Adolescence Education/Social Studies &
Adolescence Education/English
These two programs are designed for teachers who already possess an initial or provisional teaching certificate in New York State and wish to earn a graduate degree in order to improve their teaching and meet the academic requirements for permanent or professional certification. These programs are based on a pedagogical core and each includes at least twelve credit hours in the appropriate content area.
Admission Requirements:
Applicants must meed the general requirements for admission to graduate work in education. In addition, applicants must provide a valid initial or provisional teaching certifiate; individuals with professional or permanent are welcome toenter the programs in order to improve their teaching.
Degree Requirements:
Each program requires 10 courses; 30 credit hours total
Required Pedagogical Core: (4 courses - 12 credit hours)
| EDAD 610 | Dynamics and Management in the Secondary Classroom |
| EDAD 611 | Information Literacy and Technology |
| EDAD 612 | Multicultural Teaching Methods |
| EDU 615 | Research Methods |
| Education Elective: | (1 course - 3 credit hours) |
| EDA 610 | School Law |
| EDAD 620 | Assessment and Accountability in Education |
| EDAD 621 | Comparative Education |
| EDU 514 | Contemporary Issues in Education |
| EDAD 625 | Research in Action |
Free Elective: (1 course - 3 credit hours)
Course can be chosen from education electives or content courses in this program.
Content Area: (4 courses - 12 credit hours) English or Social Studies
Candidates will select four courses (12 credit hours) from one content area. Content area courses will be offered by faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences. Specific courses may vary by semester and new courses may be added to the program based on candidate need and faculty expertise. Most of the content area courses will be offered in the summer. When possible and academically appropriate we will offer an optional travel component as a companion to the content courses. Credit for these experiences is optional, depending on the needs and interests of the candidate. Credit will only be allowed if the travel experience is designed as part of a separate academically sound independent study/research project. Credit will be awarded only with the permission of the faculty member, department chair and associate dean.
Program Description
Developed in collaboration with chairs and faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences, the strong liberal arts orientation of the college will be a valuable asset to these programs. Representing an effective partnership between liberal arts and education, these programs offer candidates meaningful study in their content field in addition to education courses designed to address issues of concern to candidates during the early years of their teaching careers.
An innovative aspect of these programs is the opportunity for experiential learning in a supportive academic environment. Carefully selected optional travel experiences will provide graduate students with the opportunity to take advantage of many of the best study abroad and experiential programs available at the college. As examples: one of our English professors has developed a very successful travel experience to study the literature, authors and theater of London; in Political Science, a faculty member has an established trip to Europe designed to allow participants an experiential opportunity to study the European union. These experiences may be credit-free or could be taken for credit when included as part of a course or an independent study or research project.
COURSES 2006-2008
Pedagogical Core: Four Courses Required for All (12 credit hours)
EDAD 610 Dynamics and Management in the Secondary Classroom 3
Examines the major factors which contribute to effective management in a diverse classroom environment: spatial concerns and configurations, a positive learning climate, differentiated instruction, communication patterns and skills, behavior management techniques, development and presentation of appropriate and professional attitudes, understanding at-risk behavior and strategies for dealing with at-risk students and students with personal problems.
EDAD 611 Information Literacy and Technology 3
Assists teachers in finding and using information effectively and efficiently to enhance their content-area instruction and professional development. It also prepares teachers to effectively teach these skills and abilities to their students. Strategies for appropriate information retrieval and use will include both practical hands-on work and reflective writing in order to develop an educational framework for information. In addition, legal and ethical issues surrounding the use of information will also be covered.
EDAD 612 Multicultural Teaching Methods 3
This course will focus on the diversity of schools and the community, and will provide candidates with information about effective teaching in a diverse classroom. The importance of taking responsibility for the education of all students will be stressed as well as the need to establish challenging and appropriate expectations for all. The New York State Learning Standards will be considered as they pertain to cultural diversity and various curriculum areas. The role of family, peers, parental involvement and poverty in both overall society as well as the culture of schooling will be studied. Effective techniques for communicating with students and families will be examined. In addition, candidates will analyze their own personal values in relation to multicultural issues of society and education.
