Education

EDU/REC502 Adventure Education Ethics and Methods (3 semester hours)
This course is designed to introduce the student to adventure education. It will include selected activities, adventure skills, philosophy, programming ethics and methods, and safety management. Activities may include: initiatives, backpacking, rock climbing, cross country skiing, orienteering, cycling, and others.
No prerequisites

EDU520 Philosophic Foundations of Education (3 semester hours)
This course is an examination of the principles and ideas underlying education and the philosophic ideologies behind educational systems, curricula and goals. Students are introduced to the thoughts of influential educators in order for them to build their own philosophy of education.
No prerequisites

EDU526 Advanced Educational Psychology (3 semester hours)
Psychological theories and principles of learning as they apply to the teaching/learning process. Factors and issues in educational psychology related to motivation and learning, including reinforcement, transfer of learning, the application of motivation, theories to the learning process. Special consideration will be given to the specific needs of diverse populations.
Prerequisite: EDU520

EDU536 Methods of Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary School (3 semester hours )
The content of the elementary math curriculum and the methods of teaching it. Students learn a variety of techniques for helping children understand and utilize math concepts.
Needs of multicultural and exceptional children are examined.
No prerequisites

EDU537 Adolescent Development and Learning (3 semester hours)
The physical, cognitive, social, emotional, ideological, sexual and gender role, racial/ethnic and vocational development of pre-adolescents and adolescents, and the relationship of adolescents' development to learning and school achievement.
No prerequisites

EDU/REC 542 Philosophy & Methods of Outdoor Education Methods (3 semester hours)
An investigation of effective teaching techniques and administrative programming practices for outdoor experiential education. This course will emphasize curricula and activities appropriate for use in extending the academic classroom to the outdoors. The content is also beneficial to leisure professionals educating the public about the outdoor environment during their visits to nature centers and forest preserves.
Prerequisites: none

EDU/REC 543 Programs in Outdoor Education (3 semester hours)
Growth and significance of the organized outdoor education movement program objectives, organization, philosophy and clientele. Selected national and international programs will be analyzed.
Prerequisites: none

EDU544 Middle School: Mission and Methods (3 semester hours)
This course examines the physical, mental and emotional characteristics of the adolescent and of methods and strategies to employ with this age group, emphasizing teaching techniques that are the most appropriate and effective for the adolescent student. The course also explores the movement to establish a distinct discipline for middle school educators, explore the array of middle level issues and lead to middle school endorsement.
No prerequisites

EDU548 Methods of Teaching Reading in the Elementary School (3 semester hours)
Introduction to reading theory and instructional methods. Examines the whole language approach to integrating reading into the areas of science, social studies, and language arts. Simulation activities allow students to explore and critique current instructional practices and techniques. Designed for elementary teachers.
No prerequisites

EDU561 Survey of the Exceptional Individual and the Reluctant Learner (3 semester hours)
This course considers the major causes and characteristics of persons evidencing exceptionality. Considers the psychology, identification and methods of teaching the exceptional individual. Considers rehabilitative and preventive measures. The major areas of exceptionality, including learning disabilities and reluctant learners are treated.
No prerequisites

EDU572 Reading and Learning in the Content Areas (3 semester hours)
This course presents instructional materials, methods, and strategies for enhancing reading comprehension in the content areas. It examines the role of the reading instructor as a facilitator of learning in both elementary and secondary settings. Designed for secondary teachers.
No prerequisites

EDU575 Methods Practicum (2 semester hours)
This course is taken concurrently with one of the methods courses. The student is in an elementary or secondary school for a minimum of 50 clock hours observing, planning and initiating instruction under the supervision of a classroom teacher.
Prerequisite: EDU590-01 or EDU590-02. Must be planned in consultation with program chair prior to registration.

EDU582 Methods of Teaching at the Secondary Levels (3 semester hours)
This course gives instruction in techniques that are effective in teaching in the middle school and high school. It covers lesson planning, classroom management, curriculum design, alternative teaching strategies, etc. In addition to the classroom phase, there is a simultaneous practicum component requiring the student to work under supervision in a middle school or high school content area department.
No prerequisites

EDU590-01 Clinical Experience-Elementary (1 semester hour)
This course is a pre-teaching experience in which the student will serve as an aide to a certified teacher in an elementary school for a minimum of 50 clock hours.
Prerequisites: Concurrent enrollment in EDU526 recommended. Must be planned in consultation with the program chair prior to registration.

