Master of Education Early Childhood: Teacher of Students With and Without Disabilities (PreK-2)

This program has been approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for Professional Teaching Licensure in Teacher of Students with and without Disabilities (PreK-2) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

This approved Master's program in Early Childhood leading to Professional licensure is designed to expose students to advanced levels of curriculum development and current issues and challenges beyond the scope of an Initial license. Students encounter topics such as policy, behavior, and multiculturalism. Practical classroom experiences enhance material presented in course sessions, and an appreciation for the teacher as researcher and advocate is fostered.

Prerequisite: Massachusetts Initial license in Early Childhood Education

EEDUC 6158 Enduring Ideas and Current Issues in the Education of Young Children
This course examines ideas that have consistently influenced thinking in early childhood education and have significantly impacted program planning for young children. Through examination of the ideas, students gain an understanding of some historical and theoretical frameworks that have shaped current educational thought. They use the theoretical frameworks as a basis for exploring current issues related to the processes of young children’s development and learning. Assessment, leadership, and advocacy efforts are integral components of the course.

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EEDUC 6139 Dimensions of Learning Through Play
How does one define play? What are the debates about the relationship of play to children’s learning, to the development of meaning, and to creativity, PreK–2? Are there variations in play across cultures, between typically developing children and those with disabilities, and between genders? This course will examine theory and research that will help us explore these and other questions.

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EEDUC 7110 Perspectives on Professional Development
This course assists future educational leaders in supervisory techniques such as mentoring new and experienced teachers, supervising classroom practice, evaluating curricula, developing criteria for performance standards, and planning appropriate staff development. These issues will be examined as we develop a variety of approaches to supervising, mentoring, and evaluating teachers and other staff in schools. Particular attention will be paid to the dynamics of cross-cultural communication and the role of gender in educational administration.

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EEDUC 6126 Classroom and School Inquiry
Classroom and School Inquiry focuses on the understanding and critical analysis of educational research and methods for accurately communicating this information to the public. As teachers participate in redefining their educational roles, decision-making and action-oriented classroom practice will be critical in promoting student learning. Both require problem-solving, which is enhanced by the forming and testing of hypotheses, gathering data that is then analyzed, synthesized, and evaluated, and generating solutions. This course will engage students in this process by acquainting them with the knowledge and techniques necessary for them to become lifelong teacher researchers, and to present the results of their research effectively and professionally to a variety of audiences. Note: This course is a prerequisite to EEDUC 6127.

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EEDUC 6127 Action Research and Seminar
Students demonstrate their expanding understandings and competencies as teachers. They also collaborate with several classmates to design a research project that can have a direct impact on their school community, through which students may extend the research plan developed in an earlier course, EEDUC 6126. The six-credit option is designed to give students who completed a required induction experience or advanced education license an opportunity to demonstrate continued learning by applying that experience to their Lesley program and using their study to reflect on what they learned from their induction or licensure program. Prerequisite: Successful completion of EEDUC 6126 or an equivalent research course.

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EEDUC 6120 First and Second Language Acquisition
This course addresses the theories and current research in first and second language acquisition. Participants will understand the theories and practices for developing literacy skills in English for English Language Learners (ELL) with different educational backgrounds and different English proficiency levels. A variety of programs—two-way bilingual, sheltered English immersion, English as a second language, and others—are examined.  Participants will work with the TESOL PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards and other standards-based Curriculum Frameworks and instructional materials.

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EEDUC 6001 The Teaching of Writing (K–12)
This course promotes the thoughtful examination of writers and writing instruction. Throughout the course, students are introduced to strategies and skills they can use to enhance their own writing and the writing of K–12 students. Using a process approach, students learn how to communicate ideas effectively in a variety of genres and for a multitude of purposes. Based on the most current understandings in the field, this course explores such topics as writer’s workshop, conferencing, struggling writers, assessment, reading/writing connections, writing in the disciplines, revision and editing, the use of technology to support writers, and the management of writing instruction.

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EEDUC 6402 Clay’s Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement
An in-depth look at observing change over time in early literacy behaviors through the use of Clay’s observation tasks including the coding, scoring, analysis, and use of running records. Focus is on understanding the reading and writing process applied to classroom observation and informed instruction.

