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Course List

Doctoral candidates will work closely with their advisor to craft a program of study. This will include a series of independent studies around the history and nature of research and practice in the social studies. Candidates may also choose to take graduate coursework in a social science (History, Political Science, Geography, Economics, etc.) as part of their cognate.

Below are a series of courses within the School of Education that can make up key foundation, concentration, and research courses within the plan of study.

Introduction to gender in the context of education. This course is intended to raise awareness of how gender is implicated in teaching and learning in K-12 schooling and higher education. School policy as it relates to gender equality and sex education. Theoretical frameworks for gender analysis in education. Pre-requisite: Graduate standing required

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture

The course assists educators in furthering their understanding of the connection between language, and the role culture plays within literacy development. Emphasizes how educators within the school context (K-12) need to be aware of, and utilize, the cultural background knowledge and linguistic resources, community needs of diverse students, and the community groups in which they belong. Major emphasis is on issues of literacy development in regard to oral, written, and multi-mediated texts. Graduate standing is required.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture

Study of problems of professional educators in such areas as supervision, instruction, and curriculum development.

Credit Hour(s): 1 TO 6

Lecture Hour(s): 1 TO 6

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture

Selected topics in curriculum and instruction, supervision, educational foundations, special education, research, and evaluation.

Credit Hour(s): 1 TO 6

Lecture Hour(s): 1 TO 6

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture

Intensive study of research findings and methods in preservice teacher education. Focus on internal and external issues that affect the curriculum, guidelines, accreditation, governance, alternative models, and approaches, instructional strategies, and history of teacher education reform. May be repeated to a maximum of 6 semester hours. Pre-requisite: Graduate Standing required.

Credit Hour(s): 1 TO 6

Lecture Hour(s): 1 TO 6

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture

Prerequisite(s): EDCI 5104

Systematic introduction to the study of contemporary philosophy of education, indicating ways in which philosophy is used to analyze educational aims, content, methods, and values.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture

Prerequisite(s): EDCI 5104

Exploration of anthropological ideas and findings relevant to educational institutions and the teaching/learning process. Emphasis on how sociocultural patterns affect what is taught and learned.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture

Prerequisite(s): EDCI 5104

Writing workshop in which students work toward a personal goasl (manuscript, book review, conference proposal, or fellowship application). Emphasis on how writing operates in the production, circulation, and elevation of knowledge in high education. Writing for qualitative research in education is the focus of this course.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture

Prerequisite(s): EDRE 6504

Issues related to conducting and reporting research on the reading process and reading pedagogy. Includes the critical review of classical and contemporary research and an initiation to the process of conducting reading research. Special attention is given to the analysis and classification of major research paradigms.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture

Prerequisite(s): (EDCI 5004 (UG), EDCI 5304 (UG)) OR (EDCI 5004, EDCI 5304)

Exploration of ethnographic methods for data collection and analysis: theoretical bases, procedures, issues, and applications of this approach in educational research.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture

Prerequisite(s): EDCI 6034

Presentation and critical discussion of current literature and major topics in curriculum and instruction. Provides students an opportunity to synthesize prior course experiences and to prepare and present a draft dissertation prospectus.

Credit Hour(s): 1 TO 19

Lecture Hour(s): 1 TO 19

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture

Psychological theories and models which serve as a basis for educational models and practice. Emphasis on conceptions of learning and the learning process. (3H,3C).

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

This course explores the most recent shift in thinking that takes us a step beyond the individualistic and cognitive models of learning to a different view that is fundamentally social and cultural.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Opportunity to develop student assessments based on SOLs and have them critiqued.  Objective, performance and portfolio testing is reviewed and practiced.  Research utilizing assessment is addressed with the philosophy of ‘teacher as researcher”.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Investigates complex human learning from the perspective of cognitive/information processing theories. Emphasizes methods of investigation in cognitive science as well as strategies for using a cognitive orientation in educational settings. Pre: 5114. (3H,3C).

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Philosophical, theoretical, and empirical foundations of the broad field of constructivism, including the limits of epistemology and ontology, the determination of truth and reality, and applications to education and everyday life.   Emphasis on radical constructivism, social constructivism, symbolic interactionism, social constructionism, and cognitive constructivism, and their applications to education.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Explores current research in the field of motivation as it relates to educational settings. Students will learn how motivation constructs relate to student behavior and cognition, how to select appropriate strategies to motivate students, and how to design measures to assess student motivation.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

This course provides an overview of survey research for graduate students in education. It covers the process from project formulation and sampling, through instrument design and question formulation, to data processing and report writing. Emphasis will be on questionnaire design, providing students with an opportunity to create and revise their own questionnaire and critique instruments used in educational surveys.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture

Prerequisite(s): EDRE 5404 (UG) OR EDRE 5404

Introducation to Mixed Methods research and evaluation in applied social and behavorial sciences, including education, human development, sociology, and medicine. Mixed methods are used to collect and analyze both qualitive and quantitative data.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture

Prerequisite(s): EDRE 5404

Research and evaluation in education with emphasis on development of skill requisite for utilizing research and evaluation studies in practical situations. Applies these skills in exercises related to various research and evaluation models.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture

This course provides an introduction to qualitative research methods. It considers mainstream qualitative research traditions, including case study, phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, and participatory research. Students will conduct observations, interviews and basic data analysis.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture

Prerequisite(s): EDRE 5404

This course provides an advanced examination of qualitative inquiry in educational and human science research. It considers theoretical assumptions of major qualitative research traditions and provides students advanced skills in data analysis and representation.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture

Prerequisite(s): EDRE 6504

This two-course sequence is designed to provide an overview of basic research design, measurement and statistical concepts in social and behavioral research. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the process of social and educational research in field settings, hands on experience of designing and conducting research and analysis of data. I,II.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture

Prerequisite(s): EDRE 5404 (UG) OR EDRE 5404

Provides an introduction to mixed methods research design in the human and behavioral sciences. Students will design and execute a pilot study for a mixed method research project.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Research

Provides advanced treatment of important theoretical and methodological topics in the contemporary qualitative literature and in the ongoing development of qualitative methodology. Emphasis is placed on addressing both theoretical issues and issues of research praxis. Topics covered vary from term to term.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

This two-course sequence is designed to provide an overview of basic research design, measurement and statistical concepts in social and behavioral research. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the process of social and educational research in field settings, hands on experience of designing and conducting research and analysis of data. I,II.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture

Prerequisite(s): EDRE 5404 (UG) OR EDRE 5404

EDCI 7994 - Research and Dissertation

Credit Hour(s): 1 TO 19

Lecture Hour(s):

Level: Graduate

Current educational theory and practice, related to teaching in higher education, is explored and applied. Issues such as instructional design, instructional strategies, instructional technology, assessment and grading, diverse populations, and motivation are addressed within the practice of higher education. (3H,3C).

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Research