EDU590-02 Clinical Experience-Secondary (1 semester hour)
This course is a pre-teaching experience in which the student will serve as an aide to a certified teacher in an secondary school for a minimum of 50 clock hours.
Prerequisites: Concurrent enrollment in EDU526 recommended. Must be planned in consultation with the program chair prior to registration.

EDU601 Contemporary Issues in Education (3 semester hours)
This course is designed to initiate a professional conversation among individual students, school teams, and cohorts about the major issues facing America's schools. The questions that emerge will become the focus for subsequent independent inquiry in master's program classes.
No prerequisites

EDU602 Assessment in the Schools (3 semester hours)
This course is designed to develop skills in selecting, developing, and interpreting assessment methods that will provide reliable, valid, and fair measurement of valued educational achievement targets.
No prerequisites

EDU603 The Individual, Cognition and Learning (3 semester hours)
The focus of this course is the development of an understanding of the individual as learner and teacher and the implications for classroom instruction and student success.
No prerequisites

EDU604 The Learning Environment (MAT) (3 semester hours)
The focus of this course is the development of an understanding of the learner's whole environment as it affects the learning process.
No prerequisites

EDU605 Technology in the School of the Future (3 semester hours)
This course studies the impact of technology on curriculum design, classroom practice, and the learning patterns of students with emphasis on the integration of multi-media, telecommunications, authoring systems, and interactive resources throughout the instructional program.
No prerequisites

EDU606 Scholarship Applied to Teaching (3 semester hours)
This course serves as a review of the development of emerging best instructional practice in the American classroom. Emphasis will be given to implementation of instructional strategies resulting from educational research.
Prerequisite: EDU601

EDU607 Introduction to Action Research (3 semester hours)
The course is designed to initiate a professional conversation among individual students, school teams and cohorts about the major issues facing America's schools. The questions that emerge will become the focus for subsequent independent inquiry in MAT/MAEL program classes.
No prerequisites

EDU660 School Administration (3 semester hours)
This course provides students with an orientation to the administration of public elementary and secondary educational institutions. The impact of local school districts, governmental agencies and interest groups on each other with respect to policy formulation, decision-making and program implementation will be explored.
No prerequisites

EDU661 Educational Leadership (3 semester hours)
This course describes the role of the educational leader in the school as one who creates a vision of an educationally better culture in the school and then plans and organizes times and resources to communicate this vision to teachers, students, and parents.
No prerequisites

EDU662 School Supervision (3 semester hours)
This course provides students with an introduction to the supervision of instruction. Supervisory strategies are elaborated with special attention to the improvement and enrichment of instruction through faculty development approaches
No prerequisites

EDU663 Curriculum Development and Evaluation (3 semester hours)
This course will introduce the principles of curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on curriculum development and design, implementation and delivery, and organization and evaluation.
No prerequisites

EDU664 School and Community Relations (3 semester hours)
This course provides an overview of the importance of community involvement in developing effective schools. Ways in which parents and community members can be involved in the schools will be explored. Techniques will be developed for fostering better parent-teacher communication and for fostering better public relations with the community.
No prerequisites

EDU665 School Law (3 semester hours)
This course provides the school administrator with an in-depth examination of the legal basis of public education in the U.S. Special reference is made to current legal issues and major court decisions. First Amendment rights, due process, privacy, discrimination, desegregation, special education, multicultural difference, and related matters are examined in terms of their impact on the school administrator.
No prerequisites

EDU666 School Finance (3 semester hours)
This course studies the history of school finance with emphasis on the significant role of the local property tax in school funding. The role of state and federal funding is examined, along with issues of equity, adequacy and appropriateness. Emphasis is given to budget construction, fiscal planning, and management of capital outlay programs.
No prerequisites

EDU667 Practicum in Educational Leadership (3 semester hours)
This course will involve students of educational leadership in practical administrative and supervisory projects to be carried out in a field placement, under the supervision of the program instructor. Field placements will ensure that students have experiences with diverse populations of students.
No prerequisites

EDU675 Student Teaching Internship (9 semester hours)
An internship to be completed after the student has taken all professional education courses required by the ISBE and all courses required in the student's major.
Prerequisite: A grade point average of 2.75 is required and placement by the College of Education program chair.

EDU 701/801: Introduction to Educational Research
The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the major research paradigms of educational research: quantitative and qualitative. At the same time, the course will provide the skills and knowledge necessary to critically read educational research literature. Students will examine current research practices in education, analyze research findings related to current educational issues, and analyze and evaluate the implications of those findings.

