression in public schools, desegregation of American schools, religious expression in public schools, professional ethics for Florida teachers, teacher’s and student’s legal right and professional responsibilities. The course will review federal and state law decisions which effect the daily operations of the Florida public schools. This course is delivered 100% online. Graduate two-week intensive summer course.

This 4-credit hour online (100% online) course is designed to examine social emotional learning and teaching and to explore how pro-social centered education impacts various aspects of school climate and culture. This course is unique in that it utilizes a partnership of developmental theory and classroom practice with a central focus on the study of Social Emotional Learning (SEL). In this course candidates will examine the who, what, where, why, and how of the significance of emotions and social skills and why teaching and learning these skills matters profoundly. The course consists of twelve (12) learning modules including a preview of applicable pro-social developmental theory addressing the promotion of social awareness, social competence, and social action in children. This course is delivered 100% online.

This course is an in-depth examination of inquiry-based pedagogy, inclusive of its history as an epistemology of education, and models for facilitating it as interdisciplinary critical thinking. Analysis of the purpose and application of inquiry-based pedagogy is explored, across math, science, social studies and literacy curricula. This course guides classroom teachers to evaluate lesson plans and activities, and deconstruct them to support critical thinking through inquiry, as well as to design inquiry-based curriculum. Specifically, it is intended to develop a critical eye and inquiry-identity among learners, for the purpose of producing learning materials and environments that maximize their students’ learning. This course is delivered 100% online.

This course provides an overview of the five areas pertinent to teaching English language learners (ELLs) in order to a) promote an understanding of first and second language acquisition processes; b) facilitate the development of culturally and linguistically appropriate instructional and assessment skills; and c) present effective means for modifying curricula. The five areas are 1) applied linguistics and second language acquisition; 2) cross-cultural communication and understanding; 3) methods in teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL); 4) curriculum and materials development; and 5) testing and evaluation of ESOL. This course meets the 60-hour ESOL education requirement for Category II teachers and administrators as determined by the Florida Department of Education.

This is a clinical tutorial-based course that will provide students with additional, individualized and alternative curricula knowledge, skills and experiences to further develop the performance of teacher education candidates within the department of education.

Developing effective grant writing skills is essential to acquiring competitive funding from government agencies and private foundations. Writing a successful grant proposal is a blend of art and science. It requires content knowledge, writing proficiency, strong research skills, creativity, organizational ability, patience and a great deal of luck. This course will provide students with the background necessary to develop a competitive funding proposal endeavor.

The course consists of directed readings and research projects on a topic of interest to the student. Content covered must be different from that included in current courses in the major. Independent studies may be taken with any full-time professor in education programs and require consent of the department chair. Subject matter must be determined through student-faculty consultation.