Graduate Courses


ED 559G The Secondary Classroom in an Inclusive Setting. Three credits. This course surveys a variety of general and special education topics about secondary schools, including historical and comparative contexts of schooling; socio-cultural influences on student learning; standards-based, professionally aligned curriculum design; content-specific pedagogy; authentic instruction and assessment; and differentiation within the high school context. Candidates develop constructivist instructional units and implement and assess lesson plans. The class explores models of secondary instruction such as tracking, integrated co-teaching, expeditionary, and vocational education. Includes 15 hours of professional field experiences. Generally offered fall or spring; check with the Department for current cycle.

ED 560A Student Teaching: Inclusive/Middle Grades 4-6 or 7-9. Three credits. The teacher candidate’s preparation for teaching diverse children in late elementary grades (4-6) or early secondary grades (7-9) culminates in a full-time, seven week, 220-hour directed teaching experience in an accredited inclusive and/or self-contained classroom led by a teacher certified in the target certification area. The experience includes orientation to school and classroom, practice in planning instruction, developing teaching and evaluation skills, and improving professional relations skills. Candidates are expected to participate fully in instructional activities throughout the placement, assuming responsibility for the class during the last week, planning, implementing, and assessing technology-enhanced, constructivist, and interdisciplinary instruction. A regularly scheduled reflection seminar totaling 7 hours, led by the student’s college supervisor, accompanies the clinical experience. Either ED 550A or ED 560A must be in a special education context. Prerequisites: Completion of all required Education courses and all required workshops (ED 500 through ED 503); status as an Education major in good standing, including a B average overall and a B minimum in all education courses; and passing scores on all State certification exams for the certificate sought except edTPA. Offered fall and spring.

ED 562G Content Area Reading and Writing. Three credits. The course explores methods of teaching reading, writing, speaking, listening, and study skills in content area subjects in the secondary curriculum, with an emphasis on working with culturally and linguistically diverse students in inclusive settings. Candidates study the theory and practice of reading and writing, questioning and discussion, vocabulary, study strategies, fiction, and non-fiction across the curriculum. Approaches include collaborative, individual, electronic, and visual instructional techniques to address the needs of diverse classrooms.  Using State and professional association standards that support literacy development for diverse learners (TESOL, CEC, and New York State Common Core and subject area standards), candidates plan differentiated content area learning and assessments for students who are English speakers and English language learners and for those with special needs or interrupted formal education (SIFE). Includes 25 hours of professional field experience. Offered spring and summer.

ED 570A Student Teaching: Inclusive/Secondary Grades 10-12. Three credits. The teacher candidate’s preparation for teaching diverse children in secondary grades (10-12) culminates in a full-time, seven week, 220-hour directed teaching experience in an accredited inclusive and/or self-contained classroom led by a teacher certified in the target certification area. The experience includes orientation to school and classroom, practice in planning instruction, developing teaching and evaluation skills, and improving professional relations skills. Candidates are expected to participate fully in instructional activities throughout the placement, assuming responsibility for the class during the last week, planning, implementing, and assessing technology-enhanced, constructivist, and interdisciplinary instruction. A regularly scheduled reflection seminar totaling 7 hours, led by the student’s college supervisor, accompanies the clinical experience. Either ED 560A or ED 570A must be in a special education context. Prerequisites: Completion of all required Education courses and all required workshops (ED 500 through ED 503); status as an Education major in good standing, including a B average overall and a B minimum in all education courses; and passing scores on all State certification exams for the certificate sought except edTPA. Co-requisites: ED 560A, ED 604. Offered fall and spring.

ED 600 Curriculum Development and Strategies for Teaching. Three credits. This course provides a foundation in constructivist theories of education and their applications to the practice of designing and modifying standards-based curriculum to effectively meet the needs of all students. Topics explored include critical thinking, questioning skills, classroom dynamics, the art of good reasoning, essential questions, affect, interdisciplinary learning, and addressing needs of children with exceptionalities. Pre-service teachers practice standards-based, curriculum-aligned lesson planning and implementation, with reflective, evidence-based assessment of strengths and weaknesses of various lessons. Includes 10 hours of professional field experiences. Offered summer and fall.