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EEDUC 6020 Summer Primary Literacy Institute
This literacy institute is designed to engage teachers and administrators in thoughtful learning experiences and hands-on work. Each year different experts in the field of literacy will guide participants in thinking about best practices of literacy teaching and learning.

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EEDUC 6011 Advanced Studies in Children’s Literature
Building upon the foundation established in prerequisite course EEDUC 5104 Literature for Children and Young Adults, this course offers a different, intense look at children’s literature and may include the following topics of study: picture book criticism, picture books for older readers, reluctant readers and the type of literature that interests them, literary theory, literary criticism, thematic approaches to literature, keeping current with the newest in trade books for the classroom, and focus on specific genres such as fantasy or traditional literature. Study, research, and informed discussion of such topics will serve to deepen and broaden students’ extant understanding of children’s literature. Prerequisite: EEDUC 5104 or equivalent.

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EARED 5010 Creative Movement: Kinesthetic Learning Across the Curriculum
This course integrates kinesthetic modes of learning with the use of movement as a language for interdisciplinary inquiry. Students will explore embodied approaches to curriculum applications, and the critical questioning and exploration that exists at the heart of creative movement as an art form will deepen the students’ comprehension and retention of curriculum themes. Furthermore, students’ work with the social, cultural, and political dimensions of non-verbal communication will allow them to engage with issues of cultural diversity, critical pedagogy, and democratic schooling.

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EARED 6100 Integrated Arts Approaches in the Curriculum
This course introduces several main themes: arts rationale, critical pedagogy, ways of knowing, reflection, assessment and multiculturalism. These themes are explored through practice, research and theory. Strategies for reaching all learners are considered as each art form is introduced. Students consider how multiple arts modalities strengthen learning across the curriculum.

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EARTS 5351 Cultural History Through Storytelling
Students explore stories and story types from various oral and written traditions. Drawing on culture and family, students develop original stories while integrating other art forms. Finally, students explore curriculum uses for storytelling in order to bring subject matter to life and motivate student learning.

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EARED 6002 Arts and Children With Special Needs
Understanding children whose emotional, physical, and social issues require special consideration. Art, drama, and movement are explored as stimuli for personal expression and remediation. This course focuses on how the arts can support children with special needs in both separate and inclusive settings. The course gives particular attention to developing methods of using arts as the primary vehicle for encouraging cooperative learning and self expression, building self esteem and self confidence, attending to different learning styles, developing decision making skills, and improving basic language and communication skills. Participatory activities in both visual and performing arts are included with opportunities to develop individual applications for children with varying abilities.

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EARTS 6105 Multiple Perspectives Through Music
This course opens the door to rethinking music from broader and deeper perspectives. Students examine their cultural assumptions about the role of music in their lives and in education. Through practice and theory, the many connections between music and curriculum are actively explored. Students are challenged to reconsider and expand their definition of music and to move beyond the traditional Western framework. The course takes students on a path of inquiry that examines multiple musical concepts.

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EEDUC 6143 Early Childhood Curriculum: Topics in Math, Science, and Health
Students build upon theory and practice of teaching math, science, and health through planning and implementation of integrated curriculum. Adaptation for all learners, assessment as a tool for improved teaching, and empowering children to be successful problem solvers and investigators will be emphasized. Student-designed curriculum will reflect developmentally appropriate practices. Additionally, students will identify their own strengths and define personal goals for designing math, science, and health experiences and facilitating young children’s learning.

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EEDUC 5051 Children with Behavior Problems: Responding to the Challenge
In this distance learning experience, participants will apply a process for case study analysis to situations involving children with a range of challenging behaviors, including those demonstrated by children who might be at risk for developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disability, health-related learning or behavior problems, and children with pervasive developmental disorders. Strategies for setting limits, helping children gain self-control, and the use of other preventative educational techniques will be explored through this analysis.

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EEDUC 5057 Introduction to D.I.R. (Floortime): A Developmental Model for the Special Child
This course introduces the Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based (DIR) Model for working with children with special needs. This multidisciplinary model, developed by Dr. Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder, Ph.D., focuses on six developmental levels a child must master in the context of emotional relationships. Students will be introduced to Floortime, a strategic way of interacting that takes into account a child’s motivations, relationships, and individual differences in processing and responding to sensory information.

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.