MIDDLE SCHOOL

Master of Education Degree in
POLITICAL SCIENCE/POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY (5-8)
Leading to Initial Teacher License

Prerequisites: Must have completed a college or university's requirements for a major in the discipline or have passed the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) in the Political Science/Political Philosophy (5-8) content area test.

PLEASE NOTE: Program below is effective September 1, 2008.

*Must be completed prior to the practicum and include field-based assignments.
**As early in the program as possible, and prior to the practicum, graduate students and Adult Learning Division students with education minors must complete a 75-hour Early Field Experience in a classroom appropriate to the license sought. In some cases, recent appropriate classroom experience may be used to document this requirement. (This is not a credit-bearing course, and there are no fees required.)
***For current information on state testing requirements for initial licensure programs, MTEL test administration dates in MA, and the Lesley University MTEL policy, see Lesley's Certification Office web page.

Lesley University reserves the right to unilaterally add, withdraw, or revise any course offering in the above-mentioned program of study, including policies, provisions, requirements, and fees.

Lesley University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity institution and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, handicap, or disability in its education programs, employment, or in admissions to, access to or treatment in its programs or activities.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

EEDUC 6203
Principles of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment in the Inclusive Secondary Classroom

This course is designed to provide pre-service and in-service educators with the knowledge, skills, and strategies fundamental to the best practices of inclusive education in secondary schools.  Students will study and learn what to teach, how to teach all students, how students with special needs learn, and how to assess in what ways students learn. Course goals will be accomplished through the reading of pedagogical works, modeling by the instructor, direct instruction, class activities, the completion of both formal and informal writing assignments, and the design and execution of a unit plan, lesson plans, and a teaching lesson. 

[back to top]

EEDUC 6100
Adolescent Development in the Context of Families, Communities, and Schools

Students will investigate the historical, contemporary, cultural, physical, and psychological aspects of this important stage of human development.  While learning about the characteristics of adolescents, learners will reflect on their own experiences and come to know themselves more fully.  A goal of this course is to apply theory to authentic experience so that pre- and in-service teachers develop an appreciation and understanding of how the institutions of society, and specifically schools, can best serve this age group.

[back to top]

EEDUC 6101
Content Area Reading/Writing/Study Skills (4-12)
Reading curriculum is studied with emphasis on comprehension, content area reading, study skills, and readers with diverse needs in upper elementary, middle, and high school.

[back to top]

EEDUC 6204
The Middle School: Historical Context and Promising Practice
This course examines the promising practices of the contemporary middle school philosophy through a combination of field-based experiences and examination of the historical forces that shape the character of schooling in a democratic society.  Students, as pre and in-service practitioners, will investigate the student-centered, team integrated, interdisciplinary approach in light of its ability to simultaneously address both state standards and frameworks while providing for the needs of emerging adolescents.

[back to top]

EEDUC 5147
Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment in History and Political Science
This course will help students develop an understanding of curriculum, instruction, and assessment issues in middle school history, political science, and political philosophy. Students will develop sample instructional materials such as lesson and unit plans, along with strategies for differentiating instruction. Students will learn how to use state standards and essential questions to design engaging lessons and how assessment may be developed to measure student learning in a meaningful way.

[back to top]

ECOMP 6102
Classroom Assessment with Technology
This course investigates uses of technology in conducting and transforming assessment practices. Participants learn about technologies that support both formal and alternative/authentic assessment (e.g., tests, portfolios, observation tools, self- and whole class assessments). Roles of assessment in student learning and meeting an educational organization’s needs will be explored (including current assessments of technology’s efficacy). Participants design balanced assessment programs that both prove and improve student achievement and use multiple methods to evaluate uses of technology resources in schools.

[back to top]

EEDUC 6137
Creating a Community of Learners: Management through High Engagement
Participants will acquire strategies and skills to create a true community of learners where there is a caring, supportive, safe middle school classroom and team in which students participate fully in solving problems, including problems with disruptive behavior. A high level of active engagement in interdisciplinary, thematic, project-situated, and community-based inquiry will model for participants how to use intellectual engagement to motivate students’ appropriate behavioral management and commitment to learning.

[back to top]

EEDUC 6162
Equity and Achievement: A Socio-Political Approach
This course will encourage Middle School and High School certification and advanced degree students to explore the theoretical foundations and frameworks for developing a reflective, equity-based educational practice. Through a variety of cognitive and affective approaches, students will identify and critically analyze historical, socio-cultural, and school-wide factors that have contributed to unequal academic outcomes, explore practitioner-based strategies, and develop culturally-affirming resources and materials for content-specific courses, classroom, and school-wide use.

[back to top]

ESPED 5037 
Strategies for Inclusive Schooling
This course provides an overview of instructional and curricular strategies for students with disabilities in inclusive schools. Theory and effective practices are presented in relation to the educational, social, and academic components of classrooms. The course reviews the historical and legal perspectives of special education, the Individualized Education Plan, effective collaboration, and models of inclusion.

[back to top]