MEd in Curriculum & Instruction: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM)

This course will provide teachers with the resources and skills necessary to integrate character themes and character development into their school curriculum. Course provides a forum in which to discuss and develop one's own moral perspectives on the basis of generally accepted criteria.

This course is designed to provide leaders with the latest psychological research about learning and guide them in exploring ways to directly apply these precepts to their current work setting. Topics include cognitive science, learning theory, and relevant teaching theories that utilize this information. The course fuses the latest biological and psychological understanding of how the brain learns so candidates can harness this knowledge and apply it directly to learning situations.

Course challenges candidates to confront the tremendous diversity in their current environment and develop strategies to build community in the midst of the social, ethnic, economic, and alternative lifestyle differences that permeate today's 21st century workplace. Course stresses the critical importance of creating community in the workplace and illustrates how that community can generate an efficient, supportive, and positive workplace.

Candidates identify, review, and analyze major trends and issues impacting the contemporary state and national educational scenes. Each class session provides students with an opportunity to evaluate the advantages and liabilities of current educational reforms and issues from the perspective of prevailing educational research as well as from their own personal beliefs and current work environment. Candidates will also consider how they can impact and influence change in their own workplace.

Candidates will gain an in-depth understanding of the historical and contemporary practices of integrating the principles and skills of STEAM (STEM plus Arts: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) content into and across the curriculum as they understand the importance of developing critical thinkers in the classroom who value and promote investigation, inquiry, exploration, questioning, creating and testing.

The application of scientific, technological, engineering, and mathematical skills and principles naturally occurs in those specific content area courses when STEM education is the focus. Throughout this course, candidates will more intentionally focus on STEAM education, developing their integration of Liberal Arts (to include Language Arts and Social Studies) and Fine Arts in the learning environment.

Candidates will apply knowledge gained in the area of STEAM education, whereby the implementation and assessment of STEAM principles and skills in both the teaching and learning process will be emphasized. Best practices in STEAM education will be discussed in order to improve student learning in relation to state and national standards.

Candidates will engage in critical dialogue about what it means to begin, develop, and lead STEAM initiatives at the classroom, school, district, state, and/or national levels. Candidates will focus on becoming STEAM program leaders by recognizing their important role as change agents, program administrators, curricular leaders, and advocates for comprehensive STEAM education.

This course provides students with the basic competencies necessary to understand and evaluate the research of others, and to plan their own research with a minimum of assistance. This course includes the basics of both qualitative and quantitative research.

Practitioner Inquiry focuses on the reflective acts of the candidate as an educator seeking to improve teaching practice. Premised on the self-study research methodological traditions, Practitioner Inquiry provides the opportunity to reflect on teaching practice and generate improvements based on classroom observation. Practitioner Inquiry is focused on the educator and her/his own practices, developing skills of inquiry, observation, reflection, and action in teachers.

Prerequisites: EDGR 601 with a B- or higher

Candidates will learn more about the action research methodology, complete final edits of the literature review, and design a complete action research proposal including data collection methods and analysis approaches. During this course, the proposal will not be implemented with students/participants. This design provides candidates with the requisite skills and means to pursue the transformative practice called Action Research in their classroom, school, district or other work environment.

Prerequisites: EDGR 601 with a B- or higher