EDU 615 Research Methods 3
Prepares candidates with the critical skills needed to be an informed practitioner and critical consumer of information. Candidates will develop an understanding of the research process, both qualitative and quantitative, including formulating a research problem, data analysis and interpretation. Since leaders in the field are increasingly relying on research results for improving school practices, candidates will learn how to critically analyze research studies, review ethical considerations in conducting research and discuss the importance of scientific research for education policy and practice. As a culminating course experience, candidates will plan a research project consistent with their interest and the course goals. Students will be encouraged to serve the education field by actively supporting and participating in research and to join their subject area professional organization, which promotes a lifelong dedication to knowledge and professional development. (Note: Candidates planning to take EDAD 625 should inform the instructor and plan to complete a research proposal based on the action research model.)
Education Electives: Choose 1 (3 credit hours)
EDA 610 School Law 3
Principles of public school law with a focus on NYS Education Law and select federal and state cases affecting the administration of our educational system. Topics include student residency, attendance and discipline; freedom of speech; search and seizure; FERPA; IDEA; LRE; employee rights.
EDAD 620 Assessment and Accountability in Education 3
Federal mandates for increased standardized testing and subsequent funding for schools is meant to increase individual school district accountability for student performance. Candidates will become
familiar with the standardized tests for middle and high schools students in New York State. They will also learn how to report and interpret the results of these standardized tests. Candidates will understand the value of using data and other assessment methods (i.e., curriculum mapping) to demonstrate teacher effectiveness and student learning, empowering them to be educational leaders in their area of expertise. Application of descriptive statistical methods including central tendencies, standard deviation, correlation coefficients and standard scores will be addressed. The elements of test construction, including reliability, validity and item analysis will be considered. Candidates will use statistical software to analyze student scores on various tests.
EDAD 621 Comparative Education 3
Most educators today are aware of the global forces that affect their work—be it in terms of the rising emphasis on technology and information in the classroom, the aggressive policies on preparing children and nations for a competitive international economy, or issues raised by an increasingly diverse population of students. Yet, for the most part, our growing sense of the global dimension of domestic educational issues has not been accompanied by attention to formal, cross-national comparisons of educational systems. This course is designed for (a) students who are interested in studying education and education policy in an international or comparative setting, and (b) students who would like to understand the American educational system by way of comparing across educational systems. Another important purpose of the course is to help students new to the study of education begin developing their own philosophy and theory of education. Course assignments are designed to introduce the topic of international and comparative education and to systematically develop the tools and methods for informed thinking about education in a global era. Companion Travel Course Option.
EDU 514 Contemporary Issues in Education 3
This course is designed to prepare teachers to take a leadership role by analyzing factors which have an impact upon schools as change agents within society: cultural perspectives, political agendas, local and national concerns. Topics may include standardized testing, unionization, school violence and tenure.
EDAD 625 Research in Action 3
This course provides an opportunity for candidates to conduct an action research project based on their research proposal developed in EDU 615. The approach of action research is to analyze practice to determine its effectiveness. Building on their research proposal, candidates will collect data appropriate for their study, using an appropriate measurement tool. Data analysis using correct statistical testing procedures, as well as interpretation and discussion of the findings will be included in the final research report. Candidates will present their findings to the academic community and submit their papers for publication in a relevant journal. Prerequisite: EDU615.
Free Elective: Choose one course (3 credit hours) from education electives above or selected content area.
Content Area: Choose four courses (12 credit hours) from one content area.
Social Studies Course Descriptions
HIS 604 Current Themes in Global History 3
The course will combine historiographical content issues with pedagogy in a number of selected topics in global studies. Candidates will be encouraged to implement innovative teaching strategies as a means to acquaint their students with the full range of current thinking in world history. As a graduate course, the emphasis is upon discussion and individual research and initiative.
HIS 602 Content and Themes in American History 3
Designed for current social studies teachers at the secondary level, this content-based course provides additional background in a number of the major topics in American History, including: slavery, the Constitution and the Cold War. The course will also consider various methods for applying content in the classroom.
