Master of Education Plus Certification

The “Master of Education plus certification” is an option for Teacher Intern Program certification students. If this track is chosen, PreK-4 or Secondary Teacher Intern Program students have the option to take 3 of their required undergraduate Education course credits as master’s level courses. After completion of their Teacher Intern Program, students would then only need to take the remaining 7 Master of Education courses to earn the Master of Education degree.
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Master’s level courses to be taken as part of the TIP certificate program

EDU 312/512 Teaching English Language Learners

This course will address methods and materials to prepare English Language Learners to enter and succeed in elementary and secondary mainstream classrooms. Prerequisite: EDU 206

EDU 339/539 Teaching Mathematics and Computer Use in Elementary Schools

This course prepares the certification candidate with the working knowledge required to become an effective teacher in the designated discipline. Examines the scope and sequence of the curricula. Provides developmentally appropriate instructional strategies, techniques for individualizing instruction and assessing achievement, classroom management skills and using media. Develops competencies in lesson and unit planning and instructional delivery. Informs about professional development opportunities relative to the various disciplines. Requires peer teaching and observations of school classrooms. Prerequisites: 204, 206 and admission to the education program.

EDU 332/522: Teaching in Secondary Schools

This course prepares the certification candidate with the working knowledge required to become an effective teacher in the designated discipline. Examines the scope and sequence of the curricula. Provides developmentally appropriate instructional strategies, techniques for individualizing instruction and assessing achievement, classroom management skills and using media. Develops competencies in lesson and unit planning and instructional delivery. Informs about professional development opportunities relative to the various disciplines. Requires peer teaching and observations of school classrooms. Prerequisites: 206 and official acceptance to TIP.

EDU 341/541 Educational Assessment

This course will provide pre-service educators with theory and practice of commonly used assessment tools including but not limited to formal, informal, authentic and benchmark assessments. Content will focus on how to effectively interpret data and how to translate data into academic achievement.
(Prior to enrolling in any above course, see Procedure step #3 below)

M.Ed. courses taken after TIP certification

On-line format!

EDU 533 Differentiated Instruction

This course will explore the principles and elements of differentiated instruction through the study of current and promising practices, as well as relevant research. Graduate students will study instructional and management strategies that address individual learning needs, strengths, styles, and preferences of students within the classroom.

EDU 548 Reading in the Content Areas

This course provides in-service teachers with an understanding of the essentials of reading processes necessary for secondary students to become proficient readers. The course will teach the most promising elements of effective literacy programs based in research and/or professional opinion. Application of the elements to content area texts will help students derive greater comprehension of content area material.

EDU 551 Inclusive Education for Students with Special Needs

Students will examine the educational strategies and practices helpful in meeting the needs of students with special needs that are educated in the regular education classroom. The course will help teachers read and understand IEPs, Section 504 plans, as well as PA Chapter 16 requirements and implement them in inclusive settings. Co-teaching strategies with special education teachers in regular education classrooms will be covered. The course will help teachers build relationships with and among students, teach social skills, and provide positive behavior supports.

EDU 552 Best Practices and Effective Teaching

Students will examine the most up to date pedagogy in education. Key features of the course involve best practices in areas such as student collaboration, questioning, and feedback techniques. Teaching practices will include study of effective teacher research, classroom instruction research, 90/90/90 schools research, and approaches such as project learning. Each student will select one or more practices of interest which s/he will incorporate into her/his classroom instruction. The instructor and students will examine the effects these practices have on classroom instruction.

EDU 531 or EDU 532 or EDU 535 or EDU 554 or EDU 553 – depending upon interests and needs

EDU 531 Contemporary Issues in Education

This course will explore current and relevant educational issues that possess interconnections with politics, history, ideology, curriculum, and social practice. The primary focus of the course will be on examining the major opposing viewpoints on the issues in American schools of today and to gain basic understanding of legal issues in education. Through the integration of knowledge, the course prepares educators to critically examine various schools of philosophical thought, legal issues, and political issues, analyze existing programs to improve school effectiveness, and review research-based best practices for effective educational outcomes.

