Master of Education

This is a masters-level course that provides education candidates with an overview of the historical, legal, and foundational characteristics of the American education system. Candidates will examine the basic legal and ethical issues in education and includes a survey of case law dealing with the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of educators. Through critical analysis and evaluation, students will develop the skills needed to engage in informed discussions about the future of education in America.

This course focuses on preparing candidates to attain and demonstrate a deep understanding of the essential role literacy plays in equipping students to acquire, comprehend, and communicate content-specific information, as represented in the Tennessee Student Academic Standards.

This course examines research methodologies and basic statistical approaches. Research skills including but not limited to information retrieval, critical evaluation, report organization, and statistical methodology are developed and reflected in formal research proposals related to improved literacy instructional practices. Core requirement for M.Ed. candidates.

This course focuses on school functions, strategies, and support that encourage the highest level of student learning and academic achievement, with an emphasis on literacy practices and achievement across subjects. These school functions, strategies, and support include improving instruction through support of teachers, curriculum development, staff development based on current research and best practices, professional learning communities, evaluation of teachers, and action research.

This course is an overview of early childhood and adolescent development designed for K-12 licensure and masters candidates. The cognitive, social/ emotional, and physical domains will be studied in relation to planning, implementing, and assessing developmentally appropriate K-12 curriculum. Research will focus on the work of theorists who have shaped current child development educational theory. Existing developmental expectancies as well as individual differences and diversity issues will be examined throughout the course.

This course is an overview of the teaching of elementary mathematics with an emphasis on research-based methods and theoretical foundations for contemporary math programs. Candidates will explore and practice teaching and assessment strategies based on the concept-centered approach to teaching math and the cognitive constructivist approach to learning. Candidates will have the opportunity to examine a variety of materials, including appropriate technology for classroom use and for evaluation purposes. Real world applications, diversity, and the integration of math concepts in other disciplines will be emphasized. Candidates will also become familiar with and apply national standards in practice unit/lesson plans.

This course provides teacher candidates with an evidenced-based foundation in literacy and language development through cognitive, linguistic, and pedagogical theory, research, and practice based in the science of reading. Candidates will begin their instructional skills development in the areas defined by the National Reading Panel: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Topics include understanding reading research, the reading process, language development, the sequence of learning to read, the essential components of reading instruction and assessment. 

The Phonological Awareness and Phonics course presents the fundamental principles and concepts of the structure of language, with a focus on phonological awareness and phonics through evidence-based methodologies. Candidates learn sound-symbol/phoneme-grapheme correspondences of language and understand the relationship of phonemic awareness and the phonological system of language to the reading process through the Simple View of reading.

Students will learn about the development of pedagogy from sociological, philosophical, historical and theoretical perspectives for use in the 21st Century classroom. They will focus on teaching and learning in secondary schools and include the study of curriculum and methodology. The students will address the role of today's schools, characteristics of young people of middle-level and high school years, identify the fundamental characteristics of quality public education, and build an understanding of the diverse characteristics and needs of students.

This course examines the role of the school leader to establish and share the vision and mission for academic success of all students including a positive school culture, databased decision-making, stakeholder involvement, and parent and community collaboration. Heavy emphasis is given to all aspects of becoming an effective literacy leader.

Students will initiate the creation of an electronic portfolio that is a purposeful collection of artifacts designed to provide tangible evidence of the candidate's ability to demonstrate leadership in educational settings, and to reflect on critical competencies and practices that improve instruction and enhance student learning. Additional documentation and activities related to Tennessee Instructional Leadership Standards (TILS) for licensure is required of Tennessee Instructional Leadership Licensure candidates. Mentors will be assigned to facilitate the licensure procession partnership with the school district. Candidates focus on a school’s literacy needs to design and implement a school improvement project. 

This course examines the role of the school adminstrator and instructional leader in responding to and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context in the classroom, school, and local community. It will also address diverse candidate and student needs to ensure the success of all candidates and their students.

This course examines the basic legal and ethical issues in education and included a survey of case law dealing with the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of teachers, administrators, and counselors.