HIS 690 Civil Rights Movement 3
This course is devoted to the study of the black civil rights movement, the most important reform in American history. It traces the origin and development of the struggle as it occurred on both the national and local levels. The course aims to evaluate the political and socio-economic plight of African Americans and to explore the ways in which prominent individuals, grass roots groups, women, newspaper editors, legislators, judges and presidents advanced or resisted racial justice. Particular attention will also paid to the critical events of the civil rights movement, such as the Brown decision, the Montgomery bus boycott, the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, the Greensboro sit-ins, the Freedom Rides through the Deep South, Project Confrontation in Birmingham, Freedom Summer, the Selma-to-Montgomery march and the wave of reaction to nonviolent tactics in the form of black nationalism and urban riots. The course will conclude by considering the status of African Americans in today’s society. Content pedagogy will be part of each class, including review of current scholarship so that new interpretations can be presented in secondary classrooms.
HIS 609 Topics in American Women’s History 3
Studies main themes in American women’s history including politics, work, family and sex as described through the critical lens of ethnic and racial experience. Attention will be paid to developing primary sources to be used in a variety of ways in the classroom. Sources include diaries, letters, prescriptive and magazine literature, census material, memoirs, fiction, oral interviews, film and decorative arts. Course will include an optional field trip to the Women’s Rights Historic Park in Seneca Falls.
HIS 608 Topics in Immigration and Ethnicity:
The Hyphenated American 3
This course provides historical context to current questions on multicultural America and is organized to provide comparative perspective on the different historical experiences of the Irish, Italian, Jewish, German, British, Chinese, Polish and Africans in 19th and 20th century America. Themes that will provide insight into acculturation and assimilation to American life include family, work, gender, religion, education, community organization, residential patterns, mobility, and political participation. Attention will be paid to developing primary sources and how they might be used in the classroom in a variety of ways. Sources include census and passenger lists, memoirs, fiction, film, oral history, and a critical evaluation of available on-line sources.
PSC 655 Europe Unites: History and
Politics of European Integration 3
The first part of this course focuses on the history of European integration from the inter-war period to the present. Blending attention to the domestic politics of major European states, global events and spread of new political ideas and institutions, this historical overview will help students understand how the European Union (EU) of today has come about and where it might be heading in the future. The second part of the course examines the main governmental institutions of the EU, allowing students to make comparisons to other federal systems, such as the United States. The final part of the course considers the various ways that the EU is important to the United States, particularly in key policy areas such as trade and investment, homeland security, and Middle East peace and stability. Along with its content, this course will also expose students to several different teaching methods, including cooperative team learning, class discussion, Powerpoint presentations, and in-class simulations (an historic “summit” meeting of the European Community as it was prior to 1993 and a contemporary meeting of European leaders will be modeled). Throughout the term, students will be asked to reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of using each teaching method in the classroom by preparing short essays that will be discussed in class and submitted to the instructor. Optional Experiential Component Associated with this Course: PSC 655 will be supplemented by an optional travel component to Europe. The candidates will meet the instructor in Brussels, where lodging will be arranged. This 3-day seminar will be highlighted by a guided walking tour of the city and presentations and tours at the European Commission, European Parliament, and US Mission in Brussels.
PSC XXX A Tale of Two Foundings: The Creation of the New
York and American Constitutions 3
Examines the structures, procedures and political theory that provide the underpinnings for the first Constitution of New York and the U. S. Constitution produced by the 1787 Constitutional Convention as well as the instructional priorities and strategies for presenting this material to students. It will do so by way of a comparison and reassessments of those documents in light of the subsequent course of American History. Some attention will be paid to recent criticisms of the Constitutions and proposals for its reform. Optional Experiential Component Associated with this Course: PSC XXX A Journey to Historic Philadelphia.
PSC XXX A Journey to Historic Philadelphia 3
This course will involve travel to Philadelphia for visits to the major historic sites connected with and surrounding the Birth of the Constitution. We will follow in the Founding Fathers’ footsteps on a constitutional walk that will takes us on a journey through America’s most historic square mile—the birthplace of our nation—where The Declaration of Independence and The United States Constitution were created. The 3-mile outdoor journey will take us to more than 30 historical sites in the Independence Mall area, including the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the National Constitution Center. Also included will be visits to the First and Second Banks of the U.S. and lunch in the City Tavern where delegates to the Second Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention of 1787 met. The course will give us an opportunity not only to explore the historical sites surrounding the birth of the Constitution but to place that founding in the larger context of the philosophy, art and architecture that provided the cultural context for these momentous events. In addition, candidates will study the instructional impact of these events and explore techniques for teachers to create in-depth understanding of these events for their students. Appropriate academic requirements must be met if a candidate elects to earn credit for this course experience. Candidates must secure the permission to earn credit from the professor, department chair and associate dean.
