Master of Education: Individually Designed Program for Educators

The M.Ed. Individually Designed Program for Educators is a 33-credit course of study that gives participants the opportunity to design an advanced level degree tailored to their personal and professional goals.

With 27 credits of electives, the student can design an area of concentration, an interdisciplinary plan, or complete an endorsement or second license program.  Courses may be taken completely online, or at Lesley's Cambridge campus. The last two courses of the program, EEDUC 6126 and EEDUC 6127, are two research courses designed to help students consolidate their coursework and develop an action research study.

Each student will work with a senior faculty advisor to develop a Degree Study Plan by the end of the first semester of study. The plan will be used as a flexible contract and roadmap toward degree completion. In addition, it will document progress toward completion of an endorsement, add-on license, or another interdisciplinary course of study that meets a more individualized professional goal. Students may also design independent study courses, in consultation with their faculty advisor, to complement their study plan.

Options for earning elective credits include the following:

• Choose any combination of graduate level courses from across the university, many of which are online. Review selected course descriptions.
• Complete one of the certificate programs below in its entirety.  With this option, the student receives a professional certificate and the credits earned can be applied to the elective requirement.  Additional courses must be completed as needed to total 27 credits.
  • Mathematics in Education (18 credits)*
  • Science in Education (21 credits)*
  • Instructional Technology (24 credits)*
  • Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) (18 credits)*
  • Special Education (24 credits)*
  • Online Teaching (12 credits)
  • Internet & Society (12 credits)
  • Emergent Technologies for Educators (12 credits)
  • Autism (15 credits)

*Program  completion leads to endorsement in multiple states.  It is the student's responsibility to know and monitor state requirements and regulations for the endorsement or second license.

If you are an educator looking for a self-designed degree that does not necessarily lead to licensure or endorsement, you may also want to explore the Self-Designed Master's Degree program.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

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.

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. Prerequisite: EEDUC 6126

For general course information, including scheduling, check here.