This course examines the law, theory, and practice of local, state, and federal funding of education, budget preparation, and control of funds. Related topics include the function of personnel management, including the hiring and retention of qualified personnel; insurance; and risk management; facility planning, financing, construction, maintenance, and operations; auxiliary services including food service and pupil transportation; and purchasing, inventory, and distribution.

Instructional Leadership (IL – Leading to Initial Tennessee Leadership Licensure) candidates are required to take and pass the SLLA in accordance with Tennessee state licensure and University graduation requirements. Prerequisite: Admission to the Instructional Leadership Licensure Program.

Candidates in this course interpret and apply current special education policy and law to practice, as professional and ethical educational leaders and advocates for students with disabilities.

Candidates in this course learn collaborative teamwork as the means to address literacy, communication, and language development in children with special needs. They learn to collaborate and consult with professionals in order to evaluate students' needs, contribute to IEP preparation, and provide exemplary instruction.

This course provides a framework for understanding students with moderate and severe and multiple disabilities. The impact of these disabilities on the family and community will be discussed. Candidates will evaluate the varied characteristics and communication skills of students with extensive support needs such as health care, self-care, community-living, and self-advocacy. Candidates will focus on how these support needs affect performance at school. Candidates will plan for and effectively teach learners with moderate and multiple disabilities, while incorporating varying levels of guidance, support and prompting into teaching. This course will prompt candidates to explore systematic instructional procedures as a means of ensuring all students have equitable access to learning opportunities.

This course examines the complexity of classroom and behavior management using the framework of Applied Behavior Analysis and Positive Behavioral Supports. Candidates apply knowledge of how teacher behavior, environmental factors, and disabilities influence the behaviors of all students. Candidates research models of classroom and behavior intervention. Candidates develop and deliver effective instruction using behavioral principles within a framework of positive behavioral interventions, supports, and functional behavior assessments. Best practices in behavior and classroom management will be discussed.

This course provides candidates what they need to understand assessment in the schools, and to use it effectively in practice. Candidates explore the entire process of assessment: chronologically, moving sequentially through response to intervention, to prereferral strategies, to assessments, to report writing, to development of the IEP. Candidates explore validity and reliability, tests most often used in assessment, legal issues, and basic statistical terminology. Candidates focus on the practical application of assessment in schools with discussions on interpreting results, screening and diagnosis, writing professional reports, making recommendations from the data, presenting results to parents, and attending eligibility committee meetings. This course addresses best practices in formal and informal assessment from birth through adulthood.

Candidates, in compliance with IDEA transition assessment requirements, will identify transition assessments and programs suitable for individuals with varying characteristics, skills, and aptitudes. They will accurately interpret assessment results in order to develop appropriate, individualized postsecondary goals. Candidates will develop strategies to report results to students, families, and other team members and work collaboratively to plan for students' self-determination, skill development, and identification of supports and services. 

This course provides a framework for understanding and designing effective social interaction/communication and behavior interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. The course focuses on the application of empirically validated social interaction/communication and behavioral interventions that are consistent with principles of ABA in designing the interventions. Students will participate in lectures, demonstrations, presentations, and application activities.

This course provides an in-depth study of responsive teaching strategies to meet diverse learning needs while emphasizing the need for strong homeschool collaboration between schools and families of students with high incidence disabilities. Candidates collaborate to form professional teams with staff, administrators, and others for professional development, instruction, and problem solving. Candidates examine characteristics of students with high incidence disabilities, including learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disabilities and mild or moderate intellectual disabilities (focusing on how to apply various strategies of accommodations and curricular modifications to meet individualized learning needs.) This course emphasizes a culturally responsive, inclusive philosophy that promotes self-determination. Candidates explore the best of inclusion practices, the most effective general teaching practices, and ways to differentiate instruction for specific content areas with an emphasis on effective literacy and mathematics instruction for learners with complex support needs. Candidates apply principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and the latest strategies relating to academic success as a means to improve outcomes and prevent failure of all students, including students with disabilities, ELL students, and other at-risk students.