EDU710/810: Research II: Quantitative Educational Research I
This course examines educational quantitative research design and data analysis. The course stresses the connections between research design, data analysis, and the use of computer software for statistical analysis and reporting. Topics include the use of statistical software, the relationship between research design and the appropriate selection and use of simple and complex descriptive and inferential statistics.

EDU711/811: School Reform/School Renewal: A Seminar
After examining specific reform/renewal movements in American education history and learning about the factors that effect and affect the success of reform/renewal, this course will turn its attention to current school reform/renewal issues, policy and initiatives and analyze them from historical, philosophical, political, economic and social perspectives. This course is considered foundational to both strands of the Ed.D. Program in that it provides students with necessary background perspectives to understand and discuss current trends, issues, research, policies, principles and practices of education in America.

EDU712: Policy Analysis/Research in Education
This course will focus on the elements of public policy analysis/research. It will examine the purposes, conceptual frameworks, methodologies, design and strategies which comprise policy analyses/research, particularly the relationship between policy evaluation/analysis and decision-making in education. Students will be introduced to the analytical tools necessary for policy analysis/research and will learn to view policy and policy-making from different perspectives: as rational problem-solving, organizational habit, and political settlement; as the effort to symbolize key values; as expression or temporary resolution of moral dilemmas.

EDU713: The Dynamics of Educational Organizations: A Seminar
Examination of the conceptual and theoretical bases for understanding educational organizations. The course will critically analyze traditional and alternative assumptions about organizations, how they function, and why people in organizations behave as they do. The impact of information, power, beliefs, resources, professions, controls, incentives, organizational structure, and environment as they pertain to education will be discussed. The course will enable students to define the organizational setting of their institutions and implement appropriate management theories and processes in institutional problem solving.

EDU714: Seminar in Advanced Education Law
This course will analyze the impact of state and federal laws on schooling and educational practice, and on the interactions among participants in education such as teachers, students, parents and administrators. It will also provide educators with the conceptual and practical skills to handle the legal function of educational administration and to become proactive advocates regarding educational policy and law

EDU715: Administration I: Advanced Human Resources Administration
This course will examine various theories, practice and research in human resources administration. Through fictionalized and local case studies and relevant literature, students will learn about patterns and practices in educational personnel management, and issues and trends in human resources administration.

EDU716: Administration II: Internal and External Relations
The first half of this course will examine inclusive methods for community and district development and building positive relationships to support education. It will also deal with current problems and issues in community relations as they affect administrative practices. The second part of this course will consider internal relationships such as those between various components of the school district and between the board and the district office. The course will explore current issues in, principles of and research about internal relations. The course will emphasize field work and practice. The emphasis will be on the identification of problems and issues that are present in and affect decision-making in local school districts. Whenever possible, students will be involved in using the knowledge gained in courses to solve problems and devise plans to deal with local issues.

EDU717: Administration III: Educational Facilities
Through case studies, field experiences and the literature, this course will explore the problems, issues, research and trends in the design, maintenance and utilization of educational facilities.

EDU719/819: Research II: Qualitative Research in Education I
Building upon "Introduction to Educational Research," the first part of this course will examine research design and data collection for a number of types of qualitative research: lived experience, narrative inquiry, life history/oral history, focus groups, ethnography, case study, documentary research, ethnography, microethnography, grounded theory, descriptive/interpretive, critical theory/feminist/action research. Issues such as ethics, validity and reliability and the role of the practitioner-researcher will be addressed. The second part of this course will address data analysis and representation examining types of data analysis and management and critical issues in qualitative research.

EDU721/821: Research III: Qualitative Research in Education II
Building upon "Introduction to Educational Research" and "Qualitative Research in Education I," this course will emphasize data analysis, its assumptions, variations, and processes. The course will also examine various ways of presenting and communicating the findings of qualitative research, and students will read and analyze examples of qualitative research. Issues such as ethics, validity and reliability will continue to be addressed.

EDU722: Administration IV: Economics of Education
This course will focus on the relationship between economics and the provision of educational services. Current topics in educational economics such as returns to investment in education, school choice, teacher compensation, accountability, and privatization of education will be examined. Students will learn how to analyze issues from an economic perspective. As well, the course will examine current problems in school finance, including costs, ability to support schools, and financial implications of educational principles. Problems of federal, state, and local school support will be examined.

EDU723: The Dynamics of Organizational Change in Education
This course builds upon the student's knowledge of organizational theory to explore the literature about and practice of implementing change and innovation in educational organizations. The course will focus on the study of organizational change which deals with the processes, activities, and events that organizations engage in as they respond to the pressure to reform education. The course will consider these approaches: sociopsychological, rational planning, political perspectives and those associated with notions of organized anarchies. Specific topics related to change and innovation will also be considered: roles of beliefs, groups, symbols and norms, diffusion of innovations, research issues, etc.