EDU 532 Education Perspectives in a Diverse Society
This course prepares students to deal with the conceptual, theoretical, political, and philosophical issues in multicultural education. It has been designed to clarify issues related to pluralistic education, adopt a philosophical position, design and implement effective teaching strategies that reflect ethnic and cultural diversity, and prepare sound guidelines for multicultural programs and practices. In this course, diversity refers to all ways in which people differ, including that of socio-economic status, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious practices, and other differences.

EDU 535 Standards Aligned Systems
(for PA teachers with Level I certification – in lieu of EDU 532) This course is a comprehensive approach to support student achievement across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. SAS involves the understanding and integrated use of six areas including: PA and Common Core standards, fair assessment, curriculum framework, aligned instruction, materials and resources, and interventions. Course goals and content include: understanding the national movement for core academic standards, understanding Pennsylvania’s Standards Aligned System (SAS), understanding the research base underlying the 6 components (delineated above), use of diagnostics and formative assessment, use of PA’s Ed Portal as an ongoing job-embedded resource for educators, and Development and conduction of a professional development activity or awareness session in the educator’s own school district on PA’s SAS and curriculum frameworks.

EDU 553 Technology Integration for the Classroom
In this course, M.Ed. Program candidates will explore ways to integrate educational technologies that complement solid instructional design in order to enhance student learning. This course will include an overview of technological resources used today in educational contexts. Program candidates will complete an inventory of their own classrooms and schools that emphasize technological resources such as hardware, software and internet use. International, National and State teacher and student standards, categories and profiles will be emphasized. Curriculum components such as individual lesson plans and unit plans currently taught will be examined for ways to include various educational technologies. Data driven teacher decision-making and accountability will also be addressed. Candidates will develop written and verbal rationales for the use of technologically rich instruction to better become advocates of educational technology use.

EDU 554 Formal and Informal Classroom Assessment
This course examines philosophical conceptions of curriculum, educational assessment, and principles of planning instruction. Students will construct assessment tools for the evaluation of student progress, teaching effectiveness, and curriculum alignment. Additionally, students will investigate state testing, interpretation, and the meaningful use of results.

EDU 598 Educational Research

This course will examine exemplary literature and research projects that represent examples of the systematic collection, evaluation, presentation and interpretation of research data in education. Various research designs and methodologies will be explored, emphasizing action research done in educational contexts. Student research projects will reflect a specific educational research style, such as experimental, correlational, survey, grounded theory, ethnography, narrative or mixed methods. Students will be guided in the selection of an appropriate Master’s project topic, in review and critique of relevant literature, and development of a design proposal for action research to be conducted in her/his own classroom.

EDU 599 Master’s Project

This course represents the final stages in the completion of a Master’s Project begun in EDU 598, where action research is conducted and a master’s paper is completed and presented. Students will work closely with a research advisor to conduct the action research project and associated report.

Procedures for TIP students

1.   Initial entrance into TIP with current enrollment procedures through the Director of Teacher Intern Program.

2.   Students may choose either a TIP track or Master’s plus certification track. Students may opt into the Master’s plus certification track at any point prior to enrolling in EDU 312.

3.   Prior to enrolling into EDU 312/512 Teaching English Language Learners, EDU 339/539 Teaching Mathematics and Computer Use in Elementary Schools, EDU 332/522 Teaching in Secondary Schools or EDU 341/541 Educational Assessment, a student must schedule an appointment with the Director of the M.Ed. program. A student must then decide is s/he is enrolling in the M.Ed. plus certification program.

4.   Complete the M.Ed. application. The application fee will be waived since student will have paid a TIP application fee.

5.   At this point, students will be considered “provisionally accepted” into the M.Ed. program via a letter from the Director.

6.   Enroll in the three appropriate 500 level courses.

7.   Upon completion of the student’s TIP certification requirements, the student will be “formally accepted” into the M.Ed. program.