ED 601 Learning Environments for Students with Exceptionalities. Three credits. This course focuses on the laws, policies, and principles for teaching individuals with different abilities and learning needs within appropriate placements in self-contained and inclusive settings. Using a framework of Universal Design for Learning, teacher candidates identify and analyze abilities and challenges related to specific exceptionalities, exploring evidence-based strategies for instruction, assessment, and assistive/adaptive technology use to ensure all students have access to meaningful, rigorous and standards-aligned educational experiences. Candidates engage Individualized Educational Plans and associated decision-making for inclusive settings emphasizing teaming, cultural inclusion, and family involvement, and incorporating formative and summative assessment of academic and social progress of students with exceptionalities. Includes 30 hours of professional field experiences. Offered fall and spring.

ED 604 School, Diversity & Society: Secondary Schools. Three credits. This capstone course, which requires a comprehensive professional portfolio demonstrating effectiveness as a secondary teacher, explores broad educational issues in light of current research and candidates’ student teaching experiences. Topics such as law, diversity, culturally-relevant pedagogy, educational history and reform, accountability, purposes of schooling, and the teaching profession undergird explorations of practice. Candidates assess their student teaching to improve their daily instructional practice and to become effective, transformational professionals. In particular, the course develops pre-service teachers’ ability to foster individual and group motivation; to use technology effectively; to communicate well with students, colleagues, parents, and community; and to ensure equitable, ethical treatment of students, with high expectations for all. Prerequisites: Completion of all required Education courses for secondary education and all required workshops (ED 500 through ED 503); status as an Education major in good standing, including a B average overall and a B minimum in all education courses; and passing scores on all State certification exams for Adolescent/Special Education 7-12 except edTPA. Co-requisites: ED 560A, 570A. Offered fall and spring.

ED 605 Dynamics of Human Relations. Three credits. This course studies the cultures and subcultures existing in learning environments at all levels with an emphasis on the interaction among and between groups. Course participants explore the dynamics of cultural conflicts in learning situations in an effort to promote respectful, collaborative relationships that foster individual and group motivation. The class analyzes historical structures and cultural norms that have had differential impacts on various groups, including roles that families, schools, institutions, and government have played in supporting or denying individual and group access to quality life and learning experiences. In particular, the course analyzes how changes in the structure of the family, the economic system, and the educational system have impacted society, particularly through the content and delivery of an equitable and ethical curriculum. Students engage other cultures using digital learning and communication tools. Includes 15 hours of professional field experiences. Offered fall and spring.

ED 607 Human Development: Adolescence Through Adulthood. Three credits. This course is designed to provide an overview of major psychological principles as they relate to the emotional, cognitive and moral development of the emerging adult, with a particular focus on personal growth in adolescents and young adults. Using current research on motivation and learning, the course explores today’s secondary classrooms and current teenage cultural norms to understand these psychological dynamics at work. Teacher candidates are exposed to the importance of parental involvement and behaviors and study effective approaches to motivating and educating adolescents in inclusive, diverse secondary classrooms. Current topics in human development are also be explored, including gender, diversity, inclusion, parenting and home life, mental health and individual differences. Includes 10 hours of professional field experiences. Offered spring.

ED 608 Philosophical Foundations of Education. Three credits. This course explores educational policy and practice through examination of philosophical theories and approaches. The course identifies and explores major epistemological, ethical and political theories and how they impact and are informed by education in a democracy. The course develops awareness of the complexities of the aims of education in a democracy with an emphasis on what it means to educate for democratic citizenship. Fundamental axiological and epistemological issues around curriculum design, family involvement, pedagogical approaches and school reform are addressed. Questions in philosophy of mind such as nature of the person, personal identity and issues around human nature are also explored. Further issues addressed in the course include the epistemological and ethical basis for feminist pedagogies and the nature and purpose of moral education. Includes 10 hours of professional field experiences. Offered fall.