EDU724: Administration of Technology and Technology for Administrators
As the title suggests, this course will have two foci. The first half of the course will concentrate on issues surrounding technology in the schools and on the administrative functions that technology requires. The second half of the course will concentrate on the functions that technology can play in efficient management and management of information. The course will include lab experiences in the second half and site visits in the first half.

EDU725/825: Principles and Practice of Program Evaluation
This course will examine current theories, models of, research in, approaches to and principles and practices of program and curriculum evaluation. Students will read, analyze and evaluate selected curriculum and program evaluations and design a program or curriculum evaluation.

EDU 726: The Modern Superintendency
Candidates will take this course toward the end of their academic program. As such, The Modern Superintendency will provide a practical, capstone experience, during which candidates will analyze, synthesize, and apply their knowledge from previous courses. The course will take a very broad perspective in examining the job of superintendents in today's schools. Students will examine: 1) the leadership characteristics of modern superintendents, 2) the role of the superintendent in 21st Century schools, and 3) the many challenges facing superintendents in today's educational environment.

EDU812: Leadership for the Professional Educator: A Seminar
This course will examine, interpret critically and evaluate traditional approaches to understanding leadership as well as contemporary theories and styles of leadership. Students will examine principles underpinning leadership such as their own values, personal philosophy and beliefs.

EDU813: Foundations for Curriculum Studies
This course will examine how decisions about what to teach are made, and will include primary source readings of a selection of philosophical analyses of curriculum. It will examine the forces influencing curriculum development and the development of the field of curriculum.

EDU814: Curriculum II: Principles and Practice of Curriculum Design
This course will examine principles, practice and problems in the formulation of purposes, selection of learning experiences and organization of the curriculum. Students will critically analyze selected curricula and curricular trends (P-12) from a number of perspectives and develop a curriculum in an area of interest.

EDU815: Education for Technology and Technology for Education
This course will examine the theoretical foundations of various perspectives on and techniques of learning technologies: Multimedia CD-ROMs, WorldWide Web, digital libraries, virtual reality, programming languages, computer-assisted instruction, intelligent tutoring systems, networks, discussion forums, virtual classrooms, schools and universities, etc. As well, the course will include discussions and readings about the impact of the "new' technologies on society in general and education in particular. Students will be exposed to applications for various curriculum subjects. In lab sessions, students will examine specific technologies and design a resource site for teachers.

EDU816: Clinical Supervision and Teacher Development
This is an advanced course in supervision which focuses on the theory and practice of supervision and teacher development. The focus will be on supervision as an instructional process, the aim of which is to improve instruction. Both pre-service and in-service supervision will be discussed.

EDU821: Curriculum III: Curriculum For a Diverse Society
This course will examine educational responses to diversity and inequality of educational opportunity. Students will examine programs, policies and curricula aimed at ameliorating problems faced by disenfranchised groups in contemporary P-12 schools. Issues such as race, gender, class, exceptionalities, etc. will be addressed

EDU822: Teaching: Current Research and Theory
This course will explore the research literature on classroom teaching and the contrasting conceptual and methodological approaches upon which the research is based. The course is designed to help students become knowledgeable about the major areas in the field, develop a critical perspective on contrasting paradigms and raise questions about the implications of research on teaching for curriculum, instruction, evaluation and professional development.

EDU823: Language and Learning in the Classroom
This course will examine issues on and research about language and learning in the classroom. It will focus on student-teacher interactions and learning; student-student interactions and learning; language minorities in the classroom; language, gender and class. The course will provide a basic overview of each area, but students will be expected to explore one of the areas in depth.

EDU824: Assessment in Education
This course will explore issues and practice of the evaluation and assessment of educational outcomes, including student learning, curriculum effects, teacher competency, and the impact of large scale assessment programs. Students will examine and critically analyze specific testing/assessment programs. Although the course does not have a statistical measurement focus, it will require students to read and understand assessment results.

EDU 826 Curriculum for Urban Education
This course will examine issues and research about urban education. The issues and problems of urban education are not limited just to large urban districts, but exist in midsize and smaller districts, in urban and suburban locales. The course will deal with topics of urban school reform, effective urban schools, and teacher in-servicing and retention; community-school partnerships, schools with a focus, smaller schools, community service, and after school programs; poverty, desegregation, gangs, and violence; and curricular implications of these topics. The synergism of these urban education conditions also will be addressed.