HIS 725 Teaching the Holocaust 3
Candidates will learn of some of the most recent developments in research and writing on the history of the Holocaust in addition to considering questions directly related to classroom pedagogy in teaching this critical topic.
HIS 620 The Irish Famine 3
The “Great Hunger” of 1846-1850 was the defining moment in the history of modern Ireland. The failure of successive potato crops created a famine which caused the death of a significant portion of the Irish population and thereby brought dramatic changes to Irish society and politics. The Famine also caused a dramatic increase in Irish emigration and led to the emergence of large and influential Irish communities in both the United States and Canada. The Famine is therefore an important topic in American as well as European history. Candidates will examine the economic, social and political context in which the Famine occurred, and will investigate the role that ethnic and religious prejudices, as well as adherence to laissez-faire economic theory, played in shaping both Irish and British responses to the crisis. They will consider how the famine altered Irish society and how memories of the famine influenced the development of Irish nationalism both within Ireland and in the communities of the Irish diaspora. Throughout the course, through reading and writing assignments and in class discussions, emphasis will be placed on how study of the Irish famine might be incorporated into the teaching of both American and world history. Particular attention will be paid to the New York State Learning Standards, which cite the famine as a possible case study in civil and human rights. Candidates will also explore the famine as a problem of historical analysis through which middle- and high school students might encounter the concept of multiple causation, the issue of incomplete and conflicting evidence, and the phenomenon of conflicting historical interpretations.
HIS 621 The British Imperial Experience and its Global Legacy 3
Examines the history of the British Empire from the sixteenth century “Age of Discovery” through the twentieth-century phenomenon of decolonization. Attention will be paid to the “imperial story” of Britain’s acquisition, administration, and eventual loss of overseas territory, and also to evolving doctrines of imperialism and anti-imperialism, but the course is not designed primarily as a survey. Its goal, rather, is to examine the empire as a political, social, and cultural context in which Europeans and non-Europeans encountered and influenced one another. Emphasis will be placed on how “empire” was experienced by various groups—not only the planters of the Caribbean, but also their African slaves; not only the founders of overseas missions, but also the indigenous elites who were permanently shaped by their contact with western culture; not only Britons who adapted to life in geographic and climatic regions far from “home,” but also Asians, Africans and others who have become part of the increasingly multiethnic and multicultural society of Britain itself. Readings will include both primary and secondary material ranging from historical documents and monographs to memoirs, novels and films depicting aspects of the imperial experience. Written assignments and class discussions will focus on how topics in imperial history might be examined within the context of the social studies curriculum, and on how teachers might use imperial themes to connect topics in western and non-western history. Students will be encouraged to develop lesson plans examining how global themes such as nationalism were shaped by resistance to western imperialism, and how current issues such as international terrorism and the economic phenomenon of “offshore outsourcing” illustrate the ongoing influence of long-ago imperial encounters.
English Course Descriptions
ENG 600 Multicultural Literature 3
Candidates will be exposed to two levels of multiculturalism. Increased cultural awareness comes from contact with difference. For individuals to understand who they are, quite often, they need to confront that which they are not. The danger of only studying literature about people like themselves is that they may take their way of life for granted. They may falsely universalize their specific outlook, assuming that all people of all times were exactly like them; later in life, when they run into others who think differently from them, there is a chance they may view them as abnormal, immoral or strange. Assuming the perspective of a twenty-first-century reader living in the United States, all of the texts covered in this course will present quite different perspectives. In the first part of the course multiculturalism will be viewed from a world-historical perspective, by examining some hallmarks of the ancient world, with the hope of opening minds to other religions and political systems. Then, from the perspective of the contemporary world, participants will consider texts by writers from cultures usually viewed as outside the mainstream of American demographics. Candidates will present short lessons on the material, introducing the text and starting the discussion in ways appropriate for high school students. Students will be required to incorporate a variety of approaches in presenting the material, including: (1) an author-based approach, in which the text is presented by focusing on the role of the author and his/her biography, unique style, and possible intentions; (2) an historical approach, in which the text is used to explain something about the historical setting to which the text relates; and (3) a “close reading” approach, in which the focus is entirely on reading comprehension and discussion is limited to what is in the text.