ED 615 Parent, Family, and Community Cooperation and Collaboration. Three credits. This course offers an overview of the changes in contemporary society and families that influence children with a range of exceptionalities from birth through second grade. Children are members of family units as well as larger, culturally diverse, social networks and systems; accordingly, their growth and development is linked with the cultural context that informs parent, family, and community involvement. Candidates learn possibilities for parental and family involvement in the out-of-home care and education of young children, including the provision of family-centered services for children with special needs. The class addresses a range of collaborative partnerships that support learning, in particular examining effective approaches for teenage parents, foster care, adoption, single-parent homes, step-families, language minority parents and families, divorced and blended families, and early intervention services for families with children with mild, moderate, or severe exceptionalities.  Includes 25 hours of professional field experiences.  Offered spring.

ED 618 Holistic Instruction: Aesthetic Education and Curriculum. Three credits. This course studies educational goals that move beyond mere academic learning. Theoretical connections between aesthetic education and emotional intelligence, including the ways in which these arenas support academic development, provide the foundation for the class.  Teacher candidates design and experience lessons for young children geared towards the development of emotional intelligence through the use of the arts, exploring what assessment might mean in an aesthetically and emotionally orientated curriculum. The notions of multiple intelligences and differentiation for various learning styles and exceptionalities form a key portion of the course.  Includes 25 hours of professional field experiences.  Offered spring.

ED 620 Advanced Curriculum Development and Instruction (Birth-2). Three credits. This course applies current theories of child and curriculum development to the effective design of early childhood learning environments.  Candidates learn to create physical environments and developmentally and age-appropriate curricula, ensuring classroom management strategies are respectful of physical, cultural, language, and societal diversity. Participants develop, implement, and assess early childhood curricula that have intellectual integrity, reflect the knowledge base of different disciplines, and offer possibilities for curricular integration across disciplines. Environmental, curricular and behavioral adaptations and assessments for children with special needs are considered throughout the course. Co-requisite: ED 620L. Offered fall.

ED 620L Advanced Curriculum Development and Instruction (Birth-2) Lab. One credit. This 40-hour practicum of professional field experiences requires candidates registered for ED620 to work in a minimum of two placements in early childhood/special education contexts to provide targeted early interventions on a one-on-one basis with a student needing specialized social, emotional, behavioral, or intellectual supports.  Candidates prepare a portfolio that includes the results from interviews, inventories, and informal assessments.  Co-requisite: ED 620. Offered fall.

ED 621 Linguistic, Numerical and Artistic Symbols and Tools (Birth-2)Three credits. This course explores interdisciplinary approaches to the development of language acquisition, numeracy, creative expression, and literacy skills.  Topics include the influence of parents and community and characteristics and behaviors of children birth to second grade.  Course discussions focus on diversity and children with special needs, exploring effective ways to differentiate standards-based instruction based on formative and summative assessment.  Includes 25 hours of professional field experiences. Offered spring.

ED 622 Learning Differences in the Inclusive Setting (Birth-2). Three credits. This course presents an overview of children with learning differences who are placed in inclusive early childhood settings from birth to second grade. Teacher candidates study the needs of young children with exceptionalities, with an emphasis on developing nurturing and stimulating environments that are specifically organized and adjusted to promote optimal functioning for each child. The course explores approaches for and evidence around early interventions for young children with mild, moderate, and severe exceptionalities.  Candidates practice designing and implementing interventions within legal and ethical frameworks that ensure appropriate delivery of services for all children, including those with and at risk for exceptionalities, receive appropriate services. Includes 25 hours of professional field experiences. Offered fall.

ED 624 Action Research. Three credits. This course examines research design, methodology, and qualitative and quantitative analyses through the lens of action research. Participants conduct literature reviews, build or select a conceptual framework, and design an action research project intended to deepen their knowledge of their field, to develop their leadership skills by promoting learning among colleagues, and to support positive change within their organizations. Includes 10 hours of professional field experience. Offered fall. 

