Courses

This course covers current policy and practice related to English Learners (ELs) in schools with a special focus on Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Settings. Topics will include diversity issues, content/academic vocabulary development and literacy skills (including listening, speaking, reading and writing) to provide teachers with the knowledge and strategies to support ELs in classrooms. 

*May be waived with documented, state-approved sheltered English immersion (SEI) endorsement.

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 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. 

Required field experience.

This course explores supportive, preventative, and proactive approaches to addressing the social and academic behaviors of students with disabilities and other diverse populations. Strategies for developing a positive classroom climate to support social and emotional development, including trauma and anxiety, will be central to the learning of the course. A variety of approaches, including the connection between communication & behavior, identifying contributing factors to challenging behavior, FBA, and behavior support plans will be explored. 

This course is taken concurrently with a graduate practicum or internship. This capstone seminar will focus on social justice education, professional culture, family & community engagement, collaboration, and curriculum and planning for educational contexts. Students will reflect on experiences in the practica/internship site and current issues and best practice in education, including trauma and social emotional learning.

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 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 will be guided by self-advocate accounts.

This course will review social understanding, stress, anxiety and trauma in autistic people. The course will explore the role of anxiety, stress, and trauma on relationships, self-regulation, health/ well-being and academic achievement. This course will stress intersectionality and explore gender/culture/race influences on understanding autism. Course participants will develop social supports and curricula focused on neurodiverse social behavior that help to mitigate the effects of stress/anxiety/trauma and develop resilience. 

In this course, autistic behavior, including tenets of neurodiversity, sociocultural views of "normalcy," and self-regulation will be explored. Participants in the course will examine a range of strategies and systems to support, develop, actualize, and sustain positive behavior. Participants will examine sensory development and regulation, connections to behavior, stress, and learn de-escalation techniques. 

This course explores quality of life considerations, measures, and supports for autistic students/persons. Educators will learn techniques to support autistic students moving from school to adult life, including developing self-advocacy skills, educator advocacy/allyship, family advocacy, person-centered planning, and transition plans. Ethical issues and philosophical challenges relating to sociocultural context, theories, and positioning, anti-oppressive education, and involvement/lack of involvement of self-advocates' perspectives will be explored in the development of pathways to higher education, career and technical education, employment, and independent living. 

This course will examine intersectionality and the complex racial, gendered, and class-based dimensions that perpetuate inequitable environments and opportunities in schools. We will explore critical race theory (CRT) and its theoretical relevance as a framework to examine and challenge disparate educational opportunities for students of color. The course will offer an examination of the policies, procedures, and structures that perpetuate disproportionality and overrepresentation. This course will analyze assumptions about race, gender, and class, as well as how these dynamics play out in U.S. public schooling and history through political, sociological, theoretical, and pedagogical lenses. 

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 will examine the complexities of gender, identity, expression, and sexual orientation in schools, as well as how their interrelated dynamics and complexities unfold in the history of U.S. schools to present day. The course will explore the concepts of identity development and school structures that disenfranchise non-binary and LGBTQA+ students and examine constructions of gender identity, sexuality, and equality and binary/nonbinary conceptions. The course will examine inclusivity and exclusion through an examination of gender models, perpetuation of stereotypes, and implicit biases. The course analyzes key conceptual and methodological frameworks of gender, class, sexuality, power, and intersectionality.

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 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 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 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 three-credit course addresses issues in the assessment of children and youth with disabilities, and reviews norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessments, developmental scales, and formal and informal observation techniques. Students will acquire an understanding of the issues related to selecting and administering a variety of assessment tools, and to interpreting, communicating and utilizing data from assessments to support the education of students with disabilities. 

This course explores how curriculum built on the goal of student understanding, integrated with instructional approaches that emphasize reaching every learner, can provide teachers with more specific teaching targets and more flexible ways to reach them. Students will examine the teaching, instruction, and curricula required to meet the needs of diverse learners, who by virtue of their experiential, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, challenge traditional curriculum and instructional programs.

Course participants will determine how to deconstruct curricular barriers and create and apply curricular solutions, including assistive technology and AAC, to maximize access and academic success.

Field experience requirement.

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 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 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 three-credit course addresses issues in the assessment of children and youth with disabilities, and reviews norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessments, developmental scales, and formal and informal observation techniques. Students will acquire an understanding of the issues related to selecting and administering a variety of assessment tools, and to interpreting, communicating and utilizing data from assessments to support the education of students with disabilities. 

This course explores how curriculum built on the goal of student understanding, integrated with instructional approaches that emphasize reaching every learner, can provide teachers with more specific teaching targets and more flexible ways to reach them. Students will examine the teaching, instruction, and curricula required to meet the needs of diverse learners, who by virtue of their experiential, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, challenge traditional curriculum and instructional programs.

Course participants will determine how to deconstruct curricular barriers and create and apply curricular solutions, including assistive technology and AAC, to maximize access and academic success.

Field experience requirement.

This course explores how curriculum built on the goal of student understanding, integrated with instructional approaches that emphasize reaching every learner, can provide teachers with more specific teaching targets and more flexible ways to reach them. Students will examine the teaching, instruction, and curricula required to meet the needs of diverse learners, who by virtue of their experiential, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, challenge traditional curriculum and instructional programs.

Course participants will determine how to deconstruct curricular barriers and create and apply curricular solutions, including assistive technology and AAC, to maximize access and academic success.

This course examines the role of school in adolescents’ identity development, middle school/middle level education and philosophy, including the historical context to current best practice. Emphasis is on the adolescent brain, the developmental, emotional, and intellectual traits of the diverse adolescent learner, and resulting implications for teaching and learning. Adolescent learners are examined in and out of school contexts, with an emphasis on diversity, culture, and inclusivity and historically minoritized groups. 

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 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 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.