Master of Education in Political Science/Political Philosophy (8-12) Leading to Initial Teacher License

In this program, which includes a 14-week practicum, students will:

• learn practical skills for working with diverse student populations
• receive a thorough grounding in best practices for instruction and assessment in Political Science/Political Philosophy
• encounter the most current research and theory on adolescence and high schools, and learn to think critically about the contemporary high school
• broaden their subject area knowledge base
• engage actively with current educational technologies
• conduct action research
• practice new-found skills and knowledge in high school classrooms

Prerequisite: Completion of a college or university's requirements for a major in Political Science OR passing the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) in Political Science/Political Philosophy.

*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.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

EEDUC 6201 Cultures of the High School
This course is designed to guide pre-service educators and others interested in how the role of schools in US society in the formation of the knowledge, strategies and dispositions fundamental to the practice of a middle and high school professional educator. Students will study the social educational philosophies underlying various proposals for the design and management of ideal schooling arrangements, and participate in learning projects. Course aims will be accomplished through the reading of primary source documents, open-ended and deliberative class discussions, and the completion of both formal and informal writing tasks.

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.

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.

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.

EEDUC 6102 Language and Literacy: Development and Diversity
This course examines diverse aspects of language acquisition and literacy development with emphasis on educational implications. The major theories and current research in first and second language acquisition are reviewed. Educational topics in language and literacy are addressed, including concerns for reading, writing, oral language, phonics, spelling, academic English, grammar, language assessments, and language-based disabilities. Linguistic and cultural diversity, bilingualism, and second language acquisition are considered throughout.

ESPED 5100 Special Needs: An Inclusive Perspective
This course presents an overview of characteristics and instructional implications of various disabling conditions. From an inclusive perspective, the class examines information about disabilities as well as the effects of societal attitudes, the range of service delivery for individuals with disabilities, the historical context of special education, state and federal laws and regulations, the impact of labeling, myths and stereotypes, advocacy, and the role of parents.

EEDUC 5061 Teaching History and Political Science/Political Philosophy in Grades 8-12
This course will help students to develop an understanding of curriculum, instruction and assessment issues in the teaching of history and political science/political philosophy at the secondary level. Following a "backwards planning" approach, the course begins with an exploration of the larger purposes for teaching history and political science/political philosophy in a multi-cultural and global society and within the current climate of standards base and high-stakes testing reform. The course then offers students a conceptual framework for translating their own larger purpose into essential questions and goals for student understanding within a teaching unit and considers what is understanding and how a teacher assesses for it. Lastly, students learn to research and draw on multiple curriculum resources--textbooks, alternative curricula, and the internet--to create learning activities that support learners to develop and demonstrate their understandings of history or political science/political philosophy within a given unit of study. How differences of social location (gender, race, class, sexual orientation and nation) and of learning styles and different facilities with U.S. English impact student learning are integrated throughout the course, challenging students to examine how they build learning relationships, create learning environments, and individualize curricula to support the learning of all students.

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.

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.

EEDUC 6205 Engaging High School Learners through Inquiry and Pro-Social Management
Participants will learn classroom management strategies that allow teachers' actions to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, self-discipline, self-motivation, and a climate of personal responsibility. In order to truly engage high school students, participants will learn effective methods for Project Based Learning, a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning knowledge and skills through an extended inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed tasks.

EEDUC 7773 Practicum and Seminar in Political Science/Political Philosophy (8-12)
Full-semester, full-time practicum in Political Science/Political Philosophy (8-12) under the supervision of a supervising practitioner and university program supervisor. Practicum is accompanied by a seminar addressing issues in the field, classroom practices, and action research. Addition to official course description: full-semester, full-time is equivalent to approximately 400 hours.

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.