ENG 603 Nature Writing 3
Individuals who teach writing are most effective when they themselves are writers. In this course, students will explore the natural world in a concrete way through the writing process. Candidates will learn to teach writing by the experience of keeping a journal, developing ideas through drafts, revising their own and others’ writing, and editing for clarity. Consideration will be given to writing in various genres and using writing as a learning tool. Candidates will deepen their writing, reading, listening and observational skills and align them to State/Provincial Standards for English Language Arts; respond to the natural world reflectively and imaginatively in a journal; develop and present lesson plans that apply concepts learned in this course to an adolescence English classroom.
ENG 667 Literary London 3
Participants will study the literature and culture of London in-class, followed by a 10-day trip to London, England. Class work will include lectures and collaborative tasks, with an eye to candidates’ applying and adapting materials and teaching methods to their own high school courses. In London, activities will include visits to some of London’s many art galleries (The Tate Museum, The Tate Modern, The British Museum, The National Gallery), the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, a performance at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, one or two more live theatre performances, two guided London Walks and a train excursion to Canterbury Cathedral.
ENG 623 Shakespeare’s Theater 3
The purpose of the course will be to use characteristics of Shakespeare’s stage, or conventions of his theater, to explore his plays, and to consider how this approach could effectively be used to present Shakespeare in secondary classrooms. The primary focus will be on the public amphitheaters, such as the Globe, but attention will also be given to performance at court and at the indoor Blackfriars. Participants will consider the treatment of space: the open thrust stage, the upper stage, the trap and the inner stage as used in Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet; the use of male actors to portray female roles and questions of gender: Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing; Shakespeare’s language: the problems posed by blank verse, prose, rhymed speeches, tag lines, and song when teaching the plays: All’s Well That Ends Well and The Tempest; and character portrayal and the conventions of costume and casting: The Merchant of Venice and Othello. Throughout the course feature length film and video productions of the plays will be used to illustrate some of the approaches directors have taken to the problems above.
ENG 750 Writing to Learn – WNY Writing Project
Writing Summer Institute 6
The Writing to Learn course will be conducted in conjunction with the WNY Writing Project Summer Institute. This is an intensive immersion program that meets for seven hours every work day over a four week period. Based on the National Writing Project model of teachers teaching teachers, teaching candidates will interact in a rigorous writing and reading experience with Writing Project teacher consultants who represent a wide range of expertise and contexts. This interdisciplinary course will offer candidates the opportunity to study best practice, implement effective writing strategies and discuss current research on literacy. There will be three strands to this course. First, candidates will develop their own writing skills as they write in various genres and share their writing with the group. In the second strand, candidates will develop a lesson plan for effective reading and writing and demonstrate that lesson to the group. Lastly, candidates will read various research on adolescent literacy with the purpose of incorporating it into their practice. The course will also include an off campus excursion, such as an art exhibit, a nature walk, or an architectural tour of the city, that will link a real world encounter with a writing experience.
ENG XXX Petersburg, Russia: Summer Literary Seminar 3
Before leaving for St. Petersburg, participants will attend a series of in-class sessions to provide them with an introduction to the city and its history, focusing on its illustrious literary past and the writers closely associated with it: Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Gogol, from the nineteenth century, and some of the most well-known poets of Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary St. Petersburg. While in St. Petersburg, candidates will participate in a morning workshop and an afternoon workshop. The morning workshop will focus on teaching creative writing and facilitating the creative writing workshop. The workshop experience is rigorous, but stimulating, and will be useful for teachers of creative writing because it models the hands-on practice of writing in this setting, as well as the techniques of facilitating such workshops. Daily writing assignments incorporate a variety of genres. In the afternoon workshop, offered in cooperation with Herzen University, candidates choose a course from several options in Russian historical, literary, and cultural topics and lectures given by visiting and resident writers/scholars. Evening lectures and literary readings by resident writers are also part of the academic program. Seminar scholars offer guided literary walks around the city to various sites including the neighborhood in which Dostoevsky wrote and set Crime and Punishment, the place where Pushkin died in a duel, and the palace where Rasputin, the “mad monk,” was imprisoned briefly until his death.
ENG XXX American Author Series 3
Individual courses focus on one American author (Thoreau, Twain, Hemingway, etc.) providing an in-depth examination of the work, life and times of that figure. Methods for effectively incorporating content into secondary classrooms will be addressed.