ED 647 Methods III: Students with Exceptionalities. Three credits. This course examines instructional techniques that focus on effective practices for students with disabilities.  Candidates practice developing and implementing NYS Common Core-aligned differentiated instruction for students with exceptionalities across both inclusive and self-contained special education environments.  Students also learn how assistive and adaptive technology facilitate learning for students with disabilities in various environments. Includes 15 hours of professional field experiences. Offered spring and summer. Replaces ED 687 beginning Fall 2016.

ED 654 Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition. Three credits. This course provides a theoretical and practical overview of linguistically diverse students and the various potential pedagogical approaches that can be adapted to meet their needs. The course begins by providing a clear linguistic foundation, explaining how linguistically diverse students and students with exceptionalities learn language and the psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic implications of this language process, enabling students to plan relevant learning experiences that utilize both individual and collaborative approaches to incorporate home and community languages. Looking at the issue of second language acquisition from a pedagogical and administrative perspective, a number of educational alternatives are discussed including submersion, pull-out ESL, bilingual education, immersion, and two-way bilingual education. These programs are examined using such criteria as feasibility, theoretical assumptions, research evidence and impact on students. Finally, the legal implications of these programs are discussed. Includes 30 hours of professional field experiences.  Offered summer and fall.

ED 656 Classroom Management. Three credits. This course covers the concepts of individual and classroom management with an emphasis on designing, implementing, and evaluating strategies. Teacher candidates learn how to establish a classroom culture that maximizes engagement and thus minimizes disruptions, learning how to address behavior efficiently, effectively, ethically, and with minimal disruption to the learning process. Participants learn to conduct functional assessment with secondary students, including those with mild, moderate, severe, and multiple exceptionalities, using classroom-based technology to support students’ progress towards behavioral goals. The course examines the challenges and positive effects of educational programs for individuals with exceptional learning and behavioral needs.  Includes 20 hours of professional field experiences.  Offered summer and fall.

ED 680 Inclusive Secondary Education Curriculum and Methods. Two credits. This course, in conjunction with a disciplinary-specific one-hour class, provides content-specific pedagogical explorations and applications in inclusive middle and high school settings.  The course deals specifically with ideas, strategies, and techniques for teaching content at the appropriate license level, with explicit inclusion of technology and media-supported learning.  Undertaken with a social constructivist framework, teacher candidates explore how curriculum can be adapted to meet the needs of students who have different learning styles and needs, creating a safe, inclusive learning environment.  Candidates demonstrate their ability to implement a pedagogically sound and effective curriculum in a high school classroom and with middle school students using State, ISTE, and CEC standards, as well as pertinent specialty association standards (NCSS, NCTM, NSTA, NCTE, ACTFL).  Includes 50 hours of professional field experience.  Co-requisite: ED 668, ED 669, ED 673, ED 674, or ED 675.  Generally offered fall or spring; check with the Department for current cycle.

ED 694 Practicum in Early Childhood. Three credits. This culminating 50-hour practicum provides candidates with in-depth experience in at least two developmentally appropriate birth-2nd grade settings, including settings that serve students with diverse learning needs and students identified on the autism spectrum disorder. Under supervision of certified specialists at each placement, candidates implement instructional and intervention strategies to support children’s social, emotional, and intellectual development, including children with mild, moderate and severe exceptionalities, including autism spectrum disorders.  Offered spring.

ED 699 Action Research Project. Three credits. This course supports students in their research and writing of an action research capstone project, as planned in ED 624 and approved by the thesis committee.  The research must be appropriate to the degree and must involve an intervention that is designed to help students or colleagues grow in ways that will either support the individual or the organization.  A major goal of the project is to integrate knowledge and reflect critically on education theories and perspectives, demonstrating practical judgments informed by theory and research.  Includes 30 hours of professional field experiences.  Prerequisites: 30 credits including ED 624.  Offered spring.  Thesis printing and binding fee of $50 required when applicable.