Advance Your Professional Development

Are you interested in Stonehill’s graduate teacher education programs but not sure you’re ready for an advanced degree?

Our non-degree option gives you the unique opportunity to take up to two graduate-level courses this fall to get to know Stonehill before formally applying to a degree program. Credits earned count toward your degree if you decide to matriculate in the program. Educators can also earn 67.5 PDPs for completing a single graduate course. 

Whether you're seeking a teaching license or master's degree, or you wish to advance your professional development with a single course, Stonehill can help you reach your goals. 

5 Reasons to Take a Course This Fall

  1. Immediately start working toward your career goals
    Why wait to advance your career? A fall course at Stonehill College helps you gain valuable knowledge and skills to qualify for promotions, switch industries or build expertise in your current role.
  2. Earn 67.5 PDPs
    PDPs are essential for educators and professionals maintaining certifications or fulfilling continuing education requirements. Completing a course at Stonehill this fall earns you 67.5 PDPs to support your career growth.
  3. Online and hybrid options
    We understand that life is busy. That’s why Stonehill offers online and hybrid courses, allowing you to learn from anywhere while balancing personal and professional commitments.
  4. Flexible course schedule meets the needs of working professionals
    Whether you work full time, have family responsibilities or need a more convenient learning experience, fall courses at Stonehill College offer flexible scheduling options to fit your lifestyle.
  5. Apply credits earned to a degree or certificate
    Make the most of your fall by earning credits at Stonehill that apply toward a degree or professional certificate, moving you one step closer to your academic and professional goals.

Fall 2025 Online Course Offerings

This course examines and unpacks contemporary issues in the field of education and provides prospective teachers with a beginning foundation for understanding the teaching profession and the U.S. education system, including policy and governance. The historical, legal, ethical, and pedagogical foundations for social justice education and democratic education will be explored, as well as the education reform context and emerging policies. The course will include an examination of professional ethics and standards. 

This course runs August 25–October 12 on Wednesdays from 4:30–8 p.m.

This course will provide students with the opportunity to explore the educational foundations of bilingual and dual language education through an equity lens. Students will examine the history of language education throughout the world, specifically looking at the history and theoretical foundations of language education in the United States, including the political contexts and legal foundations. Students will explore multidisciplinary perspectives on bilingualism and biculturalism and will analyze equity within bilingual and dual language education programs.

This course runs August 25–October 12 on Tuesdays from 4:30–8 p.m.

This course focuses on race, religion, culture, and language through the lens of social justice education. This course will unpack bias and explore the diverse ways in which power and traditional structures intersect with different cultural, social, and religious practices. We will examine strategies for designing and creating safety in classrooms, schools, educational spaces, and communities which honor students’ cultural backgrounds and lived experiences. The course will explicitly examine privilege, equity, and cultural responsiveness in educational spaces.

This course runs August 25–October 12 on Mondays from 4:30–8 p.m.

This course provides class participants with an introduction to autism and neurodiversity, a grounding in the neurodiversity paradigm, and exposure to autistic self-advocates and perspectives. The course will include an examination of the sociopolitical context and the resulting ideals, conceptions, assumptionst and biases in education, media, and community. Course participants will unpack educational discourse, diagnosis, labels, and the ethics of different educational approaches and ideals. The course will explore tenets of collaboration and the complexity of different organizational approaches.

This course runs August 25–October 12 on Thursdays from 4:30–8 p.m.

This course will expand students’ knowledge of inclusive instructional design. Students will explore key themes of culturally responsive teaching and will learn how to integrate these practices into the inclusive bilingual classroom. Students will design and implement lessons using culturally responsive and evidence-based instructional practices.  

This course runs October 20–December 7 on Tuesdays from 4:30–8 p.m.

This course will disability through the lens of democratic education. The concepts of equity, ableism, and “othering” will be examined through philosophical educational theories to unpack pervasive disagreement about the best methods for improving outcomes for students with disabilities. The course will explore repositioning schools as democratic spaces where diversity and individuality can be enhanced and better understood. Theories of democracy and democratic education will be explored as a means of a more socially just orientation of disability. 

This course runs October 20–December 7 on Mondays from 4:30–8 p.m.

This course will explore communication and competence, from the highly to the minimally or non-verbal autistic student, and the theoretical foundations of speech, language and communication. The core skills of communication, communication reciprocity, core skills necessary for social communication and literacy development will be a focus. The course will examine frameworks for effective communication strategies and approaches, as well as the role of communication in social understanding/interaction and behavior. The impact of cultural values and beliefs on communication will be examined. Collaborative and interdisciplinary models of support and service delivery be will and be guided by self-advocate accounts.

This course runs October 20–December 7 on Mondays from 4:30–8 p.m.

Fall 2025 On-Campus Course Offerings

This three-credit course provides an opportunity to unpack the perspective of various academic content areas through action/inquiry research. This course will assist teacher candidates in developing professional voice through the inquiry process. Inquiry and action research provides educators, administrators, and community leaders a method to study classroom challenges using an emic, or “insiders” perspective in order to investigate and improve their practice. This course will provide teacher candidates with the knowledge and skills needed to use action/inquiry research as a basis to make curricular and instructional decisions both school-wide and at the classroom level, and develop an action research project to address a school or classroom issue. 

This course runs August 25–December 7 on Thursdays from 4:30–7 p.m.

This graduate course focuses on the Individual Education Program (IEP) and the role of the special educator in the process, from pre-referral to eligibility determination and placement, as well as implementation. Federal and state laws related to special education will be explored. Collaboration, communication, building trust, and relationships with families and school/community colleagues will be an emphasis of the course.

This course runs August 25–October 12 and meets in person on September 6 & 7 and October 4 & 5 from 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

This course explores literacy for young learners and provides participants with information on how to effectively teach literacy to all students. Course participants will learn how to design literacy lessons, utilizing universal design for learning and assessment practices, to create thriving readers and writers. Through this course, participants will learn about how to design and implement lessons focused on phonemic awareness, comprehension, oral reading fluency, and vocabulary. Additionally, course participants will learn pedagogical strategies for supporting young writers. Strategies to assess students’ literacy growth will also be addressed. 

This course runs August 25–October 12 on Tuesdays from 4:30–8 p.m.

This course explores language and literacy instruction for middle/high school students with disabilities. The course will emphasize how to design literacy lessons for diverse adolescent learners, including how to assess students’ literacy progress. Course participants will learn about the specific aspects of reading and explore how to support students’ needs in all areas. The course will provide participants with assessment strategies in literacy. Participants will also learn specific strategies to support students writing skills throughout all content areas.

This course runs August 25–October 12 on Tuesdays from 4:30–8 p.m.

This three-credit course provides an in depth look at the teaching and learning of mathematics in the middle school (grades 5-8). Students will acquire an understanding of the content (ratio and proportionality; expressions and equations; statistics and probability; the number system; geometry; and functions) and practices of middle school mathematics along with highly effective instructional practices for teaching mathematics to early adolescents. This course is centered around high leverage routines, problem-based learning, and authentic assessment for mathematics in the middle school. 

This course runs August 25–October 12 on Tuesdays from 4:30–8 p.m.

This course examines methods of teaching mathematics to diverse learners and contemporary methods of math assessment to ensure all students succeed mathematically. Course participants will develop instructional routines and apply standards in the design of curricula to improve how math can be humanized in classrooms. The course explores issues related to technology, math pedagogy, and math equity.

This course runs October 20–December 7 and meets in-person on November 1 & 2 and December 6 & 7 from 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

This course examines the pedagogy of math instruction for middle and high school aged diverse students. The course will explore instructional strategies and routines to support all learners to develop mathematical thinking. Participants will develop instructional routines and apply standards in the design of curricula to improve how math can be humanized in classrooms. The course explores issues related to technology, math pedagogy, and math equity. 

This course runs October 20–December 7 and meets in-person on November 1 & 2 and December 6 & 7 from 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

This three-credit course provides an in depth look at the teaching and learning of science in the middle school (grades 5-8). Students will acquire an understanding of the content (Earth & Space Science, Life Science, Physical Science, Technology & Engineering) and practices of middle school science along with highly effective instructional practices for teaching science to early adolescents. This course is centered around inquiry learning, and authentic assessment for science in the middle school. 

This course runs October 20–December 7 on Tuesdays from 4:30–8 p.m.

Fall 2025 Course Offerings in Boston

This course introduces students to the reality of schools as diverse spaces encompassing a range of student needs and examines efforts to ensure equity in education. Issues of race, class, culture, language, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, and ability will be discussed & examined, especially how they intersect to reproduce inequality. Students will reflect on individual beliefs in relation to social justice education and democratic education and examine unintended consequences of policy/practice that create or perpetuate inequitable environments and opportunities in schools. Strategies for promoting educational equity and inclusivity will be discussed.

This course runs August 25–October 12 and meets in-person in Boston on August 23 & 24 and September 27 & 28 from 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

This course examines and unpacks contemporary issues in the field of education and provides prospective teachers with a beginning foundation for understanding the teaching profession and the U.S. education system, including policy and governance. The historical, legal, ethical, and pedagogical foundations for social justice education and democratic education will be explored, as well as the education reform context and emerging policies. The course will include an examination of professional ethics and standards. 

This course runs October 20–December 7 and meets in-person in Boston on October 25 & 26 and December 13 & 14 from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. 

Fall 2025 Course Offerings on Cape Cod

This course introduces students to the reality of schools as diverse spaces encompassing a range of student needs and examines efforts to ensure equity in education. Issues of race, class, culture, language, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, and ability will be discussed & examined, especially how they intersect to reproduce inequality. Students will reflect on individual beliefs in relation to social justice education and democratic education and examine unintended consequences of policy/practice that create or perpetuate inequitable environments and opportunities in schools. Strategies for promoting educational equity and inclusivity will be discussed.

This course runs August 25–October 12 and meets in-person on Cape Cod on September 13 & 14 and October 4 & 5 from 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

This course examines and unpacks contemporary issues in the field of education and provides prospective teachers with a beginning foundation for understanding the teaching profession and the U.S. education system, including policy and governance. The historical, legal, ethical, and pedagogical foundations for social justice education and democratic education will be explored, as well as the education reform context and emerging policies. The course will include an examination of professional ethics and standards. 

This course runs October 20–December 7 and meets in-person in Boston on November 1 & 2 and December 13 & 14 from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. 

Graduate Teacher Education Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees for the graduate teacher education programs are calculated on a per-credit basis. Additional fees may apply. 

Tuition Rate Per Credit
Cost per credit hour $763
Skyhawk Rate
(Applicable to alumni, employees and approved partners)
$610

Meet the Director

Rebekah Louis

director of graduate teacher education
Rebekah Louis, EdD, has taught in higher education for nearly a decade, drawing upon her many years of experience as a teacher in the public schools. Her research focuses on the clinical experience aspect of teacher preparation, including investigating how technology use in clinical preparation impacts teacher candidates’ experiences and the impact of placement factors on teacher candidates’ clinical experiences.

Contact us with any questions.

Graduate & Professional Studies Admission assists students as they explore graduate and professional opportunities offered